Router table power

[Paul/Sarnia]

I am still working on my router table. I thought it was a no brainer to wire up the switch till I started thinking about it. lol
My vision is to have it so I can move it anywhere in my shop and power the front switch up from an outlet at the back, then have the router powered from the switch but able to remove the router from the top of the table. does anyone have a scematic of how this is done. I can think of a couple of ways but do not want it to look "mickey mouse"
Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

Paul

[Frank English]

Michael Camben(sp) covered this type of wiring project in a recent Canadian WW magazine article. I used it to wire up my router table and it is very satisfactory. I used about a 12ft cord.

Frank English

[Frank English]

Paul

Sorry, when you get to 60 recently can be anywhere from yesterday to years ago. The article was in the June/July 2005 issue #36 of Canadian Woodworking. ShopUtilities by Michael Kampen called Switch Box. I did exactly what he showed and it works great. If I leave the router switch on I can power from the external switch.

Frank English

[Paul/Sarnia]

Darn
I gave away all my back issues of woodworking mags to the armed forces.
Think you can sketch it out for me?
Paul

[Gary in Niagara]

Darn
I gave away all my back issues of woodworking mags to the armed forces.
Think you can sketch it out for me?
Paul

Paul, i have the issue but not in front of me, but this is what I did.

I mounted a switch box near the front.
I cut a 14 ga. extention cord about 3 feet from the female end.
I ran the short end (female plug) through the table into the router compartment.
The other end runs from the switch out to the wall plug.
To connect the wires put a marette on the white wires and connect the blacks to the switch (one to each side).

With a spool or rack you can wind the cord up when not in use or when you move the table.

[Rick Thom]

Paul, is the recommended switch a regular light switch or a 'safety' switch? I definitely prefer the later to lessen the risk of a false start and possible pain.

[matt in golden]

Paul,

It may not be as slick as what you have in mind, but, I have this switch from busy bee that may accomplish the functional aspect of your router table - and it has a paddle to allow you to turn it off easier than a light switch.

http://busybeetools.ca/cgi-bin/picture10?&NETID=0808461022061203926&NTITEM=B2487

take care,

Matt

[Paul/Sarnia]

I was hoping not to use a regular light switch, The Busy Bee switch looks like it will do the trick, thanks for the tip.

Paul

[Mack C. in Brooklin ON]

I use the Shop Power Block from LV. item # 03K50:01 pge 67 in the WW'ing cat., $19.95.

Works great for me!

[Paul/Sarnia]

Has anyone ever seen a switchable outlet with the switch on the front face and the outlet on the rear? That way the router plug would be hidden inside the carcass.
Paul

[Brent in Montreal]

Hi Paul,

http://www.rousseauco.com/model3506.htm

You can get it from a number of retailers.

[Lee Brubaker in Edmonton]

It is really no big deal. I used a double plug receptacle & a regular switch box. One of the receptacles is tied to the switch, the other is always "hot" which allows you to plug in a light or some other appliance when needed.Unlike a table saw, I have never seen the need for a paddle type switch on a router table unless you have children and a need to "lock-out" the switch when not in use. A light switch is dependable(how many have you replaced due to failure) & of course the switch on the router is also dependable or there would be no such thing as a portable router.
Fancy switching on a router table kinda falls into the same trap as insisting on accuracy on a table saw as though you are intending to build wooden space craft.LOL.

Lee

[John Monroe]

I have the Rousseau switch on my router table. I find the shut off bar very useful when I'm doing stop cuts on it.

John