Thanks for the review and suggestions. I just got this table and immediately was hit with the depth of cut problem using 1/4" bits. I'm a relatively new woodworker, but at least I knew enough to be uncomfortable with raising the bit in the collet, as you point out as well. I appreciate your "precision" in making that adjustment (as well as your caution!). LIke you and several others, I plant to make the adjustment to the underside of the table surface as soon as possible. I also really liked your magnet solution to roving collet wrenches. Again, thanks so much for your time and care in presenting this information.
I want to thank you for this video. I got the exact same router table, mine came with a manual, but my manual makes no mention of that funky steel bar with a screw in one end and a cotter pin in the other. I was trying to figure out if this was a spare part - it seemed odd to me that my table came with the router already attached, so I thought maybe somebody put it together wrong and then returned it. Also, the manual helpfully suggests that the washers should go on the bottom of the table, rather than on top of the fence, which prevents the carriage bolt cuff from locking into the slot. I knew this was wrong, but I am glad that somebody with a RU-vid channel gives the correct instruction.
youtube users don't understand what the like/unlike is meant for - it is mean to rate the video, warn users to watch or not to watch the video, but with tool review videos, its a rating of the tool itself - thank for subscribing!
I just got a kobalt and now I'm glad I did. It was only 10 bux more, but came with a few more accessories and is adjustable from the top. And the table is metal. Thanks for the review.
thats why I do the videos, so a buyer can make an informed decision when buying - I still have this one and its still working ok, but I only use 1/2 inch router bits in it - thanks for subscribing!
Thank you for your good review! I decided to replace the table top with a 3/4 inch plywood. This allowed me to route out the underside of the board and raise the router. I also moved the switch to the left. It works well.
Its worth it, I did the same thing, Overall this is a good table if you use 1/2" bits, but most use 1/4" bits - Thanks for the update and Thanks for Subscribing!
@@yourunclesam6780 I don't have a video, but I just took apart the original table and used it as a guide to cut out the new 3/4 plywood replacement table.
Thanks for your help with setting this up. Got mine off Facebook marketplace for like $30. Just because it had a 1/2 collar so that I could do tongue and groove. And just did a test run need to adjust my fence a little and then I will be on track. Thank you again for helping out.
This was an excellent review and tutorial. It’s exactly what I was hoping to find. Keep up the good work. I am looking forward to checking out your other videos
This is great information and very thorough. I really appreciate all of the time and advice you have given. I think I'll just bite the bullet and go for a more expensive model.
Thanks for the vid. I was hoping there were some things I just clearly missed on how to use this router table but it is just a really bad design all around. Was hoping it would get me by or the table be good enough to attach my better router too but even the little things like loosening the collet chuck is extremely frustrating for something that should be super easy. Returning this asap.
Very Informative video. I recently purchased what was at one time the display model. When purchasing the table it only came "as is" and the 1/2, 3/8 collet adaptors were missing and also the 5 inserts and wrenches. I've tried H. Freight but to no avail. The parts are no longer replaceable thru them. If you have any suggestions as to where I might find them, I'd be glad to hear it.. I myself do not like to plunge set up this router has so I was relieved to see it wasn't just me. I will be doing the inset for the router into the table as you talked about, thank you, That was such a helpful idea.. Again, Thank you and keep up the good work.
Thank You- Thank you- So Much . Had this as a gift . and had all the problems you explained. At least now I can use. And the power switch was best thing you explained!!!
I watched several review videos prior to yours. I just want to say yours was the best. Informative and creative. Love the idea of moving the on off switch 👍🏻 BTW.. I’m waiting for mine to be delivered.
Before I even got started putting this thing together I found that the table had a crack all the way across it from rough handling on part of the store or during shipping. But watched the video just the same. I am going to return this for the crack and not get a replacement because of your review. Not crazy about the table being some cheap particle board and a plastic fence
that is why I make these videos so you are aware of negative and positive aspects of the tools - thanks for subscribing! - I recommend you buy the 2 hp fixed base router and build a router life like the one mathius wandel built - good design, works great - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-2WD8VdX4LRw.html
Thank you so much! I have the manual, but it didn't tell me what the collet adapters were or the possible sizes. You'd think such a thing would be advertised on the box. Thanks from a newbie!
