Why a Router Table?
The electric router replaced a hand operated machine that had been around for a long time, the router plane. The base of the router, in fact, emulates the well known Stanley Model 71 Router Plane that resided in most wood shops before power came along. The motor added speed to the operation and, eventually, increased versatility. A router is mainly used to provide shaping to the edges and surfaces of wood. This can be simple depressions in the surface, like a dado, or the edge, like a rabbet, but can also provide complex shaping for either decorative or functional purposes. The router plane was meant to be used hand held and so is the router. Another tool that does this job is a shaper table. It is mostly used for edge shaping. It spins a large knife at high speed and has fences to guide wood that is moved over the table surface to be shaped. Good shapers are expensive and so is each blade. A router, mounted under a table top with the bit sticking through, can do many of the same jobs
