Bosch 1617EVSPK

Specifications

Comparison Shopping

• Rockler              $219.99
• Tool King         $220.99
• Router Table Depot  $224
• Tools Direct    $264

Plunger router base in action

Other Resources

• Bosch 1617 review
• Forum Discussion Here
• Warranty
• Review  112 people recommend this product

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Router Table Fence

This project comes from my friend Stefang on Lumberjocks.  He built a really nice tall router table fence and used some great joinery to make sure it lasts in his shop.  With his permission  I am reprinting here for your enjoyment.  If you have a project that you would like featured contact me at theroutermaniac at gmail

Tall router table fence

I needed a special fence for routing lock miter joints. I found one designed by Norman Ellis who sent it in as a tip to another website. The fence I made below is 7” tall. It can be clamped to your regular router table fence. I jointed the top and bottom edges of this fence making sure that they were parallel.

Here it is with the sliding fence mounted and another pic with a workpiece clamped onto the slider. When you rout it you should hold the lower portion of the workpiece with medium hand pressure pressing it toward the fence without getting your hands anywhere near the bit.

Some slider details: The 2nd shot is the back of the slider.

Here are two pics of a routed lock miter joint. Keep in mind that this is construction quality Fir. Note the tear out on the trailing edge. This is normal with LM bits, but a thin Ply backer between the slider fence an the workpiece might reduce that. I haven’t tried it yet. Unless it is plywood you should route lock miter joints in one go to prevent chipping.

More good news! you can also use this set-up to rout tenons. The faces are routed with the workpiece clamped in the jig as in the first photo.

I routed the edges by clamping one of the other tenon workpieces in the slider and then holding the current workpiece edge against the fence and it’s face against the edge of the one in the clamp. It was routed like this being hand held.

The tenon routing finished

The routed morise

Here the tenon edges have been rounded to match the routed mortise.

and finally a dry fit. What do you know? It came out perfect!

I hope you find something interesting here and get some use from it. Thanks for viewing.

So Fire up that router and get out in the shop and make some sawdust!

Related posts:

• Sommerfeld Router Table Top and Fence
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Cuttting Dados on the Router or Tablesaw

So your project calls for some precise dados to be cut.  Some are through dados and some are stop dados.  Having never cut one before, which tool do you reach for?

 The thought process:

Router:

Never having done this before, you will have to thing about what you need.  If you use the router, you already have one (assumption).  A straight bit will do the trick for the cutting portion.  What about a dado jig?  How will you guide the router?  Do you need to buy a jig or make it?  Do you have time to make one?

Once you have or make one, you need to practice using it.

 Tablesaw:

Do you have a Dado blade?  Can you afford one?  What is the best brand?  Is your saw big enough to hold one? (check your arbor length, a bench saw arbor are sometimes shorter)  How do I cut the stop dado on the saw?

 These are good questions.  Its better and easier when you already know the answers.  Deciding the first time is what takes all the research and time.  After that when you have the tools, you can easier figure out how you want to tackle the dado proposition on your project.  One of the things I like about the tablesaw, is that it is fast.  I can cut a groove or dado quite quickly.  But I love using my Router Table, and any chance to tweak or improve its capabilities is fun.

The last thought is of course budget.  If you think that you are going to cut a lot of dado’s then the dado blade on your table saw would most likely make the most sense.  If you are budget minded and the only project you may need it on is the one you are working on then the router may suffice.

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• Making Shelves And Larger Projects For Woodworking
• Beginning Shop Tools
• Why You Want A Router Table In Your Woodworking Shop

There are some really cool stuff going on out there and I like roaming around finding the good stuff and posting it here.  I will try to give you all the information as organized as possible.

Router Table Depot

• Buy Select router tables and get a 35 Piece router bit set  for FREE, coupon code is “35forme” 
• $10 off the Super Bench top router table, coupon code “tenbucks”
• $10 off the RTD 1200 Mini Cabinet router table coupon code “tenbucks”
• $20 off Router Table saw extensions  coupon code “twentybucks”

Sears

• All Lawn and Garden tools on sale

CPO DeWalt

• Up to $50 off cordless drill combo kits..CPO DeWalt

Northern Tools

• 15 % off all “northern tool brand’ tools

Rockler

• $11.99 Bench Cookie Pack
• Big Discounts in the Outlet section
• The newest innovations in dust collection.

Tool King

• DeWalt reconditioned D26451KR Orbital Sander $34
• Get 10% off 3 or 4 router bits
• Get  20% off 5 or more router bits
• Bosch 1617 PK Router Combo kit $147.55 (whoa)

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• Coupon Deals
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• New at Rockler

It has been an interesting week in reference to router table insert plates.  Lots of questions and lots of comments on different types of plates.  One of the biggest comments has been why are router plates all different sizes?

