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The router has become an
invaluable and diverse woodworking tool in the modern
woodworker's workshop. It can perform tasks that were previously
only possible with a bunch of hand tools and a LOT of time!
As routers became more and more
popular, so did the need for mounting them upside down in a
router table to further expand their versatility, essentially
creating a psuedo-shaping machine.
Now there are many router table
manufacturers on the market selling everything from basic table
and fence setups, to fully-blown routing stations capable of
many different shaping and cutting tasks. One of the newer tables
on the market is manufactured and sold by Dyco International,
and some of its features solve some of the common problems with
other router table designs.
We acquired a prototype model
from Dyco to undertake this review, so let's get into it.
Note: This review is compiled on the basis of a prototype
unit received from Dyco. As such, features or specifications may
differ in the final retail unit you may purchase. Where possible
we have included in the following review, notes where the final
model may differ from this prototype unit in regards to features or
specifications. Note also that guards have been removed in some
photos for better clarity. Use safety guards and devices at all
times when woodworking.
Dyco RT10045 Router Table
Like most similar router tables on the market, the RT10045
ships in component parts requiring assembly. A user manual was
not delivered with this prototype unit (as it was still in
production) but I was able to easily assemble the table without
requiring it. It is mostly just a process of attaching the legs
and support braces to the bottom of the table cabinet/skirt. Then
attach the fence assembly with the two securing screws and
attach the table extension wings, one of each side.
You will, of course, need to
supply your own router to mount under the table. A table-mounted
router should be quite powerful, as it will likely be
undertaking some more serious shaping tasks. At minimum, you
should have at least a 2HP router with variable speed control
capabilities that is able to take 1/2" shank router bits. Extra
depth extension is always a handy asset to have as well, as you
invariably lose some depth capacity because of the thickness of the
table itself. I used the Triton 3.25HP router.
It is one of the best-designed routers for table use made to
date and very powerful for this kind of table-mounted
application. There are many other good routers from other
manufacturers you could use
too.
Attaching the router is
quite simple. Supplied with the table are two mounting clamps.
These clamp to the base of your router and you can generally
configure them to clamp just about any router without
obstruction. I was able to
successfully clamp 3 different routers into the table without too many
problems, although the Triton router was only able to be mounted
one way as the router's handles would rub or hit the router
table cabinet when the table was lowered back to its flat
position. Nonetheless, it does fit in, in one way, and it works
fine. In application, the clamps seem to hold the router quite
well, providing a little piece of mind that your router wont
fall to the earth, or to a hard concrete floor! For extra
security, perhaps a third clamp could have been introduced into
the design to form a 3-point, triangular clamp arrangement
around the router, but again, the 2-clamp setup seems to work
fine so far.
Just check the clamps occasionally to ensure they are still
tight. Routers can cause a lot of vibration and tend to loosen
screws they are in contact with over time.
Mounting the router brings us to
the first feature discussion of the table, and that is the
tilting table. When standing at the front of the machine, the
table (which is constructed of cast iron and quite heavy!) can
be lifted up and anchored in its up-tilted position to mount the
router or access it easily. There are varying height/angle stops
on the table's supporting arm to hold the table in three
positions. I found the lower position not to be terribly
practical as it only gives you minimal clearance between the
table and the cabinet to access the router. The higher two
notches are better. You have to be careful here also. With the
heavy table resting on the support arm, you need to make sure
the table is fully engaged in one of the stop notches that hold
the table in the upright/tilted positions. Remember that your
arms and fingers are going to be in between the table and the
bottom cabinet, and if the table happens to drop unexpectedly,
you could be nursing a very serious injury. The support arm does
hold the table weight satisfactorily but you need to ensure it
seats in the holding notch properly for some insurance. It can sometimes be a
little difficult to slide it in. You can adjust the "tightness"
of the support arm so that it will engage a little easier into
the notch by adjusting the screw/nut that hold the arm in place,
but don't make it too loose! When in the upright position, you
do have plenty of access space to the router to make adjustments
or to change router bits etc. If you have the Triton router
installed, then above the table bit changes are possible with
this router/table combination, although you will still need to
access the router to raise the collet nut up above the table
surface. This table does not have a router raising feature, so
router height adjustments must be done under the table. The
advantage of the tilting table however is that it allows you to
sight bit height without having to bend down to eye level if it
remained in the flat, horizontal position.
A switch is mounted on the side
of the cabinet "skirt". Your router plugs into this switch,
and with the router itself left on, the main switch (which is a
magnetic on/off type) provides master On/Off control. I am told
that the switch position will likely be moved to the front of
the cabinet on the final model, which is good as the switch is
partially obstructed when you have the table extension wings
added.
