Ryobi router table: Somewhere between plywood and perfection

Listen, you can make a router table by cutting a hole in a piece of plywood and setting it up on sawhorses.

It'll work. Sorta.

But with Ryobi's router tables as cheap as they are--$70 for the "beginner's" model, and $100 for the "intermediate," shown above--you might as well get yourself the real thing.

Skip straight to the intermediate, though. Its MDF table is four inches wider bigger, 1/4-inch thicker, and the fence is made of MDF, whereas the beginner's is plastic.

In fact, most of the table is plastic--but hey, plastic parts are a Ryobi product's bread-n-butter. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Read on to hear about my favorite feature--one that the old plywood-with-a-hole-in-it sorely lacks.

I love the fact that the on/off switch has two integrated power outlets, one for the router and another for the shop vac. When you flip the one big, easily accessible switch, they both come on.

Without this feature, you have to reach way under the table to turn on the router, and you have to reach somewhere else to turn on the vac. This is quicker, safer, and to me, this alone justifies the $100 expense.

A few other pluses: an adjustable out-feed fence to keep the work steady after it passes the blade, a feather board accessory for shaping small stock, holes in the steel legs to mount the feet, and a port for mounting 1-1/4-inch and 2-1/2-inch vacuum hoses.

You can look at the product on Ryobi's site, but the "where to buy" button links to Home Depot's site, where the product is sadly nowhere to be found. To get one, I advise calling your local Depot ahead of time and asking for model A25RT02 (intermediate) or A25RT01 (beginner).

And if you go to the store and find it out of stock...well, I'm willing to bet they'll have plenty of plywood.

More: Read Woodworking.com's review of Ryobi's new tables.