Bill Hylton's Ultimate Guide to the Router Table (Popular Woodworking)

Excellent book. This is what a person who is going to get serious in router table working needs. Woodworking is my hobby. I build many things around the house, from dormers to desks, and cabinets. I bought a Porter Cable 3-1/2 HP router, a Bench Dog table, and a Bench Dog Lifter. I wish I had seen this book before I bought the table. Well, I bought it all at once. I would have made my own table. The book is very well written and the author (Bill) is extremely knowledgeable about his subject. He offers many options for building your own table based on your specific needs. The illustrations are great. It covers many different areas, such as making dovetails, different types of bits, how to make jigs and fixtures, etc. There are no adds about any particular brand, which is great. He focuses of process. This is a great book, built with high quality paper as well. I highly recommend it.

Despite what the book review states, this is not a book about building your own router table and I have yet to find any plans. If you are looking for plans, you will need to buy either "Woodworking with the Router" or "Router Magic" which are also by Hylton. As the author states, "Using a router table is what this book is about".

It is an excellent book especially if you are not familiar with the router table. There are also ideas and techniques for the person who is familiar with the router table. Hylton is a great suthor and I would recommend any of his router books.

I got this book thinking I would build my own router table. Hylton offered a whole lot of alternatives, with explanations of the applications, benefits, and limitations of each. Because I have so little room in the tiny shed I pretend is my "shop," I saw that I couldn't possibly use some of the larger tables, even if some had given me one. Furthermore, I knew I might want to take my router table to our apartments to use there. So the table had to be sort of portable.
Years ago I had used a less powerful router, with 1/4" collet, under an inexpensive Craftsman table. It was fine for the work I needed to do. But I wanted to use more of the router's capability, and I had a powerful tradesman's Porter-Cable router. So I wanted a good table.
I loved reading about the various tables; and the color illustrations and photos couldn't be beat for clarity and interest. So, after studying Hylton's book, and after reading recommendations on various commercially avaible tables, I bought a Bosch router table. I got it barely used for just $100, and the fellow threw in a set of 19 1/2" bits.
THE SURPRISE!
How has Hylton's book benefited me? Why five stars? I had not anticipated how comprehensive this book is. The huge majority of the book is devoted to how to use the table-mounted router: what you can do, and how to do it. THIS MAKES THE BOOK MORE THAN WORTHWHILE.
Any other benefits? First, it's great fun to read, and then to browse again and again. Second, the information in this book actually enabled me to purchase the Bosch table with the assurance that it would be right for me. Tird, Hylton shows how to set up and adjust the table -- which I did with the Bosch. Finally, Hylton showed the necessity of having a way to get rid of dust and chips -- which I had not thought of.

The book is designed to be used in a shop. It is sturdy, the print is fairly large, and the headings are in bold type (This may seem irrelevant as you read this on your computer; but when you are in the shop, constantly switching your attention between the book and the project you are working on, you'll appreciate it.)

If Hylton's "Ultimate Guide to the Router Table" has a weakness, it is that it presents no plans for any tables, just a few photos of various tables. But a good woodworker can buils the tables just by lookinf at the photos. And if he had wanted to include plans, which plaans would he have selected? Get a plan elsewhere

A great book for the beginner router user, but probably useful enough for relatively experienced users too.
Being almost exclusively aimed at router table usage, not just general router usage, allows it to be very comprehensive and cover a lot of details.

Highly recommended

This probably the best book (127 pp) on router tables and their use that I have come across. One of the best features are the numerous pictures to illustrate the various tips and methods of doing things. About 1/4 (47PP) is devoted to setting up and basic use of the table. The rest of the book contains tips and methods using different bits to cut profiles, various joints, using templates and frame and panel basics. Unlike many other books it does not waste any pages by reviewing various routers or router tables, instead it focuses on tips for using the router table different set-ups.
You can google for a table of table of contents and sample pages.
(http://books.google.com/books/about/Bill_Hylton_s_Ultimate_Guide_to_the_Rout.html?id=LznH-X9Xv9EC).

I was installing a hardwood floor and needed to route a groove into some pieces. This book gave me all of theinformation I need to select and buy a router and table. It also gave me all of the information that I needed to setup the table to route the groove. Well worth the price of the book to me.

Hylton gives great advice and instructions for working with a router table. It could use a fiew project ideas so the reader wants to try the new skills. Those ideas are readily availiable everywhere, but for the book to score 5 points I'd want to see some in here too.

Another book by Bill Hylton that I love. This book, combined with Woodworking For the Router and Router Magic make up a near-perfect reference collection for the router. Lots of pictures and tips that router users of any skill level will find useful. Some of the extra pictures are useful if you are considering building one of the router tables in Woodworking For The Router. Lots of great advice that have made the router my tool of choice for a lot more jobs :)

A good reference book for the mid to advanced level woodworker wanting information on routers, but definitely NOT for the beginning woodworker or someone wanting basic info on beginning routing. Great illustrations. This is a well-produced book that would make a great gift for the advanced woodworker in your life, but it's not for someone not familiar with woodworking or routers. The organization seems off, with material in the beginning of the book that would make more sense farther along in the book. I'm in publishing and write, edit, and publish lots of how-to books and this just seems off. The material is all there, and if you use it as a reference book it's okay, but don't expect to read it front to back in a progressive manner. It's like the author just put together a collection of articles in no logical order. But, he may have had a different thought process. That's why I knocked a star off. That, and the fact that not every chapter is given the same depth and scope of information. I found some of the shorter chapters more interesting, but simply not as long as their counterparts. Still, a good book for anyone with advanced wood working skills.

This book is a fantastic, comprehensive review of all important router techniques. Has enough detail and tricks to really get something done. It dispenses with alot of the fluffy theory and gets down to it. Excellent organization and highly instructive. Pictures are excellent.