Well, after 25 years with my Craftsman aluminum table top router table, I
decided to take the plunge and build a full size floor standing cabinet with
new top and fence. There really isn't anything special about my design, it
is very much like Norms, Rick's, and others. I built it from some used
walnut plywood I got at a garage sale a couple of years ago. It has three
drawers to hold bits down the left side, two on the right with the switch
above, a swinging door behind which hangs my new PC 7518, in the middle, and
two doors at the bottom for storage. Overall size is 35.5" tall, 19.5" deep
and 26.75" wide. It does look very impressive with the finished walnut
because I faced it with solid oak and used brass knobs and pulls. I also
went all out on the hinges, using the European 35mm. I installed a heavy
duty duplex outlet for the router and shop vac to plug into, and they both
start with a flip of the switch.
I opted to purchase the top and fence. After pouring through catalogs, like
Woodcraft, Rockler and WoodHaven and visiting a local Rockler retail store,
I drove the forty miles to Woodcraft to see if they had anything different
in the store. Sure enough, they had a top and fence I hadn't seen anywhere
else. It is the ProTop brand, made by Bench Dog, Inc. In their catalog,
they have a tabletop version, complete with small cabinet. They do not
show this larger top and fence in the catalog, however. The top is the
typical 24" x 32", with white laminate on both sides. What impressed me is
the aluminum extrusion at the front of the table. It has a miter slot built
in, a T-slot for accessories like a featherboard and twelve set screws that
push on the outside of the miter slot so you can get a perfect fit for your
miter gauge. The T-molding used to edge the top is the heaviest I've ever
seen. It even has screws holding it in place, from underneath. The top
comes with a 3/8" acrylic insert that sits in a recess, pre- routed in the
top. The recess is nearer the front of the top to accommodate jigs like the
Incra or their own fence. There are, I think, twelve screws installed into
pre-drilled holes from beneath the insert to provide leveling. The insert
itself has a pre-drilled 2" hole in the center. Other plates are available
that have different sized holes for use with larger bits or for use with
guide bushings. The accessory plates also come pre-drilled for a number of
different router manufacturers. This is a very nice top and I'm very happy
with it, but, the frosting on the cake is their fence. They call it
ProFence and it is very heavy duty and well thought out. It is a single
aluminum extrusion formed to a right angle. Riding in slots on the front of
the fence are two moveable MDF inserts. These are pre-drilled with three
holes each, through which pass screws that are capped in the back with star
knobs. These knobs are loosened so you can adjust the inserts to fit on
either side of the bit, close the hole completely for dadoing, rabbeting or
tennoning. You can even bring these inserts into the bit for zero
clearance. Additional inserts are available or of course, you can make your
own. The outfeed side of the fence has two aluminum bars that you can place
behind the insert for jointing. There is a built in dust port and
adjustable bit guard. The fence itself is 3" high and 36" long and has
built in T-slots near the top on both the front and rear. I've never seen
it, but their literature mentions an available fence riser, for raising
panels, etc. I plan on making featherboards and sliding pushstick for use
in these T-slots. The clamping system is unique, heavy duty and really
works. What I like about it is, you can clamp one end near where you need
it and then bring the other end over for your exact distance requirement
before clamping it down. It really holds well, too, with large knobs
supplying the leverage. The company also makes a cabinet, but I wasn't too
impressed. No drawers for bit storage, just two doors to cover the router
and an open shelf below.
I called Bench Dog to try to get more information before I purchased. There
was a machine answering the phone so I sent a fax to them. I received a
return phone call from Norston Fontaine. He didn't identify his position
with the company, but I think he is one of the owners. I wasn't home, but
he left his e-mail address so I contacted him that way. This is a new
company, located in Minneapolis, and he is the designer of the ProTop and
ProFence. He seemed very anxious to help and said they have been very busy
getting their fall line together. I told him I was very impressed with
their products and that I was going to write this review. I asked for
pictures and brochures. He said he would get some stuff together and send
it e-mail and snail mail. Well, no luck yet. I guess they really are busy.
He did say they are working on some new accessories, a featherboard and
something that has me frothing at the mouth, an overarm pin bracket, for
pattern routing.
CMT is selling their whole setup, cabinet, top and fence, under the CMT
name. There is a picture of it on page 94 of the April edition of American
Woodworker. Tool Crib sells the ProPlate inserts. Now, a couple of
caveats. This whole process is not inexpensive. Even though I bought the
plywood at a garage sale for twenty bucks and have made two other large
projects out of it, I have about $640.00 tied up in my router table. The
top and fence set me back about $250. The wiring, heavy duty outlets and
switch, and the hardware another $90. And let's not forget the PC7518.
Almost $300. I could have made the top and fence myself, but I didn't. So
when you get ready to build your own table, get the checkbook in order.
There is two things I don't love about the ProTop. One, the cabinet size is
dictated by the way the top is mounted to the cabinet. They supply eight
barrel nuts and screws. You drill down from the top of the sides, front and
back, 1 3/8" deep to accommodate the screws. Then you drill holes at 90
degrees on the outside of your cabinet, insert the barrel nuts, and secure
the top by dropping the screws through the pre-drilled holes in the top and
screwing them into the barrel nuts. This all makes for a very secure
mounting, but your cabinet has to be sized so the front, back and sides are
centered on those mounting holes. As it turned out, it is a good size for a
cabinet and probably very near what others have designed, size wise. It is
just something to think about. The worst part of the whole thing is that
you have to have a horizontal piece under the front of the table to secure
the top with those barrel nuts. Well, that means you can't reach under the
top with your two wrenches to change bits, because the ends of the wrenches
hit the horizontal piece. Now, the directions that came with my router say
to remove the motor from the base to change bits, even when not table
mounted. I don't want to. How many of you do that? What a pain. I could
lift the router out through the top, but the insert is secured with two
screws to the table. I don't want to take them out every time. Well, I
guess I will get used to unscrewing the motor from the base. What a drag.
All in all, it was a good experience building my own cabinet. It looks
great, is very stable and has lots of storage. The Bench Dog components are
absolutely top notch quality. I highly recommend them. And no, I have no
connection to them except as a satisfied customer.