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.
Posted by Harry Sawyers | Categories: Power Tools | Permalink
(5) Comments
can you please tell me how much is the ryobi table (no router needed )and shipped to malta europe
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If it were me, I would skip this table and go right to the MDF and build my own. There are several kits or individual parts out there where you can buy the hard to find parts for the rest of the table. Double up the MDF and you will have a very sturdy work surface that will last a long time. You can use the rest of the stock for some other project.
Will a ridgid r2200 router fit in one of these tables and if not which table does or is there a modification that can be made??
The intermediate table is junk. The mounting plate is an oddball shape and impossible to level up properly. The screened on measurements on the table surface are handy, except after you run a few dozen boards thru, they rub off. The miter slot is crap. I have the table, and have made some modifications that improve things somewhat. I bought a couple of Kreg aluminum inserts with scales used on their router table fence and put them into the table, below the surface so they don't get the wood friction. Just routed down about 1/8 overtop of the existing screened measurement marks (what was left of them). I also got an aluminum T slot rail which replaces the plastic thing, and an Incra miter guage. The miter guage works on the router table and the table saw. Added some shims to the mounting plate to get that level, so its not too bad now. Next time I have some spare money, will go with the Kreg table.