![]() We consulted experts, bloggers and customer reviews to bring you this list of the top ten best router tables you can currently buy online. Thankfully, we have done some research for you. There are a lot of options out there for finding the perfect router table, but we know this can seem daunting. This allows you to be more accurate with your shaping, and to feel a lot safer doing so. Router tables allow you to use both of your hands to guide the wood whilst the router does its thing. To use a router safely and effectively, you will need a good router table to attach it to. They can help you create curves and unique shapes in wood, as well as dig grooves and indents. ![]() Routers are fantastic tools for woodworkers, and if you are looking to upgrade your setup you should definitely include one. We may earn commission from our brand partners when purchasing products through our links. She has a wide range of knowledge and, because of this, has been able to contribute to a variety of different genres, including article and blog writing.Īs an editor, she has polished and perfected an array of pieces for diverse readerships and audiences. I can now close up the front and back of the table and get better dust collection.Anna Ryan is a writer, copywriter and editor. It's perfectly level, the 3.5" 1617 router raises up and down without issue and it goes high enough to change the bit with ease. There are also cam locks on the plate to shim it in place but these aren't useable once the plate is cut down but since I trimmed the plate to be a perfect fit, they aren't needed.īut I'm very happy with it as is. The edges of the insert cutout on the Bosch table itself aren't exactly square and there is some thick black paint making it a bit uneven so some scraping of those edges could have made the lift plate fit even better but we didn't bother. I had my son standing at the router table and would make tiny cuts on the base plate on the table saw to shave off a little and hand it over to him to test fit until we got it perfect. I shaved a few mm off each edge leaving just enough so that the levelling set screws still worked and it fit pretty much perfectly into the RA1181. Once it arrived, I had a good play with it, checked for alignment etc and then set to work. I knew I was taking a chance as I would have to trim the aluminium base to fit the RA1181 which would destroy any chance of warrantee or returns. Adding up the cost and wanting all aluminium I decided to go with the O'SKOOL. Knowing I would have to modify the plate to fit the RA1181 I thought I would go with the Jessem but reading some reviews it seems as though you need to spend a little more as they only supply 3 insert rings with the cheapest one. I looked at several lifts and they're all pretty pricey - the cheapest being the Jessem with a phenolic top plate and this O'SKOOL one with an aluminium top plate. I do like the RA1181 for it's aluminium top, fence and front access power switch so didn't want to toss it out. But there is nothing I could find at a reasonable price with a plate that is exactly the right size for the RA1181. I wanted a lift that would work easily and would raise the router high enough to change the bit from the top. I finally had enough and decided to do something about it. An addition to this annoyance is that I had to keep the front of the table open for access which meant that I have ineffective dust collection from shavings dropping down through the table. Another annoyance is that the lift doesn't raise the router high enough to change the bit from the top so I've always had to get my hand under the table with one of the spanners. But it still keeps breaking and I keep having to fix it, fussing around under the table. A few years later and it's broken again but I knew about the split ring problem so fix it. ![]() I didn't really understand what was going on and wanted a second 1617 for hand routing anyway so bought one with the fixed base and replaced the one in the table. It worked great for a while but after some use I had the common split ring excursion on the lift base. I bought a Bosch RA1181 table many years ago equipped with a 1617 router and the RA1165 fixed base/lift mechanism.
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