Using router inserts to make cuts on an uneven surface


Experts weigh in on how to properly level your inserts on a home-made router table.

I am building my own router table and looking for a way to level the insert in the table.

Michael Dresdner: You can certainly purchase an insert to level out your table, but if you want a do-it-yourself solution, simply set nuts into the four sides of the rim holding the insert, and fix thumbscrew bolts into same. Use fine thread bolts, and pack the nut with thick lithium grease to help prevent vibration movement.

By the way, if you set the insert correctly the first time, you won’t ever have to level it since it never moves. Why not build it as close to perfect as you can, then level it once with permanent shims (or by scraping if it is set too high) instead of adding levelers? Another quick trick is to use epoxy putty as a bedding compound to set the insert. As it cures, it makes a perfect, permanent “shim”. Make sure you wax the insert first so that you can remove it after the epoxy putty has cured.

Jeff Jacobson: There are a number of ways you could go about this. One way to go would be to shim up the table with whatever material you can find – even layers of tape, for example. Or, you could go the mechanical fastener route and get an insert for your table that you can adjust with a screw.