Immediately after finishing my new bench top router table, I started to work on the rolling stand for it. First, I had to decide how I was going to build it – an open frame that just provides support for the router table and the shop vac I will use for the dust collection, or a closed box that will help muffle the sound from the shop vac. Since box construction using plywood is generally faster and easier to do than building a frame from solid wood, I went with that.

I used 1/2″ thick plywood for nearly all of the stand and got started by cutting out and fastening the top, bottom and two sides together with glue and brads:

I’m using my wooden bar clamps to help pull the bottom tight together while the glue sets.

The cut-out on the lower back corner of the  side panels is for the plywood wheels for the stand:

Since the stand and the router table it will carry are not very heavy, and I won’t be moving this very far to use it, the plywood wheels will serve nicely.

One problem was that they stick out a bit farther than I’d like:

Mainly because of the nut between the wheel and the backer that the axle is bolted to.

To remedy this, I used a t-nut instead:

Much closer:

Making these wheels tight to the side like this reduces the chance they will snag on something while moving the stand around.

With a shop vac enclosed in the stand, there needs to be a way to let the blower exhaust out, so I drilled two holes in the bottom with a 2″ hole saw:

Originally I thought it would be a good idea to route the exhaust back into the router table itself, to create turbulence and improve dust collection. But doing that would make the dust port at the router table fence ineffective, since it relies on negative pressure inside the router table cabinet.

I added a solid wood face frame to the front of the stand to dress it up and make it a bit more durable:

It also works with an interesting idea I had for the door. Rather than hinge it, I made it so that the panel will come out completely, very much like a patio door can be taken out of its track. I added pieces of foam sanding block to the bottom to act as springs:

These will push the door panel up tight to the underside of the top panel, and behind the edge of the face frame. To remove the panel, you push it down into the sanding sponge until it clears the lip on the top face frame. Simple, but effective and it uses no hardware:

I made the handle from solid maple and that gives me something to grip while moving the stand. It’s also used to remove the front panel.

Next, I installed the shop vac. It’s a smaller one that I already had and I designed the stand around it, in particular how tall it is. I figured the best place to put the inlet for the vac would be directly below the router, so that uncollected chips wouldn’t pile up there and be drawn into the motor of the machine:

To install the router table on the stand, I used four screws through the mounting cleats:

A tidy package, if I do say so.

The whole thing was designed to fit inside the right side open bay of my miter saw station:

I need to make a door to close in the front of it to keep the dust out while it’s not being used, very much like my surface planer cart.

I made a video showing this router table stand build from start to finish: