DIY milling table for a manual router. How to make a table for a router with your own hands, step-by-step instructions and drawings. Individual workplace

A milling table will make your work easier and help increase the accuracy of workpiece processing. You can buy a ready-made one, or you can make a milling table for a manual router with your own hands, using woodworking skills. We have prepared for you quite detailed step-by-step instructions for making a table.

The essence of all designs of a horizontal milling table is the same, the idea is clear - you need to think it over for yourself and implement it, taking into account your capabilities. And in the end, you will get a machine that allows you to process workpieces much more accurately and perform operations that previously seemed difficult for a manual milling cutter.

Decide on the size of the working surface, based on the dimensions of the workpieces being processed and the free space in the workshop. Start small - build a simple countertop, incorporating upgradeability into the design. Work on it and little by little bring it to mind.

Make a table top

The simplest table for a router is a separate work plate placed on carpentry trestles or between pedestals. The device costs pennies and can be manufactured in a few hours, but will allow you to perform a significant proportion of the same operations as a multifunctional machine. All you need is MDF or birch plywood with a thickness of 19-25 mm. A plastic-coated panel that has less frictional resistance is better suited, and a plate laminated on both sides will not warp during use.

Set the exact right angle of cut on the circular saw, cut the parts according to size and sand the ends.

Cutting diagram: 1 - main plate; 2 — support base; 3 — front wall of the stop; 4 — gusset (4 pcs., dimensions for 19 mm plywood); 5 — drawer (2 pcs.); 6 — side bar; 7 — connecting strip (4 pcs.)

Advice. Before cutting, measure the thickness of the sheet material, which often differs from the standard. Amend the drawings to eliminate problems when assembling the structure.

Remove the plastic cover from the router base.

Draw a line in the middle of the slab and place a mark 235 mm from the edge.

Place the pad so that later the main router controls are closer to the edge of the table. Visually align the center of the cover with the marked point and mark the locations for drilling holes for the mounting screws.

Determine the center location for the sole with equally spaced screws.

For a base with asymmetrically placed screws, measure the diameter of the pad and the distance from the outer circumference to the cut of the sole.

Draw a mark with a pencil in the middle of the beveled side, calculate the distance from it to the center:

• S = D / 2 - (D - H)

Position the cut perpendicular to the midline and mark the center of the sole.

Mark the locations of the mounting screws.

Drill holes for mounting and for the cutter, countersink the recesses. Mark semicircular cutouts in the base and front wall of the stop.

Cut out the bends with an electric jig saw. Make auxiliary frequent cuts perpendicular to the edge of the part, slightly short of the marking line. Then move the file a little closer to the contour line - pieces will fall out without interfering with the movement of the blade. Sand the cutout with sandpaper wrapped around the pipe.

Attach the connecting strips to the bottom of the tabletop.

Glue all the pieces together and secure them with additional screws. Select screws that are longer than the standard ones by the thickness of the plywood and install the router from the bottom of the slab.

1 — side strip for fastening with clamps on trestles; 2 - drawer; 3 — countersunk guide holes; 4 — front wall of the stop; 5 - self-tapping screw with countersunk head 4.5x42; 6 - scarf; 7 - support base

Fasten the table to the trestles with clamps, secure the position of the stop with clamps and get to work.

Make a solid base

The worktop can be installed on a frame of low height, sufficient to accommodate the router. The portable table is stored on a rack, and for work it is fixed on a workbench. If you often mill and have free space in the workshop, add support pedestals to the tabletop and get a full-fledged machine.

Cut the cabinet elements according to the dimensions given for the 820 mm high table, or change them so that the table top is level with other equipment.

Frame details: 1 - outer side panel; 2 — internal panel; 3 - rear panel; 4 - base

Place the tabletop with the back side facing up. Install the side panels sequentially and screw them with screws, pre-drilling the guide holes. Secure the base, place the frame front side down, align the right corners and install the two back panels.

Finally, attach the wheel supports to the bottom of the housing using roofing screws. Place the wheel mounting pads no closer than 20 mm from the edges.

1 — side stand; 2 — wheel support; 3 - bottom; 4 — internal stand; 5 - rear panel

Use the free space in cabinets to solve the problem of storing tools and consumables.

Embed the mounting plate

Get a longer cutter reach by placing the tool on a 4-6 mm thick plate made of duralumin, getinax or monolithic polycarbonate.

Cut a square with a side of 300 mm from the sheet and place it on the workbench. Glue the plastic sole of the router on top with double-sided tape, placing it in the middle face up. Using a drill of the same diameter as the mounting screws, drill holes in the plate, using the plastic trim as a template. Remove the sole, use a countersink or a large drill to make indentations for the caps.

Screw the plate to the disconnected router, insert an 8 mm drill into the collet. Lower the tool body until the drill touches the surface and rotate the chuck, marking the center. Unscrew the plate and use a hole saw to make a hole at the mark.

Place the plate on the tabletop and trace the outline. Mark and cut the cutout by inserting the jigsaw blade through the drilled hole. Straighten the ends with a file and sand with sandpaper.

Secure thin boards around the marked outline with clamps.

Clamp the copy cutter with the bearing in the collet, set the milling depth according to the thickness of the mounting plate. Carry out the milling in several passes, then add 0.5 mm with the micrometer adjustment of the router and make the final pass.