@@snapwholeharborfreightreviews on the fence by the vacuum port, that area seems to be very wide. I created a zero clearance method by simply placing a 1/4-inch pine board across the fence. When using the 1/4-in straight bit, the cut line is perfect. Without the vacuum, the sawdust picks up though.
Hello! Thanks for the video! I was thinking of buying one of these and now I'm going to! I think I'm going to do like the other commenter and change the tabletop to 3/4 plywood (rout out the bottom where the router connects to get it closer to the work area and have more bit access. I think I might make my a little bigger if possible. I've got to get it first and see how the fence connects and go from there. You did say it takes 1/2" bits, correct? Thanks!!! Going to sub now! Edit: I was commenting while watching. Ok, 1/2", 3/8" and 1/4" bits??? LoL
To s raise the 1/4" bit, cut off and drop a small bolt down in the collet the same length as the length you need to make bit flush. just make sure it's smaller than the bit shank so the collet does not tighten on it.
I moved it over to use the existing screw holes, you could move the left front leg to the back left, that would put the switch on the left side, but it might be a little far back for comfort - let me know if you try that and how it works - send me video of the results and I'll post it here to help others
I routed out the bottom to allow for proper height adjustment, as you suggested. The screw sharing the same hole as the ground wired had to also be shortened. After finally getting it ready to use for the first time I turned it on and the screws holding it in place broke through the holes dropping the router out of the table......now what?
the table top is particle board - I had concerns that would happen, depending how much particle board thickness was left - get a piece of 3/4 inch plywood (not OSB) and make a new top, using the old top as a pattern, the only semi critical part would be the miter slot, but its really only used to push the work piece, so its not nearly as critical as a miter slot on a table saw - I used a 3/4 piece of ply, routed out the bottom, and it worked great, also a great time to make a bigger table if desired, lowes has sanded plywood, and hardwood faced plywood, which would work well, but any smooth plywood would do, I installed and outer skirt under the top to prevent twisting - I am interested in how this turns out for you - I'll try to get a video up of my conversion after it warms up a little - the shop is a little cold when the outside temperature is below zero......
Thank you so much for your reply. My husband has been laughting at my “now what” comment since the night I posted. I’m very, very new to wood working. Originally I wanted to make a picnic table squirt feeder like the one I purchased and fell apart. This has progressed over 3 months or having every saw (just about) and all kinds of goodies. With that said, after 3 attempts, I’ve finally made a little router table top table. Waiting for the stain to dry and hope to have it running tomorrow. I’m satisfied with the results. BTW I made 5 crappy picnic table feeders and another 6 that came out great! Now, my challenge will be to figure out what to make and sell to recoup my investment. I’ll keep watching your videos, love how you explain things. Thanks again. Hope you warm up soon and able to get back in your shop.
@@brendasmyles8242 Very Glad to see you update, looks like you recovered and came out way ahead - if you are interested in doing a video about your adventure, I would be happy to post it here, sounds like a great experience and I'm sure other would enjoy it - if you are interested, contact me at the email on my channels about tab - its finally getting warner, and you guessed correctly, its cold in the shop, I'll have a video posted in the morning thanks for the update!
Thanks for the awesome review just wondering if you can keep the legs off and kind of like mount it to the side of your workbench so it's a little more portable and lower
this can attached to a workbench without the legs, but it does need room underneath for router to go up and down is the only constraint - thanks for subscribing!
Raise your 1/2 inch bit up out of the collet so when it is level with the table, you can set to zero. (the bit should not be bottomed out in the first place)
there is no problem with the length of the 1/2 inch bit, the problem is with the 1/4 inch bits, review the video for the details - thanks for subscribing!
I'm glad someone who seems to me to be someone who knows what they are talking about because now i am fairly confident that it is not "just me" with this table not getting the bits high enough and I have compasated by not seating the bit in all the way. It pisses me off because the directions say "make sure the bit is completly seated". Once, had it too high and it was a shit-show. Can't buy adapters to make it higher?
you can buy adapters, the basic cause of the problem is - its made for 1/2 inch bits and everyone (including me) wants to use 1/4 inch bits and except it to work the same - but HF never says '1/2 inch bits only' and provides a collet for 1/4 inch bits, so I wonder why everyone expects 1/4 inch bits to work? thanks for subscribing!
