So the base cabinet is done for the moment, so lets move on to the tabletop. I cut two generous sized pieces of mdf and glued them up. After that big hung of weight had set up, I trimmed the edges and made sure it was all square. I had some Oak plywood scraps laying around and was too lazy to plane/joint some rough oak to size, so I cut the scraps to size, mitered the corners glued them onto the mdf top for the edging.
Next, I cut two over sized pieces of white plastic laminate, spread out the contact cement ( almost got high from the fumes ) and then applied the laminate when the cement was tacky. I did this for both the top and bottom. After rolling out the laminate, I took a flush trim bit in the router followed by a slight chamfer around both the top and bottom. This went well as I was pleased with the outcome.
Now I had this really nice top and was very nervous about cutting the hole in the top for the insert. After carefully making my calculations, I constructed a jig from scrap plywood and pocket screws to run the router around. After positioning it and clamping it down, I finally just had to get over the nerves and just go for it. Using a 1/4 inch up spiral bit, I went for it. After about 4 or 5 passes, the big hunk of meat fell out and I was left with a really nice hole exactly as intended. I next chucked up a 3/8 inch rabbet bit in the router and went to town after removing the pattern. This left a perfect fitting ledge for my shiny new router insert…except for the corners. The rabbet bit left too large a radius in the corners. So after considering what to do for a minute, I chucked up a 1/2 in straight bit ( which is the correct radius ), mounted a straightedge to keep me in check and carefully worked into the corners. After just a minute amount of chisel work, the insert plate “fit like a glove”.
I guess tomorrow it will be construction of a decent fence and figuring out how to drill holes in the router insert for the mounting screws as well as the adjustment points. So, I’ll post more as I get it. –JackD
