There are a couple of things that I did differently from Norm that worked out really well. There are other
gotchas to look out for.
Here's a list.
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About 9 months after I built the router table I finally got around to
applying a finish. This is just two coats of Watco Danish oil.
It's easy to apply and now I don't feel guilty about the bare wood.
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While I was applying the finish I decided to fix the door. At first
the door was poorly assembled. If I recall correctly, Norm uses
biscuits on his door. Since I didn't have a biscuit joiner I just
glued end grain to end grain. Of course that failed after about 2
months because gluing end grain adds very little strength. I had some 1/8" thick hardboard around so I used it to
make splined miter joints. Now it's very strong and should last
forever.
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This is a nice shot of the router table from before I applied a finish on
it. I built the shelves behind
the table so that the table could fit underneath them when I'm not using
it.
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Clearly I need more router bits.
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I bought a set of feather boards for the fence. Normally I just make
them myself but homemade feather boards are not as nice. The Jessem
Mast R Lift is terrific.
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Here's a shot of the electrical and the dust collection. I was
worried about the dust collection but it works really well. The fact
that the bit throws the sawdust at the dust collector makes it an easy job.
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Here's another shot of the lift. If you look carefully you can see
the dust chute in the cabin below. Between the downdraft and the
fence just about all the dust is captured.
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This is a picture of the dust collection in the back. Because the wye fitting is inserted directly in the table if I remove the hoses
the table can fit closer to the wall. Also, I used a larger fitting than Norm
did for increased air flow. Finally, when I built this I had the idea that a short 4" hose
wouldn't restrict the air as much as a long 4" hose. Since then I've
learned that while that true, "short" should be something like 2", not
3'.

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