I went to pick one of these up today and apparently they discontinued them and left us with no other options for a router table which seems odd because most of the time they just rebrand something.
I agree on the rebrand, they are trying get rid of all drill master and chicago electric and build up warrior and bauer, with bauer going mainly battery powered, but they are pulling products a lot lately, their video systems disappeared, usually they do a discontinue first, if they just disappear, that might be a sign they are out of stock, which removes them from the website, store shelf space, and they will eventually come back into stock, but with no announcement, but no guarantee - you find future products before they are announced or released by searching their manuals, manuals for new products are available on the website about a year before they are announced, not easy to find, but available
I see this is an old video but wonder if you routed the table to 1/2” so 1/4” bits can be used? I wondered if less than 1/2” screws would hold the router.
I took 2 different paths, I started using 1/2" bits in this table, and also built a router lift for the router, using 1/2" bits is the easiest way to go, they are not that much more than 1/4" bits and I like using them a lot more, read down in the comments and someone routed out the table top and it became so weak it was unusable - thanks for subscribing!
@@snapwholeharborfreightreviews Thx for response, and yea, I read comment AFTER I commented. Bad. I already have 1/4” bits and don’t use enough to buy 1/2”. I am new so not sure I can make a table top w/plywood and attempting to router for router. Where the router lift video? 😬
harbor freight's web site does not list any replacement replacement parts for this item - you can call HF customer service and see what they say, its possible you can get a replacement from amazon, but no guarantee it will fix without trying the fit, parts like a adapter collet are custom designed for each router - but there are a few 'universal' adapters - if you have prime, order one you think will work, and return it if it does not work - if you don't have prime, you'll likely pay to return it - the universal 1/2 to 1/4 collet assume you can insert this adapter into the router like its a 1/2 bit, then allows the 1/4 bit to be held, there is a chance the adapter is not a perfect fit, for example, it might be too long -but if you decide this is the only way to get a 1/4 collet, start ordering and possible returning parts - I hope I've stressed its your choice to order something, and it likely won't work - the first universal adapter that might work - www.amazon.com/2Pcs-Router-Collet-Reduction-Sleeve/dp/B07SQYX1YF/ - good luck and if you go this route, please provide updates, other could benefit from you search results - thanks for subscribing!
Love your videos. Did you ever get a chance to route out the underside of the table to bring the cutting edge of the 1/4" bits completely to the surface of the table?
I did and it worked, but the wood the table is made of is not really strong enough to support that setup, a better fix would be to route out an inset to allow a steel plate to be used to mount the router - the limitation is partly the table thickness and partly the router construction not allowing the router to be fully compressed - to add a steel plate would require a certain amount of metal work
Route out a square hole on the top side then rabbit out 3/8" and use a piece of laminate flooring (approx 14-15" long) as a router plate I have this exact router I bought from harbor freight years back without router table just the router, I think it was about $60 us. With a coupon, mine has a nice strong plunge a little bit of play when unlocked, it looks like they took the springs out when they sold this with the table package. I did what I described above on a piece of 3/4" plywood and it worked good, I use an oak 1"×3" clamped to plywood for a fence. Use straight edge ruler to align fence with router bearing for best results table marks are useless, make hardwood stick to fit miter slot better then attach to miter Guage always use a square to set Guage 90° to fence if you use the slot. I never use miter slot at all for routing I use a square 12"×12 piece of 3/4" plywood with 1"×3" on top of leading edge to push materials through against fence works just like a miter Guage
Is the Router Variable Speed? I'm going to be using a 1'2" collet 2" Drawer Lock bit with a recommended 16000 RPM - I may have a to buy a variable speed controller?
out of the box, its 20K RPM, no variation, so if you want to use it at 16K RPM, you'll have to use a speed controller - as a general rule, I don't use speed controller,s on any router, but if you know the limitations, they will work ok - the router in that table is 11 amp (going by HF), but their speed controller is limited to 8 amp, so technically you need a way to measure RPM and amps used if you want to accurately know you are at 16K RPM and not overloading what every speed controller you get, the speed controller will likely interfere with any 'auto' motor loading a router has - thanks for subscribing!