Drill through holes for the screws and widen them from the back of the tabletop with an 11 mm drill bit for self-locking nuts. Clean the surfaces and install the nuts with epoxy glue, aligning with the screws.

Fit the mounting plate to the cutout, place it in place, drill the mounting holes and countersink from the front side. Attach the part to the router base, insert the tool into the tabletop and tighten the screws. Check that the plate is flush with the plane of the tabletop; if necessary, compensate for errors with washers.

Improve your focus

For faster and more convenient machine setup, upgrade the parallel side fence and add a rotary fence to help machine the ends of narrow parts. The latter can be taken from a stationary circular saw. Cut aluminum T-profile guides into the surface of the slab. To make cutouts in the tabletop, use a router or circular saw with a mortise blade.

Lightly round the top corners of the grooves with sandpaper. Cut the profile to size, drill holes according to the diameter of the screws, and countersink them. Place the parts into the grooves, make thin holes and tighten countersunk screws.

Drill 7mm holes in the base of the stop, select hex bolts and plastic handwheels with nuts.

Install a guide profile in the front stop bar to secure clamps, auxiliary pads and protective devices.

Cut a cover from plywood with a hole in the center, secure it to the gussets located near the cutout of the longitudinal stop. Connect the adapter fitting and connect the vacuum cleaner when working on the router table.

Add a safety shield made from plywood scraps and a strip of plexiglass to the stop.

To make oblong cuts, drill 7mm holes at the indicated points, connect them tangents and make cuts with a jigsaw.

Make homemade clamps and clamps necessary for milling small elements.

The comb clamp can be made from maple wood, choosing a section with a straight grain pattern. Make the gaps between the ridges on a circular saw:

1. Set the cutting height to 50 mm.
2. Set the cutting width to 2 mm.
3. Make a cut.
4. Pull the workpiece back with a hand pusher.
5. Turn the board 180° and saw through the other side.
6. Move the stop by 5 mm, repeat the operations.
7. Move the stop back again and make cuts throughout the entire workpiece.

Secure the clamps to the guide using bolts and wing nuts.

1 - stopper; 2 — comb clamp; 3 — protective shield; 4 - aluminum guide; 5 - pipe for vacuum cleaner

Sand the surfaces of the parts, especially in areas where the workpieces will pass during the milling process. Clean the machine from dust and coat it with oil.

1 — drawer for cutters; 2 - trapezoidal groove for stop

Let's summarize the project

Materials needed:

1. Plywood: 1600x900x19 and 2100x1410x19 mm.
2. Plastic 4x30x30 mm.
3. Several dozen screws.
4. Aluminum guides - 2.3 m.
5. Wheel support with brake - 4 pcs.
6. Wood glue and epoxy.
7. M6 bolts with nuts.

The ability to take your time and think through each step, to accurately mark and cut out blanks, or the desire to learn this came in handy. The result is a high-quality milling table for little money. In the future, it is worth thinking about equipping the machine with a switch and a mechanism for adjusting the milling height.

In a private household, a milling machine is always useful. The equipment is indispensable in the manufacture of various wooden products - from window frames to various small crafts. The milling machine consists of a support table and the router itself. If the owner already has a manual router, then you can make a router table with your own hands.

The table is the main base of the machine. Milling cutters are its working parts. With the help of these parts, many operations are performed when processing wood blanks. On a machine, longitudinal grooves, channels, vertical recesses, oval bevels and much more are made in wood. A table is necessary for precise placement of the cutter - both horizontally and vertically.

Milling table design

The machine desktop must meet the following requirements:

• The standard working surface height ranges from 800 to 900 mm. The height of the table can be different - at the request of the owner of the workshop.
• The surface of the table should ensure unhindered sliding of the wooden workpiece.
• The milling cutter must be equipped with an elevator that will easily move the cutter vertically.
• Chip and dust suction must be installed in the working area.
• The mounting plate must ensure reliable fastening of the router. The thickness of the plate should allow the cutting element to extend upward as much as possible.
• The clamping parts must be such that the worker’s hands cannot accidentally get under the cutter.
• The machine bed must be stable, and at the same time allow the machine to be easily moved to the desired location.

Manufacturing of bed and table top

In a home workshop, inexpensive auxiliary materials are often used to make the supporting part of the machine. To do this, take pieces of MDF, construction plywood, a metal corner, hardware (bolts, screws, washers and nuts) and so on.

bed

The supporting structure for the machine is made of wooden beams or welded metal profiles. Some craftsmen adapt an old table or workbench under the bed. The most important thing in the design of the frame is stability. During operation of the milling cutter, various vibration loads may occur.

If the old furniture is loose, then it is worth installing additional fasteners. To do this, use a metal corner, which is attached to questionable parts of the structure through drilled holes with screws.

The most reliable design will be a frame made of steel angle 40x40 mm. To do this, you need a welding machine and experience in handling it.

Tabletop

The organization of the desktop can be “seen” in videos about the operation of milling machines published on the Internet. When manufacturing a tabletop, it is necessary to follow the requirements that ensure easy movement of the wooden workpiece and the cutting part of the cutter, as well as reliable fixation of the workpiece relative to the cutter.

