Shaper Extension Table

Shaper Table Upgrade
With Rockler AccessoriesCustom Wood Shaper Table| Using Rockler Components
Long Vertical Rails | End Panel
The 93" long table top would be secured to the wood shaper table with cleats and toggle clamps. I’d then mount the folding wings to that top. This jig would also incorporate a polymer miter slot keyway and a T-track system with clamp hold-downs for my fence system.
I would also add a dado slot parallel to the shaper fence to allow me to use a sliding sled. Additionally, I would add perpendicular t-tracks allowing me to use a fixed fence as well, more on this below.
Rock Steady Folding Top Extension Kit
For my two folding extension wings, I settled on the Rock Steady folding top extension kit, which is comprised of a pair of steel folding hinge brackets and folding legs.
The legs open by depressing a large paddle lever, and lock, both in the open and in the closed [stored] position.
The legs also allow adjustment in height from 22-5/8'' to 7-5/8'' in 1'' increments
The legs have swivel, leveling feet that screw adjust to 1/2'' which allows additional height fine-tuning.
The cost per pair is $120.
Rockler UHMW Plastic Jig Stock
UHMW Plastic Jig Stock, measuring 4'' X 24'' X 3/4'' thick. UHMW stands for Ultra High Molecular Weight (UHMW) polyethylene polymer and is a great material choice for making jigs and fixtures.
It has a low coefficient of friction and is self-lubricating, which makes it a great choice as a miter slot glide. To be clear, my table will not slide, I plan on using it for other sliding jigs, and I thought it would be good to use it as a fixed miter slot indexing point. The UHMW costs $50 and I can make a half dozen or more runners from it.
Rockler 24" Aluminum Bar
Rockler also has 24” Aluminum bar stock [model 26232] designed specifically to fit in miter slots. I was torn between using this or the UHMW. The aluminum stock sells for approx. $26 each and won't warp, swell, or shrink like my wood. It also has 1/4-20 threaded holes for attaching to your jig. The threaded hole is a definite plus!
T-Track and Clamp Fence Hold Down System |Components
I wanted to improve my fence clamp system and eliminate my having to use a bunch of screws and a driver every time i adjusted my fence. Adding a sliding clamp system would eliminate the screws and allow me to quickly adjust the fence and make micro-adjustments. To achieve this, I added Rockler T-tracks and clamps.
Rockler’s Universal T-track
I like using T-tracks in my shop. If you're not familiar with them the Rockler’s Universal T-track accepts both 5/16" and 1/4" T-bolts, as well as 1/4" Hex-bolts, and comes in 2 ft, 3 ft, or 4 ft lengths. The T-Track have pre-drilled holes in the base, that are 4” on center and 2” in from the ends. The track is 3/4" Wide x 3/8" Deep and I use a 3/4" Dado bit and router to install them. To fasten them to a table, I use #6 flat-head screws
Rockler Auto-Lock T-Track Hold-Down Clamps
For my clamps, I chose Rockler's Auto-Lock T-Track Hold Down Clamp which can clamp anything from veneer sheets to materials up to 2-3/4''. A set screw adjusts the clamp, and once set, the clamping pressure can be adjusted from 5 to 250 lbs. of pressure, which stays consistent regardless of workpiece size. The clamp head has a rubber material for better gripping and non-marring. The clamp has a knurled wheel that locks the clamp into the T-track, no wrench is required. The clamp reach adjusts from 1-1/2'' to 3-1/2'' from the center of the track and its height maxes out at 2-3/4'' high.
I use these same clamps on my assembly table and appreciate that, they can rotate 360°.
New Sliding " Hold-Down" Jig
While assembling this extension table I decided mid-project that I would also include and rebuild my sliding "hold-down "table. It made sense since I now have extension wings which will eliminate the sled from hanging past and tilting off the shaper table when milling longer stock.
Shaper table hold-down clamp
I routed a dado the entire length of the new extension table, parallel to the shaper tables bit/fence. This slot will guide the sliding hold-down sled jig past the shaper bit.
The new sled is 76" long, twice as long as my older sliding sled, and I used the two 48" aluminum bars, as miter slot guides. The top of the sled has 4 perpendicular t-tracks installed similar to the shaper extension table t-tracks. This sled was designed to clamp to and hold the material as it passed through the shaper bit. But not for long, I changed that mid-process!!
New Sliding Coping Jig
I also made a new coping sled, at first I wasn't going to, but I decided that once I had the extension table wings installed, I did not want to have to remove it to run operate the coping sled. The old sled indexed the shaper's metal miter slot and would not fit the new extension table slot.

[@MrBaconis]

Wasn't expecting to be as impressed as I was, but damn. Nice functional jig.