I tested the main table for
flatness using the best straightedge I have in the workshop. For
all intensive purposes, the router table was indeed flat across
its length, width and diagonals. There may have been the tiniest
bit of light shine through on the outer corner of one edge, but
this was located behind the fence and not really "in play". Even
so, the margin of error was so small that it would not really
present a problem in use, even if it was located on one of the
"working" edges. The main cast iron table and top is well machined
and finished. Naturally, a good cleaning after un-packing and a
liberal dash of a good floor wax (without silicone) and a
thorough buffing will help prevent rust and provide a smooth
glide surface for your wooden materials to run over.
Included in the full router table
package are two cast iron table extension wings that bolt on to
the left and right edges of the existing table. Adding these
wings brings the total table length to 1000mm, which offers
plenty of length for good workpiece support. The same 3/4" x
3/8" miter slot is milled into the extensions to match the slot
milled into the main table. Naturally, you need to line up the
extensions accurately to provide a straight, continuous miter
slot to use the miter gauge (or other jigs in). There is only a
small amount of "play" available in the mounting holes and
getting the extensions lined up did take me a little time, but I
eventually got there and was able to set them up for both level
table accuracy and to provide an accurately aligned miter slot.
Be sure to clean the miter slots well to remove the packing
grease and apply a good lubricant (wax or spray) to allow smooth
gauge operation. On the prototype unit, the extension wing
surfaces seemed to be stained. I'm not sure why but I'm sure this issue will be
resolved for the final retail model. This did not affect overall
performance however.
On to the miter gauge itself. A
basic gauge is supplied with adjustment from 0 to 45 degrees in
either direction in 1 degree marked increments. It too is cast
iron construction so there is no problem with flex whatsoever.
There is a crude indexing feature to be able to return the gauge to
the 0 degree setting quickly and easily, but setting of any
other angle must be done by the eye. There is no fancy angle
stops you might find on a good miter gauge for the table saw. On
the router table however, such an angle stop feature for common
angles is not often necessary, at least it rarely is for me
anyway. You can of course lock down the gauge at any angle with
the locking knob, and the cast iron fence face has two
pre-drilled holes to allow you to mount an auxiliary fence, or
any number of fence-type jigs you may want to attach to the
gauge. The miter slot bar underneath is not adjustable, but it
fits the slot very well with only very minimal free play side to
side. Since the miter slot is a standard size (3/4" x 3/8"),
you can use other adjustable miter slot bars or other miter slot
gauges or jigs for greater accuracy or fit if you so choose, so
using your favorite table saw gauge shouldn't be a problem. The
table slot does not have the T-slot bottom however, so you may
have to remove that additional piece from your miter gauge first
if it does indeed have a T-slot fixing.
With regard to router bit
clearance, the bit clearance hole in the table can accept up
to 90mm diameter router bits. For smaller diameter bits, a
collection of 3mm laser cut inserts are provided to offer workpiece support up around the
edges of the router bit. Supplied are 15mm,
35m, 55mm, and 70mm inserts, so you will find an insert to
closely match the diameter of most cutters easily. The inserts
are a clean fit into the insert relief in the table, however,
they must be held down with the supplied screws to secure the
insert. This ensures the insert will not move during use,
but the screws are perhaps not my ideal way of securing the
inserts. In fact, I have found that if you have a nice and
secure fitting insert that is flush with the table, you don't
really need to secure it down at all. It will not move in use,
unless you happen to have one too small for the cutter and it
engages the insert, but this is almost guaranteed to be detected
when setting up the insert and router bit to begin with. The
issue with the securing screws is that they take time to add and
remove, and there is a chance of burring the heads with repeated
fastening and removing of the inserts. Plus, you need to remove
the fence to remove the inserts easily. On another router table
I have, the inserts simply drop in and engage against an
indexing pin which prevents them from rotating in the insert relief.
This works much better in my opinion and the inserts only take a
second to add or remove. Nonetheless, the Dyco table inserts do
achieve the task they are designed to do, but perhaps this could
be re-thought in the future, simply from a "user-friendliness"
(is there such a word?) point of view. Just my opinion of
course! There also appears to be a threaded hole milled near the
insert to use a guide pin, but there was no guide pin supplied
with the prototype model.
