PRO ROUTER TABLE BENCH - FLOOR STANDING WITH FEATHER BOARDS INCLUDED

I was concerned about the quality for the price, but was very impressed when it turned up. All parts well made, the fence is substantial and the feather guides are excellent.Assembly took a bit of fathoming out, but I got there in the end!! The instructions to fit the router could be a lot clearer, but take your time and get that done and the table works very well - note there are 4 small grub screws in the corners of the black router plate - I didn't notice these until after I had drilled the holes to fit my router - at which point three of them had fallen out!!! Luckily I was able to find them, but they are essential to levelling the plate with the surrounding table - so take care when fitting the router not to lose them.***** Follow On ******I have used the table with my hand held router for a while now and, although the table is excellent, trying to adjust the router height accurately was proving to be a problem and my router has a safety button that needs to be kept depressed to run - so I had to tape around the handle to keep it working. I have recently purchased a router motor and router lift, I bought the Xact motor and lift as a kit and it fits directly into this table - the plastic plate is swapped for an aluminium one and the motor and lift hang below. You just have to drill a hole in the metal side bar of the table to allow the crank handle to pass through. Once fitter, you can wind the router bit up and down very precisely. While I was at it, I added a switch to the leg of the table too - so I can power the router on and off easily without having to reach underneath.This has resulted in a very professional set-up at a reasonable cost - very pleased.Along with a table saw (the Evolution 5S) bought at the same time, it is proving very useful. With the correct router bits, I have managed to construct a replacement sash window!

12/04/2021Looking at the reviews for this item, you would understandably think that thiswould be a good buy.The delivery was quick, with the item well packaged.As other people have noted, the instructions are well below standard, and remindyou of how ‘Flat Pack’ instructions were written back in the 80’s.After you have referred to the Amazon picture of the table, you see whereeverything goes. The instructions don’t mention the feather boards at all.The table legs (by design or otherwise) do not fully secure, so the table is able to wobble.It will eventually find it’s own level, and that’s when you tighten up the frame nutsas much as you dare - but it still wobbles.As for mounting of the router, you get the general idea of the quality of the manufacturer, when in the instructions, they refer you to the local hardware shop to purchase therequired bolts and fixings for your router. Luckily, I had a box of various length boltsthat overcame this problem.I would point the manufacturer to the practice adopted by television manufacturers, who supply a range of different sized bolts for many typical applications.But, perhaps there isn’t a standard for router mountings – I will investigate.Looking further down the reviews of this item, you soon realise that this tablewill bring out the engineer in you, and it is really just a table that is being supplied here.The router mounting plate is described as having magnets that hold the routertable in place. The mounting plate has about 1 mm movement in it, (both in the x andy directions) so you start to question how is this going to produce a decent rout.The magnets are tiny, and in my experience, they aren’t strong enough to hold the router in place during a routing run. If I have a rotating machine in front of me, I like it to be properly fixed down.Now to the alignment of the unit, in preparation for routing:I should have noted before purchasing, that the table is made of MDF.Using a straight edge, I quickly identified that the table was not actually level.A similar look at the vertical fences, and they were the same.After attempting adjustments, after about an hour, I gave up, and ditched the vertical fences and associated feathers, to use just the aluminium back fence – this was all square, but the table top - still not.Now to run a few test pieces:As the table top itself wasn’t level, I didn’t hold out much hope here.The accepted procedure for holding the dead man’s switch on your router is to tape it on,or use a cable tie – there is nothing in this kit to address this, or any electrical start or stopbuttons to help you here. You need your electrical head on for this table.I battled with the level of the table and router plate, and after wasting 10 or sopieces of wood, I managed to get a result – I was able to cut out useable 200mmlengths of routed wood from 1.2 metre lengths of wood that I put through the machine.So a massive waste of materials, but I learnt a lot – mainly to do more researchbefore parting with my money.Have a look on the internet before buying this table. I am now aware of other tables,with far superior specifications that this item, for slightly more money (yes – but notthat much more at £275 - £300).If I can help you not to waste £175, then I will be a happy man.I would have liked to have used this for other routing projects that I had in mind,but this table is simply not up to it.Knowing what I know now, I’ll be spending anything up to £350 for a decent table,and having started the Amazon review process, I see that I can’t give it zero stars –1 star is the minimum.This item? The table is now sitting in my porch, waiting for me to book a spot at the local tip.

Sturdy and heavy. Good value for money. Fence could be better. I'm going to replace with something built by myself.

Item arrived super quick. Unpacked the legs and liked the angled square slots for the bolts which allow easy initial alignment. Cam to the router table itself and turned it up the right way to find the top rear edge of the table was missing a piece of the laminate. Contacted the seller and they offered a replacement or a discount. I chose the latter as the rear of the table is never used and it can be patched. Came to the drilling of the insert and all went well although the countersinking is difficult on the 'bakalite' material as it is very hard and unyielding. Recommend as has already been mentioned about starting with small drills and working up to the correct size. Wood drills enable accurate centering but watch out for break out on the top, although this is drilled out by the countersinking process. Found the levelling of the insert plate difficult and could not understand why until I noticed that the plate was bowl shaped - there was a distinct warp in the middle. Contacted the seller and they are sending me a new one. Have noticed that due to vibration the grub screws tend to drop so copious amounts of thread lock are required. I like the weight and the sturdiness of it all, but have yet to really test it.