Sometimes when I'm halfway through a project, especially one for the shop, I start to wonder if this was the proper route to go. Maybe I should have just bought the equipment and then I could blame some company for something that is not working just right. Also the wife and I could have had a beverage while watching the campfire burn that was built from all the wood scraps that I have saved up. The picture to the left shows a portable router table that one could order for $199.00. Of course there would be shipping charges on top of that, but gas prices being what they are today, it still might be a cheaper way to go once I add up all my trips to the hardware store and Menard's. It does look pretty nice doesn't it.
Well here is my version of a portable router table. I transferred my router from under the wing of my table saw and mounted it into this new contraption which I can move up to my garage shop if needed or take it with me to a job site away from home. I think it will work just fine although I probably will have close to $100 invested. The most expensive part was the router insert. It will be one of those never ending projects where one will aways come up with an idea to tweak something to make it work just a little better. For now, you just clamp the base of this case to your workbench and plug it in. 
Taking off from last week's comments, we will start with the table top. I removed the insert and because the insert that I ordered was so large, there was not a lot of table top left to work with. A lot of plans call for the installation of a track along the front of the table. This is mostly used for holding a feather board in place. I opted to leave that off. What I'm installing here is track that will be used to hold the fence down. I routered out a trench on both sides to fit an equal amount of track. Each track was screwed down to the table top and will have a bolt through the fence with a knob holding the fence down to the table once it has been adjusted in place.
The fence was a little more time consuming. Pictured to the left is the back side. There is the base which will slide on the table top and there is the fence which boards will be able to slide against as they pass by the router bit. The square hole in the middle is where a dust port can be added (Some day when I want to spend another $12). There are two braces added to keep the fence at a 90 degree angle with the base and a handle inserted in the top to be used for carrying the table around.
On the front side of the fence I installed some metal wood inserts, just below the handle. These can be used to attach a feather board ($19) or a bit safty guard ($14). (I have an idea as to how to make those two things up someday out of wood scraps from my resource pile.) Along the bottom edge of the fence is where boards will slide against and for this I wanted to install a couple of pieces of left over laminate MDF. As you may have noticed I had cut a couple slots in the fence to hold these boards and to make them moveable. I glued threaded bolt shafts into those laminated pieces of wood using epoxy. (It is suppose to hold well, but for me it will be a first time trial.) Those bolts will fit into the slot and give the fence the ability to adjust near or away from the router bit depending on what size bit one uses.
Next I removed my router from the table saw wing and I mounted it to the router insert plate that I had ordered. This meant drilling holes into the insert plate and aligning those holes so all would fit just right with the router. (Did I tell you that the insert plate was the most expensive part of this project?) Needless to say, the bolts on the router were too short to fit through the table insert so I countersunk the holes in the insert. Finally, without any gliches the insert was mounted to the router.
Next I attached the table top to the base of the cabinet. I attached the wings to the table top. Now I just had to drop the insert with the router attached back into the table top. Shown to the right is the table top without the fence. When the doors are opened, they support or hold the wings up in place. I will have to figure out some way to lock those doors in that open position so if there is any vibration from the router while it is running the doors can not move out of place.
The picture to the left shows the back side of the fence while it is mounted on the table top. You can see that the fence has the ability to move back and forth. Looking through the dust port hole you can see how the slides on the front of the fence can be adjusted to fit up to the bit that is installed. I may have to look for some smaller knobs as these pictured can get kind of close to each other. (Another trip to the hardware store.)
The picture to the right shows how the router table looks when not in use. The doors are closed and the wings are dropped. In order to transport this table, you are suppose to pick the whole thing up using the handle on the fence. I'm afraid that the weight of the router and case may stress the fence and maybe cause a problem down the road. I'm thinking I may just put some handles on the side of the case below the wings and carry the case around that way. (Did I say that this will probably be one of those never-ending projects that one will always come up with ideas to tweak it a little?) 
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