Tricked out Erika

So it's been a bit since Ive got everything set up and I feel it's time to weigh in.

At this point Id probably pay twice as much for everything , it's that useful!

Im able to set everything up including wiring up a breaker into the houses electrical panel in less than 15 minutes. That includes putting the incra fence on, support legs and dropping in the router table insert. At that point im ready to go for any operation.

Yesterday I had to weave in some hardwood flooring on a kitchen remodel I was doing. I took out a knee wall and the island was eliminated so I needed to patch those spots in. Id hoped there was floor I could harvest from under the cabinets but they had just run the floor up to the cabinets, no good. So I took a piece of it with me to the flooring supplier. I couldn't find the finish I needed in 2 1/4" width and they could no longer order it. They did have it in 3 1/4" so I grabbed a box. Used the incra fence and an existing piece to set the cut width and ripped all of the stuff down. Then I threw an adjustable tongue and groove bit in the router insert and ran added back a groove i to all of the cut ends.

Problem solved and it was even enjoyable to do. Really long story short, this things amazing and by having a portable cabinet saw sized table saw and router table im able to handle a lot more issues that arise.

Doesn't matter what you attach the brackets to the Erika with as long as they fit in the slot I. The bracket and the head tightens down. I think I used a 1/4-20. Grab a threading die for whatever you buy and have at it.

Hi all,

First post here, but have been following this thread with great interest and considering eventually aiming for the same set up.

rizzoa13 - fantastic work, it looks like a super accurate portable set up! Would you be able to describe (or maybe show some pictures) of how you've integrated your router table into the set-up?

Thanks Anthony! You're a champ.
Was going to work it yesterday, but ran out of time.

The other questions...
1) I am used to using (many years ago) feather boards.
There seems to be no way to do that?

2) The kerf job behind the saw is slightly bent towards the fence. That works good to put a bit of sideways force on the wood towards the fence, but half of the time it is requires a tap to get it into the slot.

3) was doing some narrow pieces to use as edging on the Jarrah veneered MDF (12x19mm), The blade seems to be slightly toe'ed out with the incoming side a small fraction of a mm further from the fence than the tail-end (out-feed side).

4) No apparent way to use a sled... Maybe once the Incra is on then I can have a sled that rides against the fence. 

Here's some photos:

First for jamesuk I've got a couple pictures of the overall setup, the won defense installed, and the underside. It's a really simple, and heavy fence that I'd like to remake with better quality materials but it hasn't deflected a mm even with the big porter cable in it. The woodpeckers roster