Genuis work sir. I just bought this table saw...soon to be unboxed and you with other videos are a tremendous help to this retired 57 yrs young newbie woodworker. I want to sincerely thank you for teaching/showing your fine work.
Just got word my 4512 is ready for pick up. I have been stalking RU-vid for every how to video involving it. Best I have seen so far. Thanks for taking the time to make it.
Thank you! It is a great saw and you'll love it. All the T-tracks make it jig friendly. Take the time to set it up and check alignments. I was quite lucky in that everything was perfect right out of the box. Some have had to tweak it a little. If you run into any problems, there's help here, and Home Depot's support. Have fun! Thank you!
I have an older Craftsman 10" Contractor Table saw and have been contemplating on adding a combo extension / router table. After watching you do yours I have confidence that i can pull it off. Thanks for a great presentation and some great ideas !
Excellent job Gary. I have the R4512 also, but I've swapped out fence systems to the Incra TS-LS. I then added an Incra router table extension to the left of my saw with a router lift and Incra's Clean Sweep. I haven't done it yet, but I understand I can shift the position of my fence towards the left of the saw and I can then use it as a router fence. Some day I plan to purchase Incra's router fence (to partner with the saw fence) and I'll have the "whole package". Thanks for a detailed and informative video for the R4512 users out here.
Thank you! I looked at other options with fences and router tables you can buy. Decided to do this and it saved me a lot of $$. I think I spent less than $100. I'm sure what you did gave you better functionality. Thanks!
i just got a R4512 table saw and ive been looking for different ways to attach a router table to the open wing. i love what you've come up with. excellent job Gary!
I don't know what prompted me to click on this video nor why I watched the entire thing. I don't have this table saw nor do I have any plans to make a router table insert for my table saw or make a new router table. In short, the topic of this video was totally irrelevant to me. Still, it turned out to be highly informative just to watch how Gary approached the problem as well as how to process MDF and the laminate. Just goes to show that it can be well worth your while to watch any good craftsman perform his craft.
I don’t comment very often on RU-vid….. But I must give you a high five on the video and my favorite part was that laminate dowel spacer trick! Very cool. I won’t forget that ! Thanks
Excellent job. I have a store bought router table attached to the wing of my cabinet saw, much like your set up. It is only one thickness of MDF three quarters of an inch, I am wanting to change that out for a double thickness. You have inspired me to get on to that project, I like your idea of rounding out those corners, it gives it a real nice look. Thanks for the inspiration.
I made a double thickness MDF router top and I took your lead and rounded out those corners. I put a blue patterned laminate top on, I used a blue Rockler Featherboard track and a Rockler Blue Phenolic router plate. I have a blue aluminum fence I have yet to install but it looks great so far. You inspired me and I got to it right after I saw your video. I'm so happy with the way it turned out, thanks so much for sharing your project, it got me fired up to do my own. I also have a new switch I bought, the router gets plugged into and the switch gets plugged into the wall and controls the router. Thanks for the inspiration.
AndyB My new router plate is a Rockler Phenolic, it's 3/8 of an inch thick and if you take it slightly deeper like some like to do for adjustment purposes and use adjustment screws under the plate. It leaves you with 3/8 of an inch or a tad less, from what was originally a 3/4 inch thick MDF board. Having a double thickness, you absolutely cannot go wrong and if you are going to mount this between the fence rails on either side of your table saw. Having that thickness to put screws into or whatever method you're going to utilize to secure your router top in place will result in a much more secure installation. It also gives you a little more meat when you install your featherboard track and the track for your fence. With my new router table top, I now have four router tables all double thickness and on wheels. And like my new one, I won't have any issues crop up regarding the thickness and solidity of my routers.
hi Gary ....i watch alot of videos on here and i must say that was or is the best explained easy to follow and not be confused video i have seen to date....thanks and you should keep do all your videos like this one .....MUCH APPRECIATED.....
This is a perfect example of taking your time and doing it right. I absolutely love your attention to detail. The primer in the track slots to protect the MDF is something I'm sure a lot of people don't even think about. I know I wouldn't have. I just sub'd and I hope to learn a lot from your style. You remind me a lot of my dad. He was in to model railroading and one of the things he told me long ago was don't be in so big of a hurry. When applied to model railroading, he meant that you never want to be finished. In general though, it was his style to take his time and pay attention to detail. He made some great models in his time.