I think the best way to describe it is money.  If a manufacture can make their shape conducive to their own brand they will keep you locked in as a customer.  What I mean is this, say you buy a router plate from Bench Dog and later on you want to upgrade to a router lift.  If you made your table, or bought a Bench Dog table, you would have to buy a Bench Dog Lift because nothing else will fit.  Its that simple.  Most guys will not start over.  It is similiar to computers.  I am a PC, but  I would really love a Mac.  Why, well to be honest PC’s kind of suck.  They are bloated with a pig of a operating system, they crash a lot, have all kinds of problems and are always being exploited by hackers.  But I am “all in” because of the software I need and use is not available on a Mac and starting over from scratch seems more of a pain than its worth.  There is also the money.  The Mac costs more than the PC and there you have it.  Back to the plates, is one any better than the other?  Nope.  Just know you may be committing yourself to a brand in the name of budget and time.

Last thought.  There has been a lot of questions abot aluminum verses phenolic or acrylic.  Aluminum plates are very expensive so does that mean they are better?  Not necessarily.  You will always have the guys that have to have the very best of everything so aluminum is great for them.  But what you really need to look at is what size router are you hanging from the insert.  You should never store your router on the insert in the table.  Most of us do and that is where the problems start.  After a while the gravity bandit comes and your insert is now not flat (acrylic or phenolic).  To complicate the matter, some people thing they need the big 3 1/2 HP router in their table. (cause bigger is better right..uh no) So they buy this monster 23lb thing and hang it on a phenolic insert and let it sit in the table for a year.  You guessed it, bad news for the insert plate.  Why in the world do you need a 3 1/2 HP router in a router table in the first place is beyond me.  You still can only shave off so much in a single pass unless you love the smell of burnt wood and dull router bits.  If power is your game, buy a shaper.

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This one comes from my friend Greg the Who Dat from Lumberjocks.  He built this really cool table that can be extremely helpful in organizing the shop.  Not only does it sit flush to the saw, but it gives you a perfect extension for cutting large pieces of stock.  Now all it needs is a router insert plate! (but he has a seperate table)  Looks like he pulled out all the stops by using an Incra fence system.

I recently moved my table saw from one end of my shop to the other side and no longer had the nearby shelves where I stored my table saw accessories. I decided to build a storage shelf that would also act as a extension for my table saw top.
It is nothing fancy…just useful, and it gave me a use for the 3/4 sheet of ply and the maroon formica that has been gathering dust in the corner. The trim around the top is cumaru…hard as a rock…and the plugs are walnut.
I wanted something to hang the woodpeck “T- Square” on without scratching it so I drilled the springs out of 2 wire nuts and screwed them to the cabinet side.
It took about 3-4 hours to build it. I am now thinking I probably will build a face frame and some doors to keep the dust out.

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Here is another readers project table and its a beauty.  In fact I think I would be afraid to scratch it.  This is a good example of detail if you are building your own table.  The fence is nice and high which gives you the ability to vertical router cabinet doors with a good degree of safety.  T-track is in all the right places as well.  Another great feature is drawers.  Drawers are key to keeping all your components for routing in one place.  I once built a table with two drawers and was amazed at how much stuff I had for my router table when I started gathering it all.  Keeping it in one spot will make you work more efficiently and keep things organized.  Again I found this table on Lumberjocks and asked Wisty for permission to post it here.  He has done an amazing job!

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This video gives you a good overview of mounting an insert to your router.  You can apply this to any router plate brand, however they do have a pretty nifty template that they use for the insert.

• Good visual on how to line up the handles with the plate
• Keeping the router lift hole in a good spot for use
• Marking your base plate and matching it to your router plate
• Line up the very cool template and tape it to the plate
• Remove the base plate and size to a drill bit
• Place base plate face down and center
• Use a drill press to drill holes, this keeps things straight
• Use counter sink bit to keep screws flush
• Connect to router

There really is many ways in which you can do this, but this will get your mind going.  Most people really fear the idea of mounting or drilling their own router plate.  As you can see its pretty simple.

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About four years ago I built this loft for my son.  He had the smallest room in the house and it has given him a lot more room.  Its kind of a cross from a giant tree fort and a stilt home built near beaches.

If you have a small bedroom and want to maximize your space, building a loft in your child’s room can be a great project. They are surprisingly easy to do and can be completed in a weekend. You will be amazed at the ton of room that you gain by not having a bed on the floor plan. Didn’t have one in college? Then the key to building one is planning. I am not talking about a glorified bunkbed, I am talking about a room defining space that will change your child’s bedroom

The key to preparation is looking at your room and figuring out what you have to work with. Do you have high ceilings? Is your closet internal or external?

High Ceiling Homes

Obviously, the higher your ceilings are the better your loft possibilities are. Standard 8 foot ceiling rooms are not conducive to building lofts. However in today’s building market 10′ and 12′ ceilings are becoming more and more common.

Closets

 A room with a bumped out or external closet looks like this. It creates a natural ledge on the top of it and has some room from the ceiling. An internal closet is just that, it fits inside the internal dimensions of the room. The closet is a great point to use for stabilizing your loft, we will discuss that later. The example shown here is with an external closet, in my opinion it is just as easy to build one for both examples.

