A router bench is the most important tool in the small workshop. I am going on a quest to design and build the perfect router bench.

I am an ex cabinetmaker. I used to do Kitchens, bedrooms and even bathrooms. My workshop was very small and I was not in the position to purchase spindle moulders and the like. I grew to love my Router Bench. In my opinion a small woodworking shop without a router bench is not a place to work. In fact even a large shop with all the big equipment should have a router bench for developing new products.

I am going to tell you more about the router bench and its uses as I add to this hub about the router bench.

What is a router bench?

A router bench in its simplest form is a table that you bolt a router to in the upside down position, in effect creating a mini spindle moulder. A good router bench is more than just a platform for a router. A good router bench has many accessories and a router cabinet to make the tool more versatile.

How do use a router bench?

Basically you bolt a router to a plate and then insert it into your table top so that the router cutting bit protrudes through the hole. In its simplest form this makes working wood easier as you no longer have to support the router. A router bench supports the router leaving your hands free to guide and support the work piece you are working on. Imagine you want to add an Ogee to the edge of a small table top. Without a router bench you would need to clamp the table top, run the router down the edge you can reach, unclamp the piece, reclamp it and run the router down the second edge, continue repeating until you have done all the edges.

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With a router bench, you switch on the router, pick up the workpiece place it on the router bench and then work all sides. The savings in time for just this simple task already make the router bench a killer time saving device.

The router bench and the fence

Add a fence to your router bench and you immediately step up the value of the bench. Now you can use cutters without bearing guides to edge timber and more. Creating a fence that is adjustable on either side of the cutter gives you router bench even more options. All of a sudden you have a jointiing tool or a surface planer right there in your workshop.

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