Couldn’t you add a screw to the other side of the switch? Seems you could counter sink it in the table so not in the way, thanks. Also, on the half inch bits, they are probably on bigger cutters like raised panels, etc that need more horsepower?
all routers bits can come in the 1/2, 1/4, 3/8 inch sizes, the move to 1/4 and 3/8 router bits were driver by cost, this router table was designed for 1/2 inch bits only, the 1/2 bits work with no adjustment and the 1/4 inch bit will not seat into the collet and be above the table and usable - I have the 1/4 inch raised panel bits, I won't use them on this table, I don't like the idea of having a large big no fully seated in the router, the table top is particle board, I would not add any holes to the table, the power switch is stable and has not been a problem in the 3 years I've used the table - thanks for subscribing!
it has a slot that can be use for a feather board, I think most feather boards can be used with it, but it might be dependent on your feather board - thanks for subscribing!
anytime I reach for the power switch, the tools have the potential to get loud - anyone thinking of buying one needs to know how loud the router is - thanks for subscribe!
the table is built for 1/2 bits, you can use 1/4 bits in it, I have several of the harbor freight sets and they work ok for me (they are the same sets skil sells for 2x the price) - I used the 1/4 without an adapter until I bought the door making set, the raised panel bit is huge, and that a lot of weight to not be fully seated in the colllet, so I bought the 1/2-1/4 adapter off amazon, its a heck of a lot cheaper to buy the warrior bits from HF and replace them after sharpening them a few times, than to buy most name brand bits, but a lot of people will disagree with my preferences- HF has a 29 pc set and a 15 pc set, and a slot cutter set, a door set, and several roman ogees - If I were buying non-HF, I would likely buy 1 bit at a time, and only buy what I was going to use - thanks for subscribing!
it might be more accurate on the router table, but you can do it either way, with a free hand router, use a board clamped to your work piece to guide the router to make a straight cut - a bench table saw might be useful for this application, but the router can make the cuts - thanks for subscribing!
Excellent video, very detailed and descriptive, thank you. I was however slightly put off by the criticism of the product and the quality. Not all of us Craftsman can afford buying our equipment from Rockler, Jet, and Woodcraft. The video was well done, but could one ask the skepticism to be held to a lower level. I know it's nitpicky but sometimes the difference between a instructional video and a really great Instructional video can be a small margin of detail.
a review without negetive comments about the product is a commercial - if I don;t tell the good and the bad, and you buy it, you might be disappointed with the product - this is an ok tool to use, but it you don't know the limitations and compensate for them, you won't gett full use of the tool - I also think its important to know there is no mention of the correct size router bits to use - thanks for subscribing!
this table is made for 1/2 bits so you should have no trouble, not sure why they even provide a 1/4 inch collet, the bits are to short to use without modification - I demonstrate the 1/4 inch bit problem in the video and compare to the 1/2 inch bits that work like they should - I did not test 3/8 bits, but I would expect them to work better than 1/4 inch bets, and maybe as well as the 1/2 bits - thanks for subscribing!
@@jsconstruccion I would expect it to sound different when it cuts, but that table is made for 1/2 inch bits, but if you are concerned about the sound, you should check and make sure the screws that mount the router to the table, just to be sure - thanks for subscribing!
if you are going that route, if might be more cost affective to build a router table, the main cost of the router table is the router, but yes its possible to mount another router in this table, the table has inserts for the screws used to mount the router, you might have to adapter another router to those holes, or create new holes - thanks for subscribing!
Hot Glue is a good option as it will allow you to easily remove it later - but I'm ok with the one screw, it stable and works ok - thanks for subscribing!
Hey sir im new to the world of routers I just bought the same router you Have ill be posting my un boxing and set up video later today My question is what size router bits do i need i didnt see the size any where on the box edit i shouldve watched more of your video you explained the router bit size options adequately hope you see fit to check my channel out and look for my unboxing and setup video
I'l check out your page later today, the table is made to use 1/2" router bits, but you can use 1/4" router bits, but will have issues trying to use the entire router bit, as they are at least 1/2" shorter than 1/2 router bits - thanks for Subscribing!
can you provide more information about why its working for you? more details will help everyone make an informed decision based on the problem(s) you are having - thanks for subscribing!