In the last part of the preparation phase you want to note the closet style so that you can plan your posts. In this example two of the main posts actually attach to the wall next to the closet. Internal closets loft styles are free standing.

Preperation

The first step in building the loft is building the posts. Posts are easy to build and can be very simple in construction. If you have experience in woodworking, it will be even easier. All four posts can be built from two pieces of ply wood. You will want to rip the plywood into four even strips of wood to build a hollow box. The diameter is up to you, but the bigger the posts the more stable the loft will be. I kept my posts fairly big around 8 inches square. Do yourself a favor and buy the cabinet grade plywood at Home Depot or Lowes. This grade costs about $40 per sheet but it is worth it when you go to finish the project. You will use simple butt joints and you can screw them together. Make sure you counter sink the holes and then fill in the screws with either a plug or with wood filler. Take your time here, and sand them up real nice and clean. These posts are multifunctional, they will hold the electrical work that you run inside for the lights that shine up on the ceiling. When you are done with the posts paint them to your desired finish.

Loft Post

Bring the posts into the bedroom and put them in the approximate spots the will go to. You will then need to cut the two long support beams that connect to the posts. You can use any time of wood you like. If you are going for a rustic look, you can use 2″x6″ lumber. Make sure you do not get the pressure treated variety. When you have the supports cut, sand them, and then finish them with paint. Bring the supports into the room and get ready to install them to the posts.

Supports

This is really the trickiest part of the assembly since you will need some help holding the support up against the post. Use carriage bolts to bolt the support to the post. You may have to reach down into the post with your arm to attach the nut to the bolt. Once you have the main two supports bolted on, repeat the process with the two cross supports. You are basically building a big box, or something similar to a deck that would be outside your house.

Support

While the unit is still movable move the loft into the desired position. If you are going to attach it to the wall through a closet you would do that next. For mine I went and bought 14″ carriage bolts and ran them through the loft post, through the wall and through a homemade washer. (A piece of wood)

Add the rest of the cross bar supports. As you add the supports the unit will get more stable. (and heavier) If your loft is free standing, use this time in the framing stage to access its stability. The bigger the posts are the more stable the loft. If it is not stable, add whatever bracing you need. (keep in mind the floor will add a lot of stability) The loft I made was 8 feet by 8 feet, so it was very stable because of the materials and the size of the unit.

Related posts:

• Building a Loft, Part 2
• Building Cabinets
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Floor

Adding the floor to the loft is next. Simple sheets of plywood attach to the top of the supports. You can substitute MDF for the plywood. It is a much smoother surface and costs less than the ply. You won’t have to do any sanding on MDF either. When you add the floor, make sure you countersink the screws so that they do not stick up. The floor will add considerable strength and stability to the unit.

Ladder

Next build a custom ladder that you can paint to match the loft. Again the type of wood is your choice. We made ours out of 2 x 4’s and custom cut it to fit the space we had. The strength of the ladder can easily hold an adult if you build it right.

Railings

Don’t let any kids go up until you build the railing. The railing is very important and your wife won’t probably let you build this project without one. Other parents will appreciate the railing too since their kids are going to be in the loft as well. These lofts are kid magnets, so make them safe. I made my railing a bit fancier since I had access to a router table. I ran the flat spindles on the router table with a roundover bit to make them round. This softens up the unit and makes it look more furniture like.  Keep this in mind, the railing is not designed to be leaned on, swung from or to be some sort of super stable safety device.  My son was 9 when I built this and he pretty much knows that the railing is there as a reminder where the edge is.  It also adds a nice finishing touch the the loft so I took the time to edge profile each one on the router table.

Loft Railing

Finishing Touches

We put carpet up on the loft floor; it was quick and easy and cost about $25. Next we hoisted up the mattress. There is no need for a box spring, since the wood gives more than adequate support. If you have an external closet, you will have a natural ledge in which you can install a bookshelf or even a TV set. Ours had a TV and Xbox for our son and all his friends were in the loft.

Loft Bottom

The bottom of the floor is the perfect opportunity to finish off with some plywood to make a mini ceiling. In the ceiling you can recess some lights. This makes if more functional for the room and less dark.

Loft Options

I choose to use the hollow post design for running two light fixtures near the top of the loft to shine upwards onto the ceiling. Use the newer “green” Eco friendly light bulbs and you will not have to worry about excess heat from ordinary standard bulbs. You can run regular extension cord up from the bottom of the post by drilling a hole at the bottom and pulling the wire through.

loft carpet and bed

Hiding Spots

I like to take the other two posts and put caps on them with a hinge on the inside. If you put a shelf in the inside while assembling the posts, it makes a great hiding place for kid things. From the outside it looks like an ordinary cap, kids love it.

Have Fun

You will find different customizations for your loft. All of them are super fun for the kids and a real accent to your home. If you use good quality materials you are really making furniture. Take your time and you will be glad you did. Young boys will think you are the best parent in the world for taking this project on!

Electrical runs down hollow posts

Related posts:

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• Building Children’s Furniture, Final Assembly
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