Moving on to the fence now, which
is perhaps the most important aspect of a router table. While a
router table really only needs a straight edge for a fence to
make it "practical", well-designed fences with additional
features make the router table a more versatile tool. The fence
bridge is again heavy cast iron construction and a one-piece
unit. This is nice as it
is solid, heavy and will not flex, bend or twist in use. Two clamp
screws secure it down to the table and macro adjustment is via
slots milled into the bridge component itself. The bridge can be
screwed down into either of two screw holes milled into the
table, so you can set the bridge accordingly to set up fence
distance for different diameter router bits.
The fence
components themselves are cut from thick steel and are very
rigid. There is one fence for the in-feed side and one for the
out-feed side. Having independent in-feed and out-feed fences
allows the user to set them up for trimming and edging tasks.
For example, you can actually joint a piece of lumber by
offsetting the out-feed fence to accommodate for the trimmed
edge, so it is supported properly on the out-feed side. Micro
adjustment is possible for each fence, and a small knob at the
rear of each provides the micro-adjustment feature. A locking
clamp above secures each fence in position to make cutting or
shaping passes. Each fence also has holes milled to attach a
sub-fence, if required. This can be handy as you can attach a
higher, one piece fence with an appropriately sized clearance
hole for the router bit being used. Doing so will also help
align both the in-feed and out-feed fences so regular edge shaping
can be achieved more easily. By default, the in-feed and out-feed
fences cannot be moved toward each other, i.e. left or right
when viewed from the front of the table, so you cannot close the
gap between the fences up so they provide closer support to the
router bit's edge. Using a sub-fence is the way to get around
this.
I have had another router table
with a similar fence design previously, and I had issues with
fence flex. Thankfully, this table fence does not suffer from
the same problem. Once locked down, the fences are very rigid
indeed, and they remain square to the table surface when locked
down throughout their range of movement, which is important for
accurate shaping and cutting work. Fence height is slightly
lacking for my tastes. While the height is probably average for
most commercial router table fences, you will need to make a
sub-fence that is a little higher if you wish to attach featherboards to hold workpieces down, particularly if you wish
to use a featherboard directly over the router bit itself (which
is generally where they are mostly used for hold-down
applications. Despite this, I was, overall, quite happy with the
fence itself. It seems quite well made and most important of
all, very rigid. It provides a base for you to further enhance
the possibilities via the use of specialized sub-fences. But be
aware in doing so, that you may limit the distance between fence
and bit that is achievable. I am considering drilling a third
set of threaded holes in the table to provide that little extra
fence clearance when using a sub-fence.
The other major feature of the
bridge is the 100mm dust collection port. Yes folks, finally
there seems to be tables coming onto the market that recognize
the need for a large and effective dust port. Any 4" (100mm)
dust collection hose will attach to the rear of this port to
provide high volume dust extraction. This has to be, in my
opinion, one of the biggest selling points for this router
table. On previous tables I have used, the dust extraction port
was either only 2" or 2 1/2" wide, or even smaller. While these worked to a degree, they were still
not what I consider an "effective" collection system for the
router table. The 100mm port is really the best part of this
whole table, because it will save you so much cleanup time and
reduce dust exposure risks. In use, and when attached to a good
extractor (I use my 2HP extractor) this dust port pretty much
catches everything! I'd say over 90% easily, probably more with
basic edge shaping work. There
is very little debris that seems to escape its grasp. In
addition, on the top of the dust port is a clamping mechanism
for attaching the table's safety guard. This is a plastic cover
with lowers down in front of the router bit, not only to help
keep your fingers away from the cutting bit, but also to help
contain debris around the extraction zone and ensure it gets
directed into the vacuum created behind the fence. I suspect,
however, that because I have a prototype unit, the look and
design of the guard may change, so what you receive may not be
like the "home-made" type of guard you see in the photos. The
guard can be moved up and down, and inward/outward to suit most
routing tasks. Again, and I feel I need to repeat it through
excitement at something that actually works well... the 100mm
dust port is a godsend for this router table, and this port
design is so simple and effective. Perhaps the best thing since
sliced bread... err veneer...
Router Table Accessories
Dyco manufacture and sell a number of accessories for this
table that add to its versatility and ease of use;
Wheel Kit
Firstly, there is a wheel kit. I
have not seen, nor used this kit before, but I thought I'd
mention it anyway. According to their website, the wheel kit
simply fits under two of the legs on one side of the table.
You then lift the other side off the ground and wheel the
table around the shop. As I have not seen or used this
accessory, I cannot comment more.