[@ConcordCarpenter]

Thanks - glad you enjoyed it

[@DKWalser]

Rob -- That looks like a great addition to your shop. I hope it serves you well. Please permit some suggestions from someone who ran a lot of board feet through a shaper when I worked at a furniture mill. First, never use the miter slot on a shaper. If the fence is aligned to the miter slot, using the miter slot works. But, if you're using the miter slot, you have to adjust the fence to the cutter AND adjust the fence to the miter slot. Since you can reference your coping sled and other jigs off the fence, just using the fence saves set up time. Second, most of the issues you were having could have been resolved with feather boards. In the furniture mill, if I was running a lot of stock, I used a power feeder. (Rockler sells them. With the amount of stock you run, you should consider getting one.) If I wasn't running a lot of stock, I used feather boards -- one mounted on the fence and the other mounted in the miter slot (which is what the miter slot is for on a shaper). A properly set up set of feather boards will keep the stock tight to the table and tight to the fence, which would prevent the issues you were having. With really long pieces of stock, I would have used a cart as an outfeed table. Third, it may be time to replace the sacrificial wood on your shaper's fence. It appears to have become grooved from running a lot of stock against it. Either replace it or joint the faces. My recommendation is using MDF faced with laminate. It's smooth and dead flat, which is what you want with a fence. I hope some of your viewers will find these tips helpful.

[@ConcordCarpenter]

Great tips thanks

[@stefboulas]

Great Job Rob! Looks fantastic

[@EvoKey]

Impressive work. It looks to work very very sturdy. And I love that you move your fingers so far away from danger with your board.

[@rockler]

Impressive work! 💙

[@Realism91]

Great job Rob, have a nice day.

[@riba2233]

Great work, very smart!

[@davids8493]

Great job Rob, well thought out and executed. 👍🏻👍🏻

[@What_Other_Hobbies]

My shaper is in a Hammer combination machine with a sliding table, but I still plan to make/add some hold down solutions similar to yours.

[@ConcordCarpenter]

Im jealous

[@JoeCole-q7l]

Not to be that guy, seems like every carpentry video I see has folks telling them they are doing it wrong. It looks like a sweet table extension. Maybe it’s just a matter of not wanting to spend the money, but it seems like a power feeder would be simpler set up , save some shop space and more accurate over the long run. Also a little safer as your hands never have to get that close to the knife. Again the table extensions look well made and a nice addition to your shop. Thanks for the video.

[@ConcordCarpenter]

I never considered it - Im old school I guess. Ill look into it, thanks for the suggestion

[@rickculpepper709]

Good stuff rob

[@Realism91]

I like what you did, I know you like making things and people suggest outsourcing to save money, where I live cabinet shops charge $150-400/hr and only go 1/3 more efficient than my tools, I charge 60/hr which is way more than a cabinet shop pays it's employees and I'm still undercutting them by more than 50% of their prices. I'm in a small city which is one of the cheapest cities to live in Canada, so there's no need for their prices to be so high. Every company here is booked so it also saves a minimum of a week in time for my jobs each time I do it myself. Interior designers are overused here too, some of them are good others aren't practical. Sorry for the negative vibes I'm just in a mood, we're redoing our whole house after having the foundation replaced it was collapsing.

[@ConcordCarpenter]

Agreed

[@MaydaysCustomWoodworks]

Rob, my man... You should be proud of the upgrade you made. But there is a better way to handle this. I have run a custom cabinet shop for a while, and I have an incredibly efficient operation. You should first consider hiring someone like Elias Woodworks to do this for you because they can do it way cheaper and more efficient than you (and they do a great job). But if you must do it on your own, then you need a power feeder. You can run infinitely long pieces with perfect consistency and no chatter. It also frees you to get the next piece ready to feed and utilize a helper to cut your part production in half.

[@ConcordCarpenter]

I never considered it - Im old school I guess. Ill look into it, thanks for the suggestion

[@marklaffey7972]

Hi Rob, love your channel and great job on the sled. I notice that you have a Festool miter saw in your shop, is that your pick for your shop or are you just testing it out? Thanks!

[@ConcordCarpenter]

Both! Tested it a few years back: www.toolboxbuzz.com/power-tools/festool-kapex-ks-120-reb-miter-saw-review/

[@Pembroke1]

Rob ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[@MAGAMAN]

If you want a bar for miter slots, get it from Incra. Their products are American made and very high quality, unlike the crap rockler sells. Their products are not cheap and are worth every penny. Oh, and their miter gauges are the best in the industry. 100% repeatable precision on any angle. My life will not be complete until I own one of every product they make. Their tech support is also the best I have ever dealt with. And no, I do not work for them and I have never received anything from them for free and have paid my own hard earned cash for every product I have from them. And I seriously can't wait to send them more of my money.

[@ConcordCarpenter]

thanks for the tip

[@MAGAMAN]

Rockler 48" T Track $25.99 Powertec 48" T-Track $16.99 These products appear to be 100% identical and probably made in the same chinese sweat shop. The only thing you are paying an extra $10 for is the Rockler logo on it. Rockler products are a perfect example of "Why get more when you can pay more"

[@zachpel1923]

here first

[@debandmike3380]

this is what you get when you buy cheap you spend more time effort and money trying to get it up to snuff. Just get a power feeder.

[@ConcordCarpenter]

@@debandmike3380 I love it, works great for my needs

[@MAGAMAN]

Rockler makes a bunch of crap. Half of it seems to be chinese made ripoffs of better products. The few things that aren't complete crap can eaily be made with a 3d printer for a fraction of the price.