DIY machine assembly option

An aluminum T-shaped profile is installed on both side ends of the table for fastening and free movement of a parallel stop in the form of a bar. The plank on the sides is equipped with aluminum fasteners that fit into the grooves of the side profiles.

A rectangular cutout is made in the plank for the exit of the cutter. A guide profile is attached to the part, along which the vertical and angular clamps move. Clamps fix the passage of the wooden workpiece through the milling zone.

A parallel groove is cut in the tabletop to move the miter gauge slider. On one of the supports under the tabletop there are switches with an emergency stop button for the router.

The work platform is often made from MDF and construction plywood. The surface of such material wears out quickly. A more reliable tabletop is made of textolite. The textolite surface has high wear resistance and a low coefficient of friction.

The ideal option for a tabletop would be a steel sheet or an aluminum alloy plane. Since the platform must have technological grooves and holes, making such a part with your own hands will be quite difficult, and sometimes impossible. A solution can be found in using parts of old equipment.

Router plate

An opening is cut out in the center of the tabletop to install the work plate. It is better to make the plate from the same PCB. A round hole is made in the slab. Round inserts are made under the hole. By combining inserts, select the through hole in diameter for the desired cutter.

The ring inserts, like the plate itself, must be flush with the entire surface of the work table. The rings ensure that the cutter fits tightly into the working area.

Fraser

The power plant functions like an ordinary drill. The milling chuck clamps the cutter axis and imparts rotational movement to it. The unit is attached from below to the working plate. When designing a table, it is necessary to take into account the preservation of space for placing the device under the tabletop.

A compact electric motor is used as a milling cutter. An experienced craftsman can make a homemade power tool. In some cases, an electric drill is used. To get rid of this problem, purchase a ready-made manual router. The retail chain offers customers a wide range of hand-held power tools of this type.

Manual milling machines from different manufacturers have approximately the same set of options and overall dimensions. The tool is mainly intended for processing wooden workpieces.

A milling machine allows a worker to control the processing process with two hands, and when working with hand tools, the hands are busy holding the unit itself. It is advantageous to place a manual milling cutter in a homemade machine design.

Mounting plate

The polymer sole of the router is removed and a mounting plate is cut along its contour. The mounting plate is made of metal sheet, no more than 6 mm thick. Mounting holes are drilled in the working area along the screws securing the router through the mounting plate.

The holes are made from the side of the working surface with a countersunk so that the screw heads do not protrude above the plane of the table.

Elevator

An elevator is a device for moving something vertically. In this case, this concerns the milling unit. The manual router is equipped with a lift. The problem of installing an elevator becomes relevant when home-made devices are used as a power plant.

You can purchase a ready-made factory-made elevator. There are many options for making homemade lifting devices published on the Internet. The main task of the lift is to accurately fix the cutter vertically. The protrusion of the conical cutting surface of the cutter determines the depth and width of the wood sample in the workpiece.

One of the most popular options for a homemade elevator is to move the router on a vertical threaded metal rod.

Diagram of a homemade router lift

A shelf is installed under the table into which a rod with a flange nut is inserted. A flywheel is installed higher on the rod. By rotating it, you achieve the desired height of the cutter above the surface of the work table.

Rotary milling table

The rotary model of the machine is a complex structure that ensures the tilt of the wooden workpiece in relation to the cutter. Thanks to this feature of the machine, wooden blanks of complex shapes are produced. It is almost impossible to assemble such tables at home.

Safety when working on a homemade machine

To operate the milling machine safely, several safety rules must be followed:

1. The metal frame must be grounded.
2. The machine is installed in a dry, ventilated area.
3. If the machine is made entirely of wood, then the milling cutter body itself is grounded.

Conclusion

A DIY milling table will save money for the workshop owner. The homemade design takes into account all the individual needs of the machine owner, which makes it stand out from ready-made options.

It can be very difficult to cut grooves accurately and to size. To make the legs of tables and chairs, milling, jointing or drilling machines with special devices and moving tables are used. In the absence of stationary machines, the grooves are cut with a manual milling cutter using a stop.

To cut a groove, you need to adjust the entire system of tables and clamping devices by eye, and the first time you almost always get an error. After additional adjustments, the error is eliminated and parts can be completed. It is difficult to hold a hand router with your own hands, and sometimes vibrations cause mistakes and drift towards the stop, especially when hitting a knot.

The problem becomes even more complicated if the part is single, or the groove is located at a large distance from the edge of the board.

Original idea

The table recommended in the article is light in weight and small in size. It is quickly transferred, rebuilt and allows you to select grooves with great accuracy, high quality and without errors. Working with a manual router using the proposed table becomes simple and safe.

Important! The advantage and peculiarity of the idea is that using transparent plexiglass material it is very quick and convenient to install the structure, aligning it with the marks on the blanks.

The table presented in the article for a manual router is easy to make with your own hands.

Preparing for work

In order to make a table structure for a manual router, you must have the following materials and components available:

Materials

Accessories

Tools

List of tools used in the manufacture of a homemade device:

• ruler;
• cutting knife;
• thick felt-tip pen;
• pencil;
• finger cutters 10 mm, 16 mm;
• conical cutter;
• manual frezer;
• carpenter's square;
• clamps;
• 8 mm;
• head for chamfering on a drill;

The process of making a homemade table

Advice! To protect against chipping, tape is placed in the slots. For this purpose, they also protect the places where holes are drilled in plexiglass, using a drill with a chamfer head.