Thank you! Y'know, model railroading is another interest of mine since I was a little guy. I still have a small N scale train, but not set up anymore. It's in a box. :-( But, yes, attention to detail is important, and not to rush things. Today many people have a 'Fast Food' mentality. We want it fast! Craftsmanship is something that takes some skill, time, and patience. Kudos to your dad!
I just finished adding the same upgrade to my Ridgid table saw… Except that I cut my existing Freud router tabletop and reused it instead of making a whole other router tabletop. It does fall a little short of the end of the table saw’s rails of course… but a will next extend the repurposed Freud router tabletop by installing a 6-inch deep cabinet with tip-out shelves for router bit storage and router accessories. The main advantage of doing it this way is the savings in time and material but also that I get to continue to use the original miter gauge track AND all of the original properly positioned threaded inserts are available if I wish to the use the original dust-extracting fence!
Really a good video, very instructive and complete in the audio portion too. I am going to build a a router table on one of my wings also. I found this very helpful. Thank you, Richard
Thanks for your reply. I know for what you pay for, I am old craftsman, pipe and plumber. But after a long illness, I have started to do little things quietly, it means a lot to have something to do. Thanks for your vidio on youtube, they are very good and easy to follow, and very professional. I have received many great tips from you, thank you very much.
Hi Oli! Thanks! for your kind words. Are you of Swedish or Norwegian descent? I am of Swedish descent myself. 2nd generation US born. Y'now, we Norsemen are craftsmen, and great ship builders. 👍
Thank you, I've had a Kreg router table but didn't know how to mount it on the wing of my table saw. I absolutely love how you used the T-track! That is exactly how I'm going to do it. This has been on my mind for some time and you solved my problem. I appreciate it.
some wonderful ideas here - been thinking about putting a panel down on the open wing, and then a cart underneath the wing for tools and mitre gages, etc. this was very helpful
Excellent work, and excellent narration, and the best part... no annoying music! I am going to use some of your mods in my soon-to-be-built router table. I can't use all of your mods because I have the Ridgid R4511 which has a different rail and fence system. Thanks for sharing.
Amazing. That is definitely an engineering mind at work. You thought of everything sir. Very informative. Thanks for sharing your tallents. Keep up the good work Gary!
I've been looking for table saw video that shows how to make a router extension. Your example is the best I've seen yet and will work well with the Rockler Pro Plate I just bought. Thank for all the tips like priming and then using oil based paint to seal the MDF. Attention to details are what I look for when building anything. Excellent instructions and well thought project. Bob
Fantastic! I will be coming back to this to try to do the same thing. I see you like to use T tracks a lot. And I can see why. Thank you very much for sharing! 👏👏👏👏👏
Very nice. This is the best setup I've seen for a saw extension router table. I have a similar fence on my saw and with some minor adjustments to your plan, I am going to build one for my table saw. Thanks
Looks great sir, I'm looking into getting a table saw , not sure which one yet maybe the Ridgid R4512 or the JET Proshop! Both have good reviews, but the Ridgid is considerably less expensive! I love your design for the router table in extension wing , it's just simply brilliant!!👍😀
Thank you! I like the Ridgid table saw. It is stable, solid, and has all the options I'm aware of. What they don't have, we make a jig for that. I like that the Ridgid has all those T-slots on the rails and fences. That makes for a lot of adaptability. I used the T-slots on the back rail for mounting an outfeed table. (see my video on that.) I don't know that other saws have that.
Thank you! I did have an inquiry to make one. After figuring costs and shipping, it is cheaper to buy one of those cast iron tables from www.mlcswoodworking.com. With mass production they can do it cheaper. What I did is for the DIY'r to save $$. Thanks for the encouragement!
Nice, well thought out video. Your style of presentation is very relaxed and yet keeps the3 viewer engaged. Great little tips that most people wouldn't think of. Thanks
Great video. Thank you for sharing this step-by-step build without sending viewers to a website to buy your plans. Also, just a suggestion... When I need to fill something like that MDF edge, I use an all-purpose filler. Bondo makes their same auto-body filler for other uses like home repair. Most home improvement stores carry it. When it cures, it's incredibly strong, sandable, and water resistant.
