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Learning the use of fence routing is an experience and the shim pack that is included provides some help but not all. Sometimes I wish that there were two adjustment legs but for the most part one works fine. The table is 1 inch thick MDF so definitly is not light but not so heavy that it cannot be moved easily. Finally I convinced the wife that I needed this table. It is a good heavy table that should give many years service if looked after. The guide pin and inlay adjustment features are good to work with. It has had a lot of use both with and without the fence. I had to take some time to correctly adjust the corner braces on the base inlay so that they would hold firm but still allow easy removal/replacement.
Part of the reason why I give this only two stars is that for $325 bucks this is a very poor value for what you get. Save your money and get a better product for your shop (e.g. The knobs are poor quality and I replaced them immediately. It is worth less than half of that.Remember, if you are going to buy the higher end product anyway, you pay through the nose if you waste money on inferior unit first. I tried to make some cabinet rail and stile doors; the error introduced by the above factors make this untenable.The upside is that the table is large and the is portable. I agree with the reviews below noting how imprecise this table is.
The body of the fence is one piece and mine is an eyelash crooked. the Bench Dog). First, it uses the Rousseau plate that is NOT flat. This is by no means an optimal shop table. I have made this mistake more times than I care to admit. The fence is fair at best, difficult to adjust.
The distillation of all of this is that you will have a hard time with any precision routing.
the table top is flat but the plastic insert router mounts to is not ,i am search right now for one that is and the fit it to the table. table is larger then most ,does fold down but it is heavy.table is stable.
It's built like a tank, and the large, laminate top provides plenty of work space. Other than that, it's great. I would highly recommend this router table. Overall, I'd say this is an excellent router table for the home workshop. My only complaints would be the plastic screws used for leveling the mounting plate, and that the fence doesn't have any micro adjustment knobs.
Otherwise, the horizontal / vertical feather boards and remote switch work as expected.Was it worth it: It would be nice to see this table & lift combo as a standard package since they work so well together. Since it is 44" wide and not 32". With that known, I tossed out the stock fixed mounting plate and dropped in the Rousseau 3000LS Lift which fits perfect. This completes my setup and is reviewed as such.Assembly: The table and legs come assembled and unfold easily and lock in position. Overall, this is one versatile and precise router table setup for the money. Ideally, all components come together in one box as a complete kit:*Good quality Tabletop- large & smooth durable finish.*Portable Legs- when set up, it should be as stable as a fixed leg unit.*Good quality Fence- should adjust accurately, easily, and stay where I set it.*Router Lift- must be able to fine tune depth easily to at least 1/64" increments. It also uses MDF instead of Baltic Birch for the fence faces. All router table setups are basically made up of five components.
What I wanted: The best table for the lowest price. The lift makes the table all it can be and is one incredibly precise & easy to use piece (see my review of it for more info). Count on a leisure Saturday morning to setup.OK. The fence adjusts well enough, although after using the lift with it's 1/512" precision makes me wish it too had micro precision adjustment for fore and aft. A screwdriver is the only tool needed to screw in the remote switch and dust port. The mounting plate needs to be leveled flush with the tabletop and is done so with 6 nylon screws into brass inserts from under the table. Unfortunately, all good router tables are expensive. After extensive research, I determined the relatively acceptable range of a good complete setup to be $300-$900.
Perhaps the fence faces could extend out to the width of the table too. I did have to remove the vertical clear shield, as its "foot" sticks so far out that it blocks access to the Lifts height adjustment. But does it all work: Nice and wide 44" workspace on a very stable platform and it actually folds away. There's lot of room underneath the table to easily adjust stuff like speed or pull the router. Time can be spent getting it all perfect, but it only needs to done once.
This would add speed & great precise, although at a hefty price increase. 4.5 stars. My only real wish is, it sure would be nice to see a micro adjustment on the fore and aft movement of the fence. A bit pricey for a tool with not even a motor. I will either amputate the "foot" or just leave it off.
The Bosch fence varies from Rousseau by adding two horizontal threaded rods for mounting the vertical feather board and/or clear shield. *Accessories included- remote on/off switch, feather boards, multiple clear shields.What I got: This table kit is essentially a Bosch-dized Rousseau 3350. This along with 4 screws from above are used to tighten it down.
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