After this, the tape is removed. Using a simple felt-tip pen, draw the line of the slot so that it appears clearly.

Two strips measuring 500x50 mm are cut from plexiglass to make guides for the milling table. The edges of the guides are ground to reduce friction.

Next, in the lower side of the plate for the platform, 3 holes are drilled on both sides. This operation is performed with a drill with a chamfer head. Countersunk head screws will be inserted into these holes from below. 3 holes are cut accordingly on one of the plexiglass guide strips. Then connect one guide to the platform and attach nuts and washers.

A conical cutter is installed on a hand router. The router is pressed against the platform, the end of the cutter is aligned with the line in the center of the platform, and the bolt is clamped on the guide. Repeat this operation at the other end of the guide, and tighten all the bolts. Screw the second guide in the same way.

Thus, the manual router slides along the plexiglass platform along the guides, which rigidly fix it on both sides, preventing errors and errors.

Then, using a milling machine, a groove for the cutter is cut, having previously marked its dimensions on the platform with a felt-tip pen. Since its width should be 1 mm larger than the largest available finger cutter, the groove is made in 3 passes.

At the next stage, it is necessary to make equipment from polystyrene for attaching the limiters. The stops move and are fixed on the stop base, which is mounted on the table platform.

1. Cut polystyrene blanks on a circular saw.
2. The grooves are milled.
3. Drill holes for fastening.

Grooves are milled into the blanks of the stops and inserted into the bases by threading the screws into the holes of the grooves. If necessary, protruding screws are cut off with a grinder and the burrs are smoothed with a file.

1. Drill holes in the clamping bars.
2. A milling cutter is used to select a countersunk for the heads of furniture bolts.
3. Insert bolts into holes.

On the back side of the platform, bars are inserted so that the bolts fit into the grooves for fixing the table. Wings are screwed onto furniture bolts and limiter screws.

The design of the milling table is made by hand and is ready for use.

The procedure for using a homemade table

Milling of bars

1. The workpiece is installed from below, covered on both sides with pressure bars and clamped. Using markings on the plexiglass of the platform and marks on the block, the structure is oriented so that the center of the block is in the center of the platform. The wings of the pressure bars are clamped. After this, the structure with the workpiece is clamped in a carpenter's vice.
2. Using markings on the bars and a conical cutter, the limiters are set and fixed.
3. Moving a hand router along the guides from one stop to another, changing the depth several times, select the grooves.

Milling grooves on a board

To carry out this operation you will need double-sided tape. The clamping bars are removed from the device.

1. Make markings on the board with a pencil, glue tape to the board and press the platform to it in accordance with the markings.
2. Install and press the limiters.
3. The groove is milled.

The following figure shows work done with a hand router on bars and boards. The result of assembly on tenons is also shown. All dimensions were perfectly accurate, and the process lasted for an hour.

Conclusion

A homemade table for a manual router is simple to make and has a low cost. Along with this, it is quickly installed on the part and easily and accurately performs manual milling work. Using this device in the workshop, you can significantly increase the productivity of a carpenter.

Video

Woodworkers treat their router table with respect. And there is a good reason for this, as such designs can improve productivity and workflow efficiency. Nowadays it’s not a problem to find suitable table models for a hand router, but they are obscenely expensive. But making a milling machine with your own hands, without spending a lot of money on a branded table or buying a cheap Chinese equivalent and throwing money down the drain, is within the power of every business person. This requires an electric motor of suitable power, a guide structure and a table.

Purpose of the milling table

Working with a manual milling cutter involves performing operations to move the machine along a rigidly fixed surface of the workpiece being processed. This is not always convenient. And therefore, they often do the opposite: the router is permanently attached, and the workpiece moves. In this case, they are already talking about a design called a “milling table”, and not just about a “hand router” tool.

Milling tables quite often make it possible to achieve results that were previously only available to professional furniture workshops that had milling machines. With their help, cutting shaped holes, cutting grooves, making joints, processing and profiling edges, as well as cutting shaped holes is done accurately, easily and safely.

The great advantage of this design is that using a milling table for a manual router, you can process various materials, such as wood, chipboard, MDF, plastic, etc., make splines and grooves in wooden parts, connect parts using tongues and tongues , create decorative profiles and chamfer.

The milling table can also easily be used as a woodworking machine. All you need to do is secure the tool on a workbench or in an electric drill stand. It is not at all surprising that a large number of companies rushed to satisfy the indomitable appetite of woodworkers, producing a fairly wide range of milling tables, as well as accessories for them. Homemade milling tables, however, are sometimes not inferior to branded ones in terms of their own characteristics.

Milling table design

You can use the surface of a workbench to install a hand router, or you can make a separate table. The table has a rigid structure and is well stable, because the milling machine causes quite strong vibration during operation. You should also take into account that the router is attached to the bottom of the tabletop, and it is important that nothing interferes with it. Therefore, there are no additional elements in this part.

