Project - "Mounting the Router in the Table"

	I am really itching to use this router table and start cutting wood, but I have to be sure to take each step slowly. This is not the time to drill a mounting hole slightly off — or worse, all the way through.    A clever idea that Marc presents in his video is to make a temporary box for holding the router table so that it can be used to make the raised panel cabinet that will be the final table.    So that is what I am doing. I will clamp it on top of a Workmate to position it at a comfortable height.
The router table is a heavy (and I mean heavy) piece of phenolic. Marc says that "... it is 75 layers of laminate glued together under high pressure to form a flat top that will not sag or warp." Clearly, it is all that and as smooth as the finest machine tool surfaces.    The fence comes totally assembled. All I have to do is to put together this pivot pin.
	On the other end of the fence, I screw in the adjustment knob. You can see that the fence pivots on the one end and is free to travel at the other end.    This makes fence adjustment very simple and positive.
I am getting ahead of myself here, but this is one of the nicest features of this fence — the insert. Made of the same HDPE plastic material as the wings of the fence, the insert is beveled and fits between the fence sections that are also beveled. The insert can be swapped with other inserts in seconds.    The unit comes with three inserts and since each one can be inverted, that means that I can have 6 zero clearance fence inserts — I will make use of this fine feature very soon.
	I do know that the router is suppose to go under the table. I am just trying to figure out the best orientation. My finger is pointing at the height control knob. The red arrow points to the height lock lever. I feel that these two controls must be most accessible. The yellow arrow indicates the location of the speed dial which is just around the corner. It won't be visible, but  it is easy to reach. I will do as Marc does, and that is to control the speed by the sound.    With these points to consider, I decide on this orientation — now I will mount it under the table.
This is the bottom side of the router table. Note that the center area is recessed slightly. This allows the router to extend into the table but still have plenty of phenolic to hold the router firmly.    I have in hand the plastic sub-base that I have removed from the router. I will use this as a drilling guide. Note that I have positioned the flat side away — this is the same orientation as I had when positioning the router in the last frame.    You can't see this detail, but there are very slight concentric rings in the mortised area to help you center different router bases. The Hitachi M12V is easy to center since the router's hole is almost identical to the table's hole.
	One spring clamp and two pieces of masking tape hold the sub-base centered in the router table's hole.    I use a 1/8" bit to drill pilot holes through the router table. I am careful to center the drill in the holes as much as possible.
I have now turned the table back over so that the top is now displayed. I am using the pilot holes that I just drilled to drill the final holes.    The Hitachi M12V uses 5mm screws. I am drilling the final size to allow a little play. This will allow a little adjustment when all four screws are attached.
	I countersink each of the holes. This is by eye, so I make the cut in a series of small cuts. I use the upside-down screw to tell me when to stop. When the head on the screw fits the hole, I stop.    By the way, I found that the Hitachi screws that came with the unit were a little short to get a good grasp of the router. I found 5mm screws at my local hardware. They are 1/4" longer and have a good grasp of the router.
I have attached the router underneath and am securing the four, countersunk screws.
	I carefully inspect the top to be sure that none of the screws sticks even the tiniest bit above the table.    Fact is, I spent about 15 minutes removing the router, countersinking a bit more and re-attaching the unit. It was worth taking the time. This table is too smooth not to have a perfect fit.
I am getting very close to routing wood. I now have to fasten the table top in position on the temporary base. Following Marc's video instructions, I will place corner blocks that I will later use in the final cabinet.    Having centered the top, I am marking the corner outlines.
	From my outline marks, I measure in 1" and mark where I will drill a hole for threaded inserts.
To this point, I have been using a portable drill. No way would I attempt to use anything but the drill press for the insert holes. I want them to be very straight, AND I do not want to chance drilling all the way through.    Marc, in his video, called for drilling and tapping these holes to accept 5/16" bolts.
	I couldn't find my taps, so instead screwed in threaded inserts. They thread easily and should hold very well.    I installed the corner blocks using 1/4" bolts.