Best Router Table 2017: Portable, Benchtop Reviews

When you’re a woodworking professional, DIYer, or hobbyist you know exactly how many miles you will get out of a secure and reliable router tool, so it’s equally important that the quality of your router table matches the quality of your router. Routers are ideal for making cutouts, sharp edges, cut joints, decorative surfaces and duplicating patterns. We’re here to list the top 10 router tables in today’s market that are flooded with various brands claiming to be the best. Don’t forget to view our router table buyer’s guide at the end of the post.

Best Wood Router Table Comparison

Bosch	SKIL	Kreg	Bosch	Bench Dog
For Professionals	Low Price	Best Value For Money	Top Quality	Portable
Model: RAS900	Model: RAS900	Model: PRS2100	Model: RA1171	Model: RAS900
34.4 pounds	32 pounds	28.4 pounds	45 pounds	43.2 pounds
27 x 18 x 14.5 inches	27.7 x 17.7 x 9.5 inches	19.2 x 30 x 4.8 inches	4.8 x 27 x 24.2 inches	26.8 x 22.8 x 5.1 inches
Aluminum	Aluminum	Aircraft-Grade	Aluminum	Anodized Aluminum
$$	$	$$	$$	$$
Ratings: 4.6	(Low Cost) Ratings: 3.9	Ratings: 4.2	(Editors Pick) Ratings: 4.5	Ratings: 4.4
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Bosch 15-Amp RA1181 Benchtop Router Table

Here is the Bosch RA1181 Benchtop Router Table that is engineered to be compatible with many routers available and can mount to all workbenches quickly. A router table is one of the essential parts you can have for any woodworking shop as it is incredibly versatile. The 2-1/2″ dust collection port provides the woodworker with greater dust collection for a clear workspace free of debris. The dust port will fit the standard 2-1/2″ vacuum hose.

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What Router would work best with the Bosch RA1181 benchtop router table

Top Bosch Router Table Questions & Answers

SKIL RSA900 Router Table

Here is the SKIL RAS900 Router Table that is conveniently pre-assembled with a built-in accessory storage bag and has a laminated MDF top. The free-standing structure offers room for essential parts such as the fence and router bits. The router table RAS900 also comes with a feather board, guard, bit inserts, and miter gauge; plus a tall fence with an adjustable laminated MDF faces. The SKIL RAS900 has a quick-release router mount that attaches and detaches in rapidly. We like the stability and convenience that the table has making the RAS900 an ideal router table for any DIYer.

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What Router would work best with the SKIL RSA900 Router Table

Top SKIL Router Table Questions & Answers

Kreg PRS2100 Benchtop Router Table

Here is the Kreg PRS2100 Bench Top Router Table that delivers incredible versatility whenever you need a router table for the job site or when you want a compact router table for the shop – it can handle the job. The router table is so durable as it will withstand years of wear and tear and includes an impact-resistant Microdot surface plus a rigid aluminum fence. It also includes a rugged stamped-steel foundation and four hard-wearing rubber feet. The noise-absorbing MDF tabletop with a rigid steel base and vibration-dampening rubber feet makes this router table is so quiet that we like how a user will receive fewer distractions while working.

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What Router would work best with the Kreg PRS2100 Benchtop Router Table

Top Kreg Router Table Questions & Answers

Bosch RA1171 Cabinet Style Router Table

The Bosch RA1171 Cabinet-Style Router Table delivers a premium work surface for woodworking and routing and ready to handle most jobs. Designed to fit various routers and can mount on any workbench, this router table is an incredibly versatile piece of equipment that will serve as an indispensable part of any woodworking shop. And with its cabinet-style construction, it provides greater dust collection and noise reduction for a less distracting and more efficient work environment. We like the MDF face plates on the oversized aluminum fence allow taller pieces to be steadily fed through the cutting platform that is adjustable.

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What Router would work best with the Bosch RA1171 cabinet table router

Top Bosch Router Table Questions & Answers

Bench Dog 40-001 Pro Top Contractor Router Table

Here is the Bench Dog 40-001 ProTop Contractor Benchtop Router Table that comes in a compact, portable table loaded with full-sized features making it one of the top job site router tables in today’s market. Using a one of a kind forward offset router location and dual position fence provides with it as much free space on the surface of the table like most full-size router tables. With 15 inches of inside cabinet height, it can virtually house any router. It includes a non-marring laminate top, Bench Dog’s 22-inch ProFence with integral 2-1/2″ dust port; an aluminum miter accessory track is adjustable for a no-slop fit for every standard miter gauges. We like the conveniently pre-drilled router insert plate that fits many popular brands of routers, and an enclosed birch plywood cabinet that reduces the dust and creates less noise.

