So I’m pressing my old burly back into service for a project I’m working on and decided I need a better table than the sheet of 1/2 MDF I currently have it bolted to. I’m starting with the following design requirements:
Lightweight and vertically storable. I want to be able to store this hanging on the wall like I have been. Full build should be in the 50lb range and have some kind of handles for lifting.
Must cut a minimum of 32x12 and be able to feed longer boards.
Must incorporate a sacrificial fence/square so I can load precut goods into the machine and be able to register their edges.
Incorporate an under table vice into the design to facilitate vertical work holding for cutting dovetails etc.
Incorporate a modular drop in centerboard/spoilboard for possible future work.
6.Stow electronics under/in table to minimize dust infiltration.
7.Onboard tool storage for wrenches bit etc. To keep me from losing parts.
Better work holding (not sure what that means yet but always a goal)
Anyway I’ll post updates as I build but plan to have it done before Xmas.
If you haven’t already read it, you might find some ideas in this topic.
As an alternative to folding, I saw (somewhere on this forum) a table that dropped down from the ceiling.
Must cut a minimum of 32x12 and be able to feed longer boards.
To help in feeding longer boards, consider having the spoil board sit on top of a base board with the spoil board no bigger than the working area. Doing it this way ensures there is not a “pit” in the spoil board from surfacing. The pit on my Burly made working with oversized stock difficult, so the design I describe is how I changed things when I built my Primo.
Must incorporate a sacrificial fence/square so I can load precut goods into the machine and be able to register their edges.
I don’t do much aligned work, but my solution was wooden pegs to push the stock against. Cheap to replace, and easy to remove after the work is clamped. Fences using the peg holes (and dressed with the router) can be created.
You could also use t track if you want then cut blocks.fence and screw down where needed. That way you could slide in and out as needed but would be easy to get in same place.
I’m curious to see what you come up with. Requirement #4 is an idea I’ve heard come up around here many times, but can’t recall ever seeing anyone actually do it. A while back I was brainstorming a drop table for my Primo, but decided against it due to inherent length limitations (it is only 3’ above the garage floor). I figured my time would be better spent building a horizontal mill instead… a goal I may never reach since my needs for such cuts are so rare… and I have a DIY “manual” horizontal router for those things.
Does anyone know if the distances between the rails and the cutting area is different between the burly and the primo? I’m doing a drop center on the table but wasn’t sure if the hole would be in the same spot on the primo.
I would be astonished if they were the same. The trucks, the core, and the mounting system are all different, and they all have an impact on the position of the cutting area. In absolute terms, the router mount will also impact the position. And the position of the endstops will impact the origin point of your cutting area.
I did a physical measurement on my Primo of the minimum cutting point with a Makita router using Ryan’s mount design, and posted the results here. The size of the cutting area can be used to locate the diagonal corner.
