Combining my Router Table and Miter Saw Bench to Save Space. (2023)

Introduction

Eliminating my router table by inserting my router lift into my miter saw station. A great way to combine tool benches to save space.

★ TOOLS / SUPPLIES (affiliate links)★
Old Router Table Stand: amzn.to/39qAFqY
Old Router Table Top: amzn.to/2HmJkyE
Router Table Fence: amzn.to/2SjQ9HH
Router Table Dust Bin: bit.ly/2Smjb9F
Router: amzn.to/2vqiTWg
Router Lift: amzn.to/3byA0pp
Pattern Router Bit: amzn.to/2OQftCZ
Hand Held Router: amzn.to/37fEqhG
T-Track: amzn.to/2HhHW0n
Big T-Track: amzn.to/2wdYxQv
Jig Saw: amzn.to/2SEuMQv
Dust Collector (similar): amzn.to/38nnSWn
Shellac: amzn.to/2uwSaYc
Miter Saw: amzn.to/30wyZbi
Table Saw: amzn.to/2E89suw
Router Bit Storage Racks: amzn.to/2SJn7QI

★ WATCH MORE ★
Rocker Router Table Build: youtu.be/r6fUXRMJ0DI

★ ALL THE LINKS ★
Some of the Music by Me: goo.gl/fgyup2
Patreon Support / Extra Content: patreon.com/picciuto
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Making It Podcast: makingitpodcast.com

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Content

Welcome to make something with me: David patoot, oh and today, we're going to drop a router lift into an already existing bench top.

Hopefully you can use this information to save space in your shop or to learn how to make a router table with dust collection and bit storage before we get started.

I just want to say up until this point, I have edited every single video, but today this video that you're watching right now, camera Dan is editing.

This is his very first edit.

So if you like it give him a high-five, if you don't like it, maybe this time you can keep your opinions to yourself he's sensitive I'm, sensitive, we're all sensitive.

Also, there's no reason for me to be filming back here in the in the new corner, I'm just showing off the new corner.

This is my current router situation.

I bought this stand and added to it a few years ago, and this is working great, but recently we added this little confessional corner area, and this is now invading that space to make up more space in the shop I'm going to pull out the router lift and it's going to go into the mitre station.

It's gonna be a little tricky because I'll show you oh, we need to have a hole for this to drop into, but also have a little lip and a little adjustable screws in here.

That's that's! Dirty! Dan.

Take a look at that.

If you're wondering that's, the incra router left I've had it for years no complaints and then just the porter cable router that everybody has I think the first thing I need to do, make a little wood template to the exact size of this.

So we can have a router bit.

Follow that wood template you might have to get a little creative with the clamps.

Depending on the positioning of your of your table here you could even screw that down if you wanted to, but this is the bit that we're going to use.

It's got a a bearing there on the shaft.

That's going to ride along that template right there.

So I've got my first pass.

I don't have to do the whole thing, because we're gonna take a jigsaw and cut that out.

What I did find was I, didn't, have support on this side and the rider would tip so I kind of dug in in a couple spots.

So it took this piece of scrap and put it in the middle there to give me support on all the sides.

You could also make a bigger base.

I just wasn't thinking, but it'll be fine, because none of this is going to be seen, but I did end up eating into my template a little bit which might give me a little little.

You know what I'm saying it's shop.

Furniture I mean it is walnut, but it's shop furniture so now I'm going to raise the bit and do a second and final pass along the edges.

So we have that second pass.

Hopefully it's the right duck and we're going to cut out this little section right here with the jigsaw, so this would drop it like so, ah, okay, so we got a no one more time, dan dan.

When I say one more time.

I actually mean two more times: I will kill you this one that doesn't work, we're gonna quit woodworking.

It all rides on this.

That fits in there it's just below the surface, so we got to get some set screws and put it in there I'm sure this router lift came with set screws and I'm sure I've lost them, so I need to go get some, but that will level it out and you want it exactly the same height as the table to mount it to the table.

These are the bolts there I'm just gonna, push that through and then put a nut on the bottom to secure that so now we'll take out this t-track, throw it over here and route a little groove for it to drop in there.

Mm-Hmm, don't put that in there No Oh, so I just got to take a chisel clean up a tear right there.

You need to add a fence, so I need to create two slots with hole there over here, but we have one problem: is we've got the tee track for the miter saw right here so I think we're gonna have to notch that out to make room for those slots, and this just has to go back far enough, where it's out of the way when I want to use the miter saw crazy, I know, but that's kind of work as a straight edge.

So when I go to tighten it that t-bolt just spins, so what I need to do is make a little runner and just glue it on one side of the slot underneath.

So when I turn that that t-bolt has something to catch on and can tighten so I've got some screws started in there and some double-sided tape.

The tape is just there to hold it temporarily.

I can put that T trap back in there.

I gotta make sure.

Well, you don't cover up that slot and that's slot right there dirty little slot.

One of the reasons I really love this table was the dust collection underneath it has this little thing from Rockler that collects the dust and then there's a dust port back there.

So I want to reintroduce this to that over there.

So I'm gonna take this off, so we're just trying to get the hose there go on the other side for the dust collection yeah.

The great thing about this dust collection is, it has dust collection underneath as well as on top so now, I need to drill a hole for this hose up top.

Here we got, we got real lucky and the drawers from the old one fit in this space, so that works so now, I gotta do the bottom drawer.

You can see this top drawer.

Is this U shape, so it can go around the dust, collection and I can have these little fixtures or whatever to hold all the router bits, and we have to put a walnut face on there.

So everything matches you can't have a shop that doesn't match.

This isn't got the two drawers installed, my least favorite part of any project, and now we've got this start and stop button that we're going to screw on here all right so able to use the drawers from the old ones we just had to make new faces, so I cut up some walnut plywood, so it matches everything else.

Last thing, I have to do is add a coat of shellac.

We can call it a day, so there it is.

We save so much room by putting this in the miter saw station.

If you're wondering this is the stop for the miter saw, it does clear the fence there, so it doesn't get in the way and then this moves up and then we can clamp it into place.

I do need to get a longer hose, so that stays connected there, but this is, it just looks cool.

We got this drawer here this u-shape drawer to hold all the bits.

We got this big bin down here to hold on my router jigs and my palm router.

It usually looks way Messier than that, but this this wall is looking good.

This whole area is gonna change soon.

My buddy matt is gonna, come over we're gonna do a big mural over here and then over here last week we made this cool little confessional area.

This little talking head area that we're gonna do cool stuff, and so the shop is coming along.

This is all gonna be really colorful very soon.

This mural, it's gonna, be it's gonna, be badass.

That's all I got to say so, I'm really happy with the way this is looking so I took off the fence about a year ago to my miter station and no regrets people ask me all the time.

Do you regret moving the fence? No, this is all the fence that I need for my miter station.

Then I got these stops here so saved a lot of space.

Things are looking good that wraps it up this week.

Real soon with another project, as always, be safe, have fun, stay passionate and make something.