A router table is simply a router mounted upside down under a flat table surface. While in use, the router bit protrudes upwards through an opening in the table.
Various work-feeding guides and accessories can be attached to the table. These guides and accessories can be used individually or in combinations. These items include guards, fences, miter gauges, and dust extracting attachments. You can buy commercially produced tables, guides, and accessories or make your own.
You will discover when using a router table that it makes a hand-held router safer and more convenient to use and sometimes improves its performance. Normally you would move a hand-held router over the stationary workpiece to produce the desired cut. When you use a router table, the router becomes a stationary machine and you move the workpiece, advancing it properly into the fixed rotating bit to make the desired cut.
Commercially Made Router Tables
Some commercially made router tables are intended primarily for light-duty work. These light duty tables can be made of stamped sheet metal, aluminum, or plastic. Some have unique, built-in features that allow the operator to make some unusual cuts, which would not be possible with a hand-held router. Remember that these lightweight tables should only be used with light-duty routers.
When you eventually decide to use a larger, heavier router, it will not be compatible with your router table. In this case, remember that better mail order companies offer a variety of heavy-duty router tables that have many accessories and unique features.