Bottom Dust Chute
Next we have an addition to the dust collection capabilities of
the table. So dust collection above the table seems pretty darn
good you say?? What about collection below the table? Well, the
Dyco router table, as you can see, has a skirt
"cabinet", but by default, the bottom is open to the world. Dust
that escapes below the table will eventually fall to the floor
below. The Dyco solution is simply to attach a dust hood with a
4" (100mm) port to the bottom of the skirt, effectively fully
enclosing the "cabinet". With a dust port now both above and
below the table, you can maximize collection. In fact, the only
dust that seems to escape this table is that small amount which
may settle, or be pulled by suction onto the upper surfaces of
the router attached below the table, usually around the router
collet. An occasional lifting of the table and a quick blast of
compressed air around the router takes care of that however.
With both the above and below dust collection ports, the Dyco
folks have truly produced a collection system that works for the
router table. It is
again one of the highlights of this table and a definite selling
point, and point for consideration when making a purchasing
decision. The only time you may really have a problem is if you
are routing without the fence (and associated dust port)
attached or in use. This may include tasks like raised panel
routing or guided pin routing. In these cases, use of an
accessory like the
Dust Picker
will help solve those collection issues.
Drum Sander
The drum sanding attachment clamps to the underside of your
router table and allows you to clamp a regular power drill (via
its collar) so you can use it as a stationary power tool. With
an appropriate drum sanding attachment for the drill, it
converts the drill into a convenient drum sanding machine.
While not strictly a routing accessory as such, it is
nonetheless useful if you have a need for it. You can of course
also mount other drill-type attachments like flap sanders or small
grinding attachments, or wheel buffs for polishing. Basically,
you can use any attachment in the drill and have the drill
mounted securely to the table.
Table Extension
When working with larger pieces that require extra support,
the table extension accessory provides a larger table footprint.
It attaches to the front of the router table via two milled
holes using extension bars which clamp underneath the table. The
extension support is solid and works by providing a
supporting surface at a distance further out from the front of
the main table. It helps in preventing objects from rocking or
tilting off the main table if they are large and heavy or
unbalanced by adding
a support that can extend up to 200mm outward. When not in use,
you can slide it in to move it out of the way, so
it's always available and ready to go, not like an attachment
that you have to add in and remove each time you need to use it.
Overall Impressions
Being a prototype model, the final retail model may differ
slightly, and will hopefully improve a little in some of the
minor "shortcomings" mentioned above. The table on a whole seems
to do the job well, although you may need to make a few
modifications of your own (i.e. sub-fences, extra threaded table
holes, use a different miter gauge etc) to make it truly a
versatile and accurate router table. It will handle all basic
routing tasks very well. For more specialized tasks, some
additions will need to be made by the end user, although this is
not really different from most other router tables on the
market. None are really perfect in all aspects and applications.
As mentioned above, the dust
collection features are the real highlight, and I would
definitely choose this table over another with similar features that isn't designed
with dust collection in mind.
With a street price of around
AUD$600, the Dyco router table is priced similarly to other cast
iron router tables on the market. A good router table will last
you a very long time, so it's worth investing some money in one
that will last. Be sure to check all your options in your budget
range, but as a quick synopsis, you should consider the Dyco if
your main considerations are:
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Dust Collection
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Tilting table
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Independent in-feed/out-feed
fences
As a side note, the table and
fence is also available on its own if you prefer to make your
own stand. Model number for this is RT5745BM (street price
around AUD$400).
For more
information, or to contact Dyco direct (for
availability/compatibility in your country etc), their website
can be found at
www.dycointernational.com
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Available to
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Dyco Router Table Photos
All photos copyright onlinetoolreviews.com. Use without prior
written permission prohibited
The RT10045 Router Table
Bridge and fence assembly.
Here is the safety/dust guard on the prototype unit.
Got 4" dust pipe?
Micro-adjustment screw and lock for the fence.
The miter gauge is basic but functional.
One of the extension wings that increase table length to 1000mm.
Main on/off switch with clear
dust covers.
Note the table support extension installed and extended
at the front of the table. This provides additional support for larger
materials.
This is what every router table needs... a big 4" dust
port!
Table tilted up to gain access to the installed router
below.
Looking down in the bottom of the skirt we see the
optional dust chute installed. It works well!
One of the two clamps holding the router in place.
Table support arm for tilting function. Note the notches
to hold the table at three different heights.
Edge profiling on the Dyco table. (Featherboard not
included).
This was the fifth end grain routing pass in a series.
The miter gauge is in use here, but notice the lack of dust on the table.
The 100mm dust port has grabbed it all!
Using the table extension support to manage larger
material more easily.
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