Thank you! Glad you got something from it. The laminate I got was a return so I got it for 1/2 price at Lowes, and my military discount. In the shop I'm not as fussy, it was not ugly, so it was good enough for me. 👍😀
Nice design, I like it. Now, i just have to start saving pennies for MDF and T-tracks! Thanks for the great step-by-step tutorial showing us what you did. It looks like it turned out great; hopefully it works as well. Let us know if you thought about any ways to improve the design after using it a while.
Hey Gary, Nice job. I did a quick version of this on my Ridgid a year back. I'm using what you did as a much better guide for what I did. I was thinking of ditching the metal stamped wing and going straight to the cast iron. I'm not a big fan of the stamped wings although they work fine. Thanks again, Ken
Thank you! I had thought of eliminating that wing also, but wanted the dual track to extend beyond the rails to be sure I had clearance. Clearance the rails would have been close. Making a full table would have made for a bigger and heavier router table. Thanks!
I'm not sure I understand what you mean. I know making the router table longer would have made it heavier but I'm not understanding why you didn't want to remove the gray wing and run the new router table all the way to the cast iron top.
Gary--wonderful presentation; you add a nice bit of humor to boot (whether you knew it or not), and so it was for me, very much enjoyable; I'm sure you and I will get along digitally, just famously! As of my post here, I have spent the past week researching which router and lift to purchase, which table saw to purchase, and as I'm coming from an ancient Craftsman, also what kind of fence system I might want to employ. I'm with you on the choice of router, on the lift, and on the saw. However, I intend to employ the Incra fence which as I understand it, will make it very much easier to include a single-fence system allowing for 1/32" repeatable machining; used both for the table saw as well as router. And then as I found, the Incra fence system does adapt for the use of a single 3/4" extension; and all of it attaches to the Incra rails just as you have done--brilliant! Much thanks; informative. Can't wait to get started!
This has got to be the most detailed video on ANY subject I"ve ever watched and I"ve watched a ton on videos on here. Great job Sir. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Now how much would you charge me to build the same table? LOL
Thank you! I have been asked to make these before. The problem is that you can buy a cast iron one online (perhaps a bit heavy) for the same or less than what I would charge, plus shipping.You could be looking at a total of $400+ with me. I did the video so woodworkers can build their own and save a lot of money if just buying materials. No labor charges. One can fine tune the leveling on their own. Thanks!!
That was a great build, Gary! I found your channel searching for router tables for the Ridgid R4512, as I'm about to pick one up, and I already have a Bosch router, but no table. Thanks for the great inspiration!
Very nice job. I’ve been looking at buying a cast iron wing to fit my Craftsman contractor saw. I had an aluminum one but the slots for bolting it to the table cracked and could never keep it level. You sir have convinced me to build my own.
Nice router table added to your Ridged table saw. just got my table saw R4512 want to do something like that to mine. thanks for sharing. got my sub...
My god, during the entire video I expected you to start yelling at Donny and telling him he is out of his element! Great job on table Mr. Goodman, er Lundgren.
I’ll be getting my new R4512 next week and I’m trying to decide if I want to purchase a router extension or build one. Well after watching thus I thunk if I can muster up the courage I just may. Very nice
Thank you! Good luck with yours. You can do it. Building it it much cheaper than buying, and you get to make it the way you like it. Also, maybe learn some new skills. Thanks!
The manual for the saw has a section on how to make the insert so it's certainly worth a try. I'm going to do it when I get mine in a week or two (tax return, baby!)
Hi Gary, no I am from the Faroe Islands, it is in between Scotland and Iceland, we are an autonomous party of Denmark, just as Greenland is an autonomous party of Denmark. So the Danish state is Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Greenland. The Faroe Islands have previously belonged to Norway. Yes The Swedes are good craftsmen and are good boatbuilders, you know that the Swedish steel is known in the world for its good quality. There are many Scandinavians moved to the United States, it has been very good for the American state, many wise and good builders and sailors from the Nordic countries have riched the United States and it is very good. Kind regards Oli Poulsen.