The mounting plate is used to attach the router to the table; it is made of durable and high-quality materials. For this, textolite, metal sheet or plywood are used. Usually there are threaded connections on the sole itself to securely fasten the plastic masonry.

A recess for the plate is present on top of the tabletop, so that the latter is recessed flush. The plate is attached to the countertop with self-tapping screws that have a countersunk head. To attach the sole, a hole is drilled, and the plate hole is duplicated in the tabletop. The router is attached to the table using countersunk screws. If there are no holes in the sole for attaching the plate, they can be drilled independently, and clamps can also be used.

There is a button attached to the table, which is used to conveniently turn on the router; it is also possible to install an emergency mushroom button for your safety. For more comfortable work and fixing larger workpieces, the table for a manual router can be equipped with upper clamping devices. Also, for ease of measurement, it is customary to attach a ruler.

Beginning of work

It is best to start the process of making a structure for a manual router by determining the location of the future table in the workshop. First of all, you should have a clear idea of ​​what kind of milling table you need: a side extension of the saw table (aggregate), tabletop (portable) or separate (stationary).

If you have to work using a milling table only occasionally, or outside the workshop, you need to think about a portable option; it can be hung on the wall or removed to save space. If there is enough space, then maximum convenience will be provided by a free-standing milling table; it can be placed on wheels and then placed where it is convenient. A portable or free-standing router table can be set up to perform an operation and left for a while without interfering with other tools, devices and machines.

As a simple device, you can build a low structure that can be placed on a regular table. You can take a sheet of chipboard and attach a guide to it. According to the drawings of the table for a manual router, it may be an ordinary piece of board that is not very thick. Next you need to secure it to the bolted connections.

To do this you need to take two clamps. Next you need to make a hole for the cutter. That's all. If a milling machine is your main tool, then you need to make a solid and convenient milling table, because you will have to spend a lot of time at it.

Bed and table top

The bed of any milling table is a stationary part, that is, it is a frame on supports that has a table top on top. What the frame is made of is not significant: welded steel structure, MDF, chipboard, wood. The main and main task is to ensure its stability and rigidity during operation. Also, the dimensions of the bed are not critical, and should be selected depending on the dimensions of the parts being processed.

To prevent the machine operator from tripping over parts of the structure, the lower part of the frame needs to be deepened (like the plinth of furniture) by 100-200 millimeters relative to the front overhang of the tabletop being used. To process door overlays and the ends of facade blanks for the frame of a homemade table for a manual router, we can recommend the following dimensions in millimeters: height - 900, depth - 500, width - 1500.

An important parameter, perhaps, is the height; it should be in the range of 850-900 millimeters, since this height is optimal for working while standing. It is quite good when the bed has adjustable supports; with the help of such supports you can compensate for uneven floors, and also, if necessary, change the height of the table.

An inexpensive and good countertop option for a DIY milling table is a regular kitchen countertop based on chipboard 26 or 36 millimeters thick, which is covered with wear-resistant plastic. The workpiece glides well on the surface of hard plastic, the standard kitchen countertop depth of 600 millimeters is very convenient to use, and chipboard dampens vibrations quite well. For the countertop, in extreme cases, MDF or laminated chipboard (chipboard) from 16 millimeters are suitable.

Table mounting plate

Due to the rather large thickness of the kitchen countertop (at least 26 millimeters), and in order to maintain the entire amplitude of the cutter's reach, the design of the router provides for the use of a mounting plate near the place where the base of the router is attached to the table. This part, despite its small thickness, is characterized by quite high strength.

The plate is often made of metal, but fiberglass (textolite) is still more convenient in processing and is not inferior in strength. The PCB mounting plate is a rectangular piece 4-8 millimeters thick, with a side of 150-300 millimeters, in which a hole is made in the center with the same diameter as the hole in the base of the router.

The base of the router usually has standard threaded holes that are intended for attaching a plastic cover. By means of them, they are attached to the mounting plate of the router. If suddenly there are no holes, you need to make these holes yourself, or secure the router in another way, for example, using metal clamps. To attach the plate to the tabletop, you need to drill four holes closer to the corners of the plate.

Milling table assembly

First of all, a tabletop is temporarily attached to the finished frame, as shown in the video about tables for a manual router. The mounting plate is placed on a pre-calibrated place on the tabletop, and its exact location is marked with a pencil along the contour. Using a hand router with a small cutter diameter of 6-10 millimeters, a seat is selected in the tabletop for the mounting plate, such that it lies flush, that is, ideally with the top surface of the tabletop.

We must also not forget that the seat of our plate will not have right corners, but rounded ones, which means that we will need to use a file to round the corners with the same radius of the textolite mounting plate. After the mounting plate has been attached, you need to use a router with a straight cutter thicker than the tabletop to make through milling of a hole in the tabletop according to the shape of the given router sole.

This operation does not require special precision. But you need to be prepared for additional material sampling from the bottom of the tabletop, for example, for a dust collector casing and various other devices.

Now everything remains to be connected together. We start the router from below, screwing it to the plate, and then use self-tapping screws to fasten the plate to the tabletop. We make sure that the caps of the fastening elements are recessed securely and that they should not cling to the workpiece when sliding it along the tabletop. Finally, we screw the tabletop to the frame.

