Summary: My new class, Intro to the Router Table is debuting on August 1st. It will teach the basics of safely using the router table for a simple project, a utilitarian carrying tray. Please sign up if you are interested!
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The Intro to the Router Table class I’ve been developing for quite a while is finally online.
The router table is possibly the most dangerous machine in the shop. As a steward, it is certainly the machine I most often see dangerously misused. But it is also perhaps the most powerful and versatile manual tool in the wood shop. This class will teach you how to keep control and begin to harness its abilities.
This is an introductory class for those who have little or no experience with the router table, and also those whose experiences with the router table have not gone well. The latter once described me: I did not feel safe using the table – it had literally ripped pieces out of my hand and thrown them off the table — and the resulting pieces were poor, often unusable. This is the class I wish someone had offered me then.
This is also a project based class. The end result will be this:
These are the necessary pieces to make a simple carrying/serving tray similar to these:
These were prototypes; the final design has slightly different dimensions, and I’ll post a picture of that when it’s assembled later. It is sized to fit exactly on top of a standard TV Tray. (If you want a smaller version, that can be arranged; just be certain of the size you want when you come to class.)
While making this, we will also use the drill press, covering some aspects of its use. And we will discuss the design choices I made for the project and what some of the alternatives are.
We won’t quite complete the project in class, but at the end you will have all the necessary components ready for assembly. I will demonstrate the assembly glue-up techniques in class, and the necessary tools for everyone in the class to do this will be available immediately after class if they want. Students who aren’t Asmbly members should indeed plan on staying 15-20 minutes longer so that they can complete the project and take it with them. Asmbly members can complete the assembly of the project immediately after class or at their leisure later.
While setting up the class details, Shane went into salesman mode and actually priced the class cheaper than I suggested, at $99. This is a great deal; this is similar to or cheaper than most Asmbly three-hour classes, plus you end up with this nice carrying tray, which is about a $20 value for the wood alone. But we can only keep the price that low (or indeed, continue to offer the class at all), if we get mostly full classes.
The first class is Thursday, August 1st, from 6-9 pm. That was perhaps a risky time to schedule the debut, right in the summer doldrums, but I know quite a few people have expressed interest in the class, so I’m optimistic it will fill up anyway. So sign-up ASAP! And please ask me any questions you have about the class here or when you see me in the shop.
I’m super excited for this one!!! I feel like wooden trays are always great gifts and something one can never have too many of. Thanks for all the hard work developing this class and giving folks an opportunity for more hands on training with the router table! 