Very nice. I have a Menard's Master Force professional Contractor saw which is almost identical to the Ridgid Hybrid Cabinet Saw that you have. This is an awesome idea and I will have to try it on my saw.👍
I have the identical saw but with the Craftsman label on it. I'm going to see if I have that same t track on mine. I have been thinking of building a whole cabinet for my saw. I have a great router table now that I bought in Canada it looks like a piece of furniture but it would be nice to have a second one set up for round overs. Very nice job and it was wise of you to paint the bare MDF because it will soak up moisture as the years go by.
Very nice! I would extend that router table right to the cast iron table and use the existing bolts to hold it in and make that router table permanent. Those stamped metal extensions are cheap and not true so replacing those with a full length melamine would be ideal.
Excellent job. I plan to do a similar thing with my Ridgid model R45171. It's a down market version of your R4512 so it's not built the same with the same dimensions. However, my MDF sheet fits perfectly between the edge of the table and the edge of the extended part and sits perfectly on the existing rails. I plan to drill holes in the ends of the MDF and the edges of the table and extension to fit steel dowels and trap the MDF in the gap between the extension and the edge of the table and align it perfectly.
It worked great! I used a Triton router (either model will work) mainly because you can install router bits without having to go underneath the table. I used a Kreg router table inserted into 3/4 inch MDF for the table. You align it sideways so that you can work by standing on the right hand end. If you unlock the table extension and extend it to the right as far as it can go, you can insert the appropriately cut MDF table, and it fits nicely when you lock it in that position. You will have to cut a rabbet under the far side of the MDF so that it rests on the extension tracking, making sure the top surface of the router table is flush with the existing saw table.. I drilled two dowel holes on the inside face of the extension and inserted dowels in the ends of the MDF so that, when the extension is pressed to the ends of the MDF it locks it in place. The great thing is you can revert back to the untouched table saw at any time by just removing the MDF router table. All this sounds difficult to write, but it worked extremely well. Come back if you want anything clarified.
@@dacutler as soon as i get it Ill be writing lol thanks. I was hoping i could do this with that saw. The rails look a little skimpy to put much weight on. Do you remove it when not in use ? Amd I'm guessing you dont use it much for any significant amount of weight
Actually, I don't remove the router, but mainly because it doesn't restrict the use of the table saw, which I use a lot. In fact the existence of the router table doesn't affect the use of the saw when working to the left of the fence (which for me is 99.999% of the time!) because if you remove the router fence (which I modified from the old router I had) the fact that the router table is flush with the rest of the table means it might as well not be there at all as it doesn't get in the way of the normal actions of the table saw. It has all worked out much better than I hoped! Incidentally, I fitted the switch for the router on the right hand end of the table (in other words right in front of you when using the router) which is perfectly positioned for safety. I modified the on/off switch from my old router table and attached it to the extreme right had end of the extended table by drilling two holes in the end.. I have fitted two T tracks to r=each side of the router hole to handle the router fence, and another T track in front of the hole to handle a box cutter sled I have and feathers if needed. The rails are easily strong enough to support the heavy router and any work, mainly because the fit between the two faces of the extended table is so good, and the whole of the extension is evenly handling all the weight. It's not an issue
Gary, excellent. One of the best tutorials I have ever seen on youtube. I am about to purchase a rigid table saw and I would like to duplicate your router table attachment because I am very limited in workshop space. Thanks
very nice router table, i did enjoy the video, but i am not convinced about the mounting idea, that table look too heavy for those pieces of wood you made. why dont you use the same track that holds the metal wings, it is sturdier and looks better.
Thank you! Great comment. The boards I used are poplar and that is a hardwood. I call it a 'shop grade' hardwood because it doesn't have a pretty face, but holds very well. Mine doesn't flex in the slightest. This method is easier than trying to mount by other means to the rails. Those T-tracks provide a great alternative. I'm not doing any production, big or heavy projects. For that I would recommend a stand alone router table. Thanks!
Thank you! As we say, if you're not making mistakes you're not learning and getting better. Mistakes, and learning from them, is how we become craftsmen. 😃
I constantly remind myself it’s a process and for every botched piece. There are another million people that didn’t even get that far. Here’s hoping more people have a go at it!
Thanks for the detail--Ace or a larger True Value supplies t-nuts/ "tugger" bolts in their hardware kits--might take some stress off the mount t-track, comes in std nominal sizing.