Upper clamp

For additional safety and convenience, you can equip the structure, according to the drawings of the table for a manual router, with an upper clamping device made on the basis of a roller. This is especially necessary when working with large workpieces, for example, such as door trims. The design of the clamp is very simple.

A ball bearing of suitable dimensions, for example, can serve as a roller. The bearing is mounted in the holding device; it can be rigidly fixed from the surface of the tabletop at the required distance. This will ensure that the workpiece is constantly pressed tightly against the tabletop when passing under the roller of the workpiece.

Drive for a homemade machine

If you are planning to design a simple homemade milling machine, you should pay attention to the electric drive. An important factor is its power. For a machine with shallow sampling of wood pieces, a motor with a power of 500 watts may even be suitable. Still, such a machine will often stall, so it will not justify either the time or the money saved on the purchase of a low-power engine.

Thanks to observations, it is clear that the best option is a motor with a power of 1100 W or more. A 1-2 kilowatt motor will allow you to process wood as usual, as well as use any type of cutter. Electric motors, both stationary and drives of hand-held power tools, such as hand cutters, drills, and grinders, are suitable here.

Another important factor is turnover. The higher the number of revolutions, the more uniform and cleaner the cut will be. If the engine is designed for a regular household network of 220 volts, then there will be no problems with the connection. But a three-phase asynchronous motor must be connected according to a special scheme - star-delta, which guarantees the maximum possible output in this situation, as well as a smooth start. If you connect a three-phase electric motor to a single-phase network, the efficiency will be lost in the amount of 30 - 50%.

Security questions

After making a table for a manual router, you need to say in conclusion about the main thing, that is, about safety. We strongly recommend making a protective screen for the cutter similar to the samples for industrial milling tables. It is also necessary to equip the machine with the so-called “fungus”, that is, an emergency stop button, placing this button in an easily accessible place, and also to prevent accidental pressing of the start button.

After this, it is recommended to illuminate the working area, since the area around the cutter is the most dangerous. It makes sense to think about an automatic or manual device for lowering and raising the router if you change the cutter reach height quite frequently. The design of a homemade milling machine can be improved over a long period of time, depending on the tasks being solved and the designer’s imagination.

The question of how to make a milling table yourself is asked by many home craftsmen. This is understandable: equipment on which the milling cutter is fixed motionless and the workpiece moves on a work table specially equipped for this purpose is in many cases much more convenient to use. Often, when working with a manual router, the workpiece is fixed on a regular table, and all manipulations are carried out by the tool itself, which makes it impossible to maintain precision processing.

A router table significantly increases labor productivity and efficiency when working with a hand router. It is often unprofitable to purchase a serial model of such a table for your home. It is much more economical to make a milling table yourself. It will not take much time and will require very little financial investment. Any home craftsman can cope with this task if desired.

Using a homemade table for a manual router when processing wood products, you can achieve results that can be obtained with professional milling machines. With the help of such a simple device, a whole list of technological operations is performed efficiently: cutting shaped holes and making various slots and grooves in the workpiece, manufacturing connecting elements, processing and profiling edges.

You can see the structure of a factory-made milling table in the video below. We will try to do no worse, and in some ways even better and, most importantly, cheaper.

A homemade milling table, which you will equip your home machine with, will give you the opportunity to process not only wooden workpieces, but also products made from chipboard, MDF, plastic, etc. With the help of such a homemade milling table, you will be able to make grooves and splines, process elements of tongue-and-groove joints and tongue-and-groove joints, chamfering and creating decorative profiles.

A homemade table for a router, the production of which does not require large financial expenditures, will allow you to equip your home workshop with a real woodworking machine. It will only be necessary to secure the tool itself - a manual milling cutter, for which you can use the stand of a drilling machine or a workbench. It is no coincidence that many manufacturing companies have started manufacturing milling tables and accessories for them, but you will have to pay a decent amount of money for such a device. A homemade table for equipping a milling machine, if made in accordance with the drawings that we will analyze in this article, is in no way inferior in functionality to models produced in production conditions, and it will cost much less.

Milling table drawings: option No. 1

Drawings of a milling table with a detailed analysis of the design of the main components and their dimensions.

Drawings of a homemade table for a manual router (click to enlarge)

Dimensions of parts Sectional table Double-layer table cover Cutout in the first layer of the table
Marking the cutout of the second layer of the table Gluing both layers Cutting the cutout according to the markings of the second layer Drawing of the rip fence
Stop end plate Dust extraction pipe Plexiglas safety shield Comb clamp and locking block

Milling table design

If you wish, you can make a homemade milling table from a regular workbench, but it is better to make a special design. This is explained by the fact that a machine with a milling cutter creates strong vibration during operation, so the bed used to fix the milling cutter must be highly stable and reliable. It should also be taken into account that the milling device itself is attached to the bottom of the tabletop for the milling table, so there must be enough free space under it.

When attaching the device to the top of a homemade table for a manual router, a mounting plate is used, which must have high strength and rigidity, or special clamps for a milling machine. Such a plate can be made of metal sheet, textolite or durable plywood. The bases of most router models already have threaded holes, which are what are needed to connect such a device to the tabletop and mounting plate. If there are no such holes, you can drill them yourself and cut threads into them, or use special clamps for a milling machine.

