Bench Dog 40-100 ProMAX Router Table

Ordered 2 of these and both were warped. Checked with my Woodpeckers 36 strait edge side to side and corner to corner.1/16" gap in middle that spans across the whole top. Looks like the Chinese are cutting corners.

The cast iron router table top is very nice and full of features. I have it mounted to my cabinet saw and it fit perfect. The one major flaw in my option is the small 8-1/4" X 11-3/4" router plate opening. This design flaw really limits which lift you can buy. There are some other design flaws in the ability to lock down the fence, as the mounting bolts and face-plate locks interfere with each other. Overall; it's a a very flat and nice table, but very annoying with the reduced opening. I can't get my old 4-1/2 hp Craftsman router mounted on it with a face-place, as the opening is too small for that also.

A little pricey bit the accuracy id great.

In my shop, the router table has become increasingly important. Nearly every project seems to be heavily dependent on the router table. Over the years, my old standby just wasn't holding up anymore so I started searching for a new set-up that would blend the versatility of a router table but the heft and durability of a shaper. I wasn't real thrilled with most of the "packages" that had been running across. Eventually, my search led me to the bench dog table and lift. With this, I added the Rockler steel cabinet, and the Kreg router fence, and the Porter Cable 7518 router.The good: Its really really heavy. With the weight, there is virtually zero vibrations. The fence is better than I expected in that, like a table saw, the fence is perfectly parallel to the slots. Its rock solid, and thanks to some design work, has no deflection. It very easy to adjust. The lift is just as expected. And I think most people would agree that the router itself will last years even under heaviest workloads. My time with this set-up is limited, but I tell you, with the bit spinning at the proper speeds, I can almost force feed anything into this thing. With my old set-up (which wasn't too crappy) it would be 2 or 3 passes. With this, eat just eats it up. The end results are mirror smooth profiles that take less time to set-up (thanks to the fence and lift) at a faster feed rate. What else could I want.The bad: Nothings free, and this set-up was no exception. The overall package price competes with some basic shapers. Granted, the set-up turned out really nice. Its also very heavy. My shop size doesn't allow for too many stationary tools, and this one loses out. It has to be mobile. Well, its not really designed for that. It does have casters on one end of the table and leveling pad on the other. However, it would be great if it had caster on one end and the other has a sort of cam lever action caster to lift it of the floor to move it. I'm sure I can get there, but it would be nice if it was built in out of the box. Lastly, since this is not a pre-packaged system, I had some drilling/countersinking into the cast iron top to mount the fence rail. I have an extensive metal working shop as well, so this was no problem. It was expected.Overall, this should be a rating for the table only, but it would only make sense to rate the overall package. Top notch. Easy 5 stars.

A couple years ago I spent nearly $300 on a Rockler MDF router table. I thought I was buying quality - wrong. After about a year the blasted thing warped with just the weight of the router. It now has a bow of about 3/16" from the sides to the center. Talk about disappointing. You can't do quality routing on a warped router table.So, I went on a determined search to find a quality router table. I had decide that if I couldn't find a commercially available unit I would have one custom made. But I wasn't wasting any more money on junk.Lo' and behold I found that Benchdog makes a cast iron router table. $429 Sounds expensive but not when you consider that junk costs 2/3rds of that...it's inexpensive in the long run.I've been using it now for several months. This is one nice router table. I customized it a little bit because I needed to mount it to my work bench to accommodate my Incra micro-adjustable split router fence. The support table frame that I bought with it is also quality. I drilled two holes in the cast iron edge and bolted it to my (heavy) work bench. The set up works great. I do precision routing with this setup and am very pleased with the stability of the entire set up.Note well since it is cast iron, it will rust. So, I clean it with Windex with ammonia, then spray a wax based corrosion inhibitor which also lubricates the surface (between uses). Note well, this router table weighs about a 100 lbs.I also purchased the Benchdog router lift. Very nice. My first experience with a router lift. the only caveat is that the lift will not raise the router high enough to change bits. You have to lower the router and change bits below the table. Overall, I am extremely pleased.

update. 9/28/15still going strong, perfectly flat. no issues. I never regret buying good tools.---------------------just like the previous review, i had the rockler phenolic table package for about a year, before it sagged in the center.(to be fair, its in my garage. exposed to some draft and reasonable moisture, hot /cold changes )boy am i glad i purchased the pro max about 6 month back. built 1 kitchens so far and 2 vanities and various moldings without a problem. there is almost zero vibration on regular bits, and a lot less on the bigger ones like the tongue cutters for 1-3/8 stock.the thing is heavy, but on my wheel stand no problem. and you need that weight for smoother performance. the table came perfectly straight as advertised. my rockler router lift, fence and plates, dustbuckets, stand, etc fit the table. made this woodworker happy. its so robust, i think this table will still be in use somewhere when im long gone.my only regret is that i didnt purchase this table the first time around.