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Because they are independent, it's a pain to line them up straight, tighten them down and get the cutting depth set correctly. The top of the rings, though, is slightly below the surface of the table without any way to adjust them. Tightening the knob that holds each side to the table tends to move the fence slightly. The holes are obviously spaced for a Porter-Cable router.I use an old PC 690 router. Although usable for some things, this router table has too many flaws to be useful for precision work.
This obviously isn't a problem if you clamp the entire thing down as the manual recommends, but poor design is still poor design.you'll notice that competing router tables all have something that connects the right-side legs with the left-side legs.In summary.I'm an occasional woodworker and I don't use this router table very often, but every time I do, I wish I'd bought something else. Drilling a couple of holes and bolting some bar stock (a piece of wood would work just as well) between the bottom of the two legs helped stabilize it. There are a number of different inside diameter metal rings (like overgrown washers) that fit into the circular hole in the table.you pick the ring that best fits the bit that you're using. That provides them an excellent axis for the legs to wiggle). If it's behind, the router bit carves a bit deeper as the work leaves the in-feed fence and creates a divot in your work. (Each side is bolted to the table top through two posts that project slightly below the strengthening ridges on the bottom of the table top. If it's in front, the work catches. Feeding a board through the router shouldn't also move the table sideways by 1/2 inch.
- Fence: The two sections are difficult to position accurately. That's not much of a problem with a long board, but try cutting an accurate tendon when the height of the table changes around the cutter.- Legs: There's no appreciable front to back wobble, but the legs have little rigidity side-to-side. There are better ones available in the same price range. If the fence halves are not aligned with each other, the out-feed side is (by definition) either in front of, or behind the in-feed side. - Table: A bit of roughness in the casting surface was easily fixed with some sandpaper, but shouldn't have been there in the first place.- Router mounting: The router base is screwed securely to the table, not to a separate plate.
My book case is beautiful. My husband made me a book case and needed a router table to add a detail to the front of the shelves and outer boards. This table was perfect with his porter cable router.
Assembly was very straight forward and easily adapated to my Porter-Cable 890 Series router. A paper template was included to allow me to drill the two holes to accomodate the adjustment knob.
One last tweek, the plastic guard can be rotated up and out of the way but the bottom edge would need to be rounded off instead of square to not interfere and scratch the top of the wood fence. I also spent some time cleaning up the groove edges of the table top as some rough metal edges could catch the wood sliding across.
Overall a good product for the money. This table was clearly designed before P-C introduced the 890 Series router as the table top was not drilled to accept the "above the table adjustment" knob that comes the 894 router bundle.
I think the Porter-Cable router & table combination perfectly fit my budget and usage. Being only a home user, I don't have the time, money or space to outfit a professional workworker's shop.
The adjustable fence, dust collection tube and solid top will be a dramatic improvement from my 20+ year old Sears router table.
I do not intent to drill the table top at all. I did not have any expectations that this unit would be as nice or have as many features as the larger, much more expensive tables out there. It was rock steady with smaller rail & stile bits. This movement is easily corrected by attaching it to the workbench (as stated in the instructions). The lack of pre-drilled holes in the table are the only thing that keep me from giving this table 5 stars. all around the table. First I found the dust collection to be less than perfect. Everything is flush, level, etc.
I bought this and the Porter-Cable 895PK router kit. Since there are only two table inserts you have very little control over that. The fitting is just slightly wider than a standard shop vac hose reducing affective suction of the vac. When I contacted PC about this issue, they told me I could drill out the top of the table to allow the adjustment wrench to have access to the base. The switch could have used 2 outlets, one for the router and another for the shop vac. Again this is easily corrected with an inexpensive power strip.The split fence did create some challenges in getting them aligned. Being that this is my first router and first router table, take what I have to say with a grain of salt. That said, I am pleased with the overall quality of this table.
It seems to be designed/marketed to hobby and small woodworking projects or to people who need a highly mobile router table. I will be looking for additional inserts that better meet my needs.The most frustrating part of this table is the pre-drilled holes for mounting and adjusting your router base. Additionally the inserts let a lot of dust fall under the table. The problem is that the table does not have pre-drilled holes for this router base. I plan to remove the wooden facings and attach a single piece sacrificial fence to both sides to compensate for this.
Overall I think this is a decent product. This will serve me well until I build a custom table. Had I known this I would have probably bought the 893PK or 894PK kits. The assembly was easy, the parts seem well made, and the appearance is quite nice. I bought the 895PK because it came with a 2 1/4hp motor, a plunge base, a fixed base, and a wrench to adjust your bit height from above the table.
Should be an easy fix as well.There are some draw backs to this setup. It is pretty solid and only moved a little during use of a 3.5" panel bit. They are also kind of short making attachment of feather boards a bit tricky.
An easily adjustable sturdy fence with safety guard and dust collection tops out the quality features that Porter Cable has designed in. Having owned various router tables over the years, this tops the grade. Comes with a nice beefy on-off switch,front mounted to the base. One of the best designs in its class. If you need rugged portability and your limited on space, this table could be just what your looking for. The design of the base no matter how precarious it might look without braces is extemely stable. I was kind of skeptical when I first took a look at this Porter Cable router table,but soon realized after assembly just how well made the table was. The heavy cast aluminum top contibutes even more to its stability.
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