The clamps for the milling machine or the mounting plate must be located at the same level as the tabletop; for this purpose, the latter is sampled with the appropriate dimensions. It is necessary to drill several holes in the plate, some of which are necessary to connect it to the tabletop using self-tapping screws, and others so that such a plate can be fixed to the base of the router. The screws and self-tapping screws that you will use must have a countersunk head.

To make turning on your device more convenient, you can place a regular button on the tabletop, as well as a mushroom button, which will make your device safer in operation. To increase the convenience of your home machine, you can attach a long metal ruler to the surface of a milling table made for a manual router with your own hands.

Before you start constructing a milling coordinate table with your own hands, you need to determine the place where it will be located, and also decide what type of milling equipment you want to make. So, you can make an aggregate router with your own hands (the table will be located on the side of the sawing equipment, serving as its extension), a compact desktop machine, or free-standing stationary equipment.

You can opt for compact benchtop equipment for working with wood and other materials if you access it irregularly or often use it outside your workshop. This installation, which is distinguished by its small size, takes up very little space, and if desired, it can be hung on the wall.

If the size of your workshop allows, then it is better to adapt the base of a stationary milling machine for the milling machine, which is much more convenient to work with than on desktop equipment. To make such a device more mobile, it can be placed on wheels, with which you can easily change its location.

A simple homemade milling table. There are questions about the overall strength, but it’s cheap and cheerful.

A simple milling table or table for a drilling machine can be made very quickly. To make such a structure, which can easily be placed on a regular desktop, you will need a sheet of chipboard on which the guide elements are fixed. As such a guide, which can be used as a parallel stop for a milling table, an ordinary board of small thickness, which is attached to the tabletop using bolted joints, is suitable. If necessary, you can attach a second such board in parallel, which will serve as a limiting stop.

To insert a router into a table, you will need to make a hole in a sheet of chipboard to accommodate it, and it will be fixed to the tabletop using two clamps. After this, the manufacture of the milling table can be considered complete. To make the use of this design more convenient, you can place simple clamps for a milling machine on the tabletop.

Manufacturing of bed and table top

The bed of a homemade milling installation must be highly stable and reliable, since it will bear the main loads. Structurally, it consists of a frame with supports on which the tabletop is fixed. Metal profiles joined by welding, chipboard, MDF, wood can be used as a material for the manufacture of the frame of the bed. It is advisable to first prepare drawings of such a device. They must indicate all structural elements and their dimensions, depending on the dimensions of the parts that are planned to be processed on such milling equipment.

The lower part of the bed from the front side must be deepened by 100–200 mm so that nothing interferes with the feet of the milling machine operator. If you are going to process linings for doors and the ends of facades for them on your homemade machine, then the dimensions of the frame can be as follows: 900x500x1500 (height, depth, width).

One of the significant characteristics of the bed for a homemade milling machine is its height, on which the ease of working on such equipment depends. According to ergonomic requirements, the most suitable height for equipment used while standing is 850–900 mm. It is advisable to make the lower parts of the frame supports adjustable. This will make it possible not only to compensate for uneven floors, but also, if necessary, to change the height of the milling table. To make a turntable with your own hands, just fix special wheels on its legs.

The assembly of approximately such a table is discussed in option No. 2

You can make a low-price, highly reliable milling table from the top of an old kitchen table. Such countertops are usually made of chipboard sheets 26 or 36 mm thick, coated with wear-resistant plastic. Their surface ensures good sliding of the workpiece, and the chipboard base perfectly dampens vibrations that occur during operation of the equipment. If you make a desktop for a machine with your own hands, then MDF and chipboard (chipboard) boards with a thickness of 16 mm or more are suitable for these purposes.

Milling table drawings: option No. 2

Detailed drawings of a milling table with additional retractable drawers, which can be made from timber and plywood (or MDF). A list of parts with dimensions and recommended materials of manufacture is presented in the table.

Table of table parts and their dimensions Frame Upper corner of the frame Lower corner of the frame
Guide for sliding drawers Guide layout diagram Table top Stop drawing
Large drawer Small drawer Small drawer front Table side panels

How to make a mounting plate

Since the tabletop of a homemade milling machine is quite thick, the mounting plate for attaching the router must have a minimum thickness. This will allow maximum use of the cutting tool reach. It is clear that such a plate, with a minimum thickness, should have high strength and rigidity.

The plate can be made of metal or of a material that is not inferior to it in strength - textolite. The thickness of the textolite sheet should be in the range of 4–8 mm. Using previously prepared drawings, a rectangular part is cut out of such a sheet, in the center of which a hole is made. The dimensions of the latter correspond to the diameter of the hole in the milling cutter sole.

The connection of the plate with the base of the router and the table itself, as mentioned above, is ensured by the holes made in it and the corresponding threaded holes in the base of the router. Holes for fixing the plates to the table surface, which are used as clamps for the milling machine, are made in their four corners.

The dimensions and location of the holes for connecting the plate to the router must fully correspond to the holes located on the tool base. In order not to make a mistake when manufacturing a plate, you must first prepare a drawing of it, on which you must indicate the overall dimensions of this part, the diameters and the location of all holes on it. If desired, you can fix it on the table surface using clamp brackets.