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What Router would work best with the bench dog

Top Bench Dog Router Table Questions & Answers

Router Table Buyer’s Guide

A router table is one of those special additions to a workshop that are highly useful and most incredibly versatile. With the router mounted securely in a router table, your hands are free for the ultimate workpiece control experience during the cut. That extra control makes some routing operations incredibly easier such as routing grooves or edge profiles. It provides the operator with the ability to do some things you wouldn’t be safe to do when using a handheld router like routing restricted stock, making cope-and-stick joinery cuts onto the rails and stiles for cutting the raised panels or paneled doors themselves.

Things To Know When Buying A Router Table

A router table is one of the most versatile in the workshop, and there are certain features you’ll want your table to have.Let’s take a look at some of the basic essentials to having a strong and reliable router table.

Flat, Rigid Base Plate: On most router tables, the router’s attached to a base plate that will fit into a rabbeted opening in the table top. The layout and quality of the base plate can have a significant impact on how the table router will function.

The base plate needs to be flat to support the weight of the router and requires a solid body and machined aluminum and solid phenolic are ideal options.

For the best results the router needs to be compatible with the router table, and high-quality systems will deliver a range of plates that are pre-drilled specifically for certain makes and models the same goes for blank plates that are drilled to fit. One size fits all pre-drilled plates are not the best option as they have too many holes making susceptible for dust and debris that can interfere with feeding the stock.

Plate leveling system: Besides having a flat base you should aim for a table that includes a plate leveling system that will rest exactly leveled with the surface of the table and some systems will have four leveling screws that are adjusted from the underside of the table. Look for one that has more points of contact that will also include a way to lock down the plate to the table.

Miter & T-Slots: Some tasks are better handled with a miter gauge, for instance, cutting a dado across a long, narrow piece of stock. You’ll need a router table that is outfitted with a miter slot. A miter slot also comes in handy for securing feather boards along with many router table accessories.

Some tables are packed with T-slots in different locations for securing feather boards, stops and other most common router table attachments. These are machined into the front surface of the fence but can be in other locations. A slot across onto the top of the fence will provide the user with an easier attachment of a flip stop or a pair of hold-down clamps when needed.

Two-Piece or Split-Fence: When you’re routing away portions of the stock but leaving a remaining surface to ride against the outfeed fence, it will control the work. Both fences are required to be aligned in the same plane or aligned straight across.

When you’re routing away all the edge, the outfeed fence needs to be adjusted or offset to accurately support the new surface to avoid chatter and dips along with feather boards.

Here are the two ways to adjust the depth of cut: Raise the cutter into the work using a lift, or adjust the fence away from the cutter exposing more of the cutter. A continuous or sacrificial fence works best here with a zero clearance opening made for that special cutter. That helps to avoid tear out and makes the cut go smoothly.

Those were the advantages to using a two-piece or split fence.

One-Piece Fence: One-piece fence, the alignment isn’t an issue. The fence is one solid, straight piece that will cover both the infeed and outfeed sides of the table. However, the integrated alignment delivers several limitations such as the clearance hole in the fence for the bit must be large enough to work with the largest diameter bit you’re using.

When using many smaller-diameter bits, a larger opening could leave the result with significant gaps between the fence and the bit, keeping your workpiece with an unsupported maximizing the risks of it getting hung up in the opening. The infeed side of the fence will not be set at an offset from the outfeed side. If you want to have zero-clearance support for your workpiece or being able to use your router table to joint a straight edge on the board, you’ll have to add auxiliary fence faces.

Strong Sturdy Base

If you want clean, beautiful and crisp cuts, the workpiece needs to keep in regular contact with a cutter and advance it at a flat rate. Ideal cuts are hard to achieve when you’ve got a table that is wobbling or shifting around. When working on an unsteady base, you’re increasing your risk for uncertain outcomes. A router spinning a razor-sharp bit tens of thousands of times per minute could cause deliver a lot of unnecessary damage if the table were to topple over.