How will the pneumatic machine save time for me?
Aside from being an industrial quality router table at a small shop price, the Progressive Router Table is ideal for jobs like milling stile and rail doors, cutting large decorative profiles in small incremental passes, or creating tongue and groove flooring and paneling.
You can dial in the first cut (for example, to make tongues), mill your parts, and then dial in the second cut (for grooves). You can switch back and forth all day long without ever having to set up again. All you have to do is turn the dial on the front of the router table. The machine remembers where to go.
You can also chuck a tall multi-profile bit in the router and catch various profiles at different heights, which is ideal for making edge moldings, picture frames and the like. Return To Menu

What's so special about its bit changes?
Among the best features of all Progressive Router Table models is the quickest and easiest bit access in the industry. To get to the bit, simply lift the hood!
The table is hinged at the back. Lift the front edge and lock it at a comfortable angle. The router is not attached to the underside of the table, as with all other machines that we know of. It is independently mounted to the body of the machine. When you open the hood, it is sitting right there in front of you. There's no crawling around under a table or fumbling for wrenches while trying to reach a couple of nuts that are out of sight. Everything is in plain view. The bit couldn't possibly be more accessible. Return To Menu

Is this machine safer for students and new trainees?
Perhaps the greatest strength of the pneumatic machine is its attention to safety features. The most obvious feature is that, thanks to the pneumatic cylinder, a spinning bit can be dropped below the tabletop as it winds down. It comes to a stop out of sight, and out of harm's way.
When plowing a stopped groove or mortise, the bit can be plunged up into the workpiece using the foot pedal. Move the part across the table and, when you reach the end of the groove, use the foot pedal to drop the bit. You can now slide the part off the table. You don't have to physically lift it up off a live, spinning router bit. The bit is safely below the tabletop.
When you plow stopped grooves, the Progressive Router Table becomes an inverted plunge router. You can even change the speed at which it rises or falls. You can set it to rise slowly when plunging, and fall swiftly for safety reasons.
When changing bits, the table has a built-in kill switch. As soon as you start lifting the tabletop, power to the motor is killed. This means that nobody can inadvertently turn on the router while you are changing bits. (We recommend unplugging any machine while changing bits.) Return To Menu

How about quality?
Made in the USA, the Progressive Router Table is built to last. There is no sheet metal here - the walls are a full 1/8" thick (11-gauge) steel and the machine feels heavy, durable and extremely sturdy. The bushings that guide the router as it travels up and down are milled from UHMW (Ultra-High Molecular Weight) polyethylene, a product designed for applications requiring high abrasion resistance and impact strength. UHMW actually has a coefficient of friction that rivals Teflon(C).
Even that wasn't enough for our engineers. They designed the Progressive Router Table so that you can adjust the inner workings to compensate for any wear over the years in the UHMW bushings. All you need to do is loosen a few Allen bolts, slide the parts closer together, and snug down the bolts. Return To Menu

How big a compressor does the pneumatic model need?
The air-assisted Progressive Router Table model requires very little compressed air (about 80 psi). It is a sealed system, so the draw is quite minimal. It will work on virtually any compressor, even the most economical. The machine comes with a built-in air filter, which is designed to eliminate moisture in the line before it ever gets to the air cylinder. You can take it to a job site and work off a small pancake compressor. Return To Menu

What about assembly?
The Progressive Router Table comes completely assembled, and the standard way to order it is with a router motor already installed. After removing it from its carton, simply plug it into an air line and a 110 Volt household electrical socket, and go right to work. The manufacturer doesn't even have any assembly instructions. There are no plastic bags of nuts and bolts, and no endless hours of trying to figure out what an engineer in China wrote and had translated by a computer program. Just open the box. The fence clamps in place. Return To Menu

What router will it use?
You can buy any model with a router already installed for an additional charge that is essentially just the cost of the router. Currently, we offer either a 2-1/4 HP Hitachi(R) or Bosch(R) router as standard, but you can order it in the standard configuration without a motor if you already own a spare router. The factory has installation plates in stock for most common routers, and they can mill a custom plate if necessary, at a slight upcharge. Give us a call with questions. A router between 1.5 and 3.5 HP is recommended. Slow start is not a problem, as the bit can be started below the tabletop and can run up to full speed before being plunged into a workpiece. Return To Menu