Illus. 24-13—24-16 show a vertically tilting bench-top router table featuring a shop-made router bracket. The router can be centered in the top or near the end of this table. This table was designed primarily to decorate dowels and for making chess pieces, but I’ve found it’s also great for a variety of other unusual routing jobs. Here, too, you can use one bit to cut a variety of different shapes.
Illus. 24-15. A more centralized router position is obtained simply by mounting the router clamping-and-pivoting block to the inside, as shown.
Use an auxiliary top of 1/2" to 1/4" thick tempered hardboard to reduce the oblong bit openings in the top. Simply attach it with double-faced tape. Fences, guide blocks, or fixtures of any kind can be clamped on top of the auxiliary table. Note the sufficient clamping space provided all around the top shown in Illus. 24-17.
Illus. 24-13. This vertically tilting router table is designed so the router can be centered in the top or near an edge (as shown).
Illus. 24-18 and 24-19 show the table set up to form the ends of dowels with a typical ball-bearing-pilot ogee bit. The router is operating in the conventional vertical position. The router is mounted to the table in the position that is nearest the table edge, to intentionally minimize the in-feed working area.
Illus. 24-20. shows a few examples of many interesting dowel cuts you can make using non-piloted bits with the router clamped obliquely to the table. The setup for feeding and rotating the dowel is shown in Illus. 24-21 and 24-22.
Illus. 24-14. A close look at the bracket and hose clamp motor mounting system. Note that the router tilts right and left, but it also has some vertical range.
Illus. 24-16. Essential details for fabricating the bench-top vertically tilting router table. The specific top bit-hole location details are left to the discretion of the builder, because routers and the mounting block will vary. The top measurements are 18-1/2" x 24".
Illus 24-17. This piece of thin tempered hardboard used as an auxiliary working surface has been struck down on the router table's top with double-faced tape to reduce the oblong bit hole in the top.
Illus. 24-18. Forming the ends of dowels with a piloted bit and a simple support fence. Rotate the dowel so it is turned downwards and fed against the bit's rotation.
Illus. 24-19. Forming the end of a dowel.
Illus. 24-20. Various cuts made with this one dishing cutter used in an angled router.
Illus. 24-21. Approaching the bit. Note the V-grooved push block, the beveled stop, and the end fence lateral stop.
Illus. 24-22. Making the cut. The dowel is turned by hand in the direction of the arrow