A video with a detailed story about the construction of a milling table, the functionality and convenience of which are very high, but the complexity of manufacturing is also very serious. For most craftsmen, such a table will be unnecessarily complex, but perhaps someone will gain useful ideas when creating their own equipment.

Milling table assembly

A universal milling table or begin to assemble by attaching the table top to the finished frame. The mounting plate is applied to the place on the tabletop where it should be placed according to the drawing, and its outline is traced with a pencil. This is necessary in order to select a recess for the plate along the marked contour, for which a manual milling cutter with a tool with a diameter of 6–10 mm is used. The size of this recess should be such that the plate fits into it at the same level as the surface of the tabletop.

It will not be possible to make a recess with right angles using a round cutter, so the corners on the plate itself must also be rounded using a file. After fixing it in the tabletop, it is necessary to make a hole in the mounting plate with dimensions corresponding to the diameter of the router base. It is done using a straight cutter, the thickness of which should be greater than that of the tabletop itself.

When the requirements for equipment are small and there is no desire to mess with homemade products, you can buy something similar to what is shown in the photo below.

PROMA, priced at about 6 thousand rubles, is one of the cheapest factory milling tables

To perform such an operation you do not need a drawing, since it does not require high precision. It is also necessary to select a certain amount of material on the back side of the tabletop, since the dust collector casing and other devices will need to be placed at the bottom of the table. To quickly perform all the operations described above, you can rely on the drawings or photos posted in this article.

The final stage of assembling a homemade milling table is connecting all its structural elements. First, the router is started from the bottom of the tabletop, its base is screwed to the mounting plate. Then the plate itself is attached to the upper surface of the tabletop using self-tapping screws with countersunk heads, which must be completely recessed into the prepared holes. Only after performing these operations is the tabletop itself securely fixed to the frame.

Milling table drawings: option No. 3

A compact tabletop milling table and a detailed analysis of its creation in the photo below.

Computer model External view assembled Rear view Front view
The cutter is raised, the doors are moved apart The cutter is lowered, the doors are moved Hand-held router A hose from a vacuum cleaner for removing dust and chips
Attaching the router and removing chips Adjusting the lift of the cutter Lifting the cutter is carried out by rotating the screw Adjusting the lift of the cutter
Setting the extension of the cutter Plexiglas platform before installing the router The glass is precisely adjusted to the tabletop The router is screwed to the support platform

Making the top clamp

When wondering how to make a home-made machine safer to use and ensure ease of processing large workpieces on it, you can equip such equipment with an upper clamp. To create this device, made on the basis of a roller, it is also necessary to prepare drawings.

A ball bearing of a suitable size is often used as a roller for the pressing device. Such a roller is mounted on a holding device that allows it to be fixed at any distance from the tabletop. With the help of this simple universal device, the workpiece of any thickness will be securely fixed when moving along the surface of the work table.

In the video below, a man shows his homemade milling table, which he assembled right on the balcony of his own house.

Drive for a homemade milling machine

In order for the homemade wood router you made to be highly productive and functional, you need to equip it with an electric drive of sufficient power. If you plan to use your machine to process wood parts with shallow recesses, a 500 W electric motor will be sufficient for it. However, equipment with a low-power drive will often shut down, which will negate any savings from purchasing a weak electric motor.

The optimal choice for such machines are electric motors, the power of which starts from 1100 W. Such an electric motor with a power varying between 1–2 kW will allow you to use your homemade device as a real milling machine for processing wood products. In addition, you can use any type of cutter on this machine. To equip the machine drive, you can use electric motors that are installed on stationary equipment (for example, drilling machines), as well as on hand tools (drills, grinders, hand routers).

More serious factory equipment costs significantly more. For example, the price of such a Kreg table starts at 22 thousand rubles

You should pay attention not only to the power, but also to the speed of the electric motor. The higher this indicator, the better quality the cut will be. Electric motors, as you know, can be powered from an electrical network with a voltage of 220 and 380 V. There will be no problems connecting the former, but three-phase asynchronous motors will have to be powered using a special star-delta circuit. Connecting according to this scheme will make it possible to use the electric motor at its maximum power and provide it with a smooth start. And if you directly connect such an electric motor to a 220 V network, you will lose 30–50% of its power.

Milling table drawings: option No. 4

Analysis of another design of a self-made milling table, supplemented by a video from the author.

The elevator is organized using a jack. A steel plate for attaching the router.

Safety when working on a homemade milling table

When making a wood router with your own hands, ensure the safety of working on such equipment. First of all, you need to equip your homemade machine with a protective screen. How such screens are constructed is illustrated by photographs and drawings of professional equipment. A mandatory element of your homemade equipment should be an emergency stop button, the so-called mushroom. It should be placed in an easily accessible place, and the start button should be secured in a place where it will not be accidentally pressed.

Make sure that the processing area is well lit, as this is the most dangerous place of any equipment. If during work you need to frequently change the offset of the cutter, it is worth making a manual or automatic device for raising and lowering the tool (lift). By creating a lift for a router with your own hands, you will be able to use your homemade milling equipment more efficiently and make working on it comfortable and safe. Various designs of such elevators can also be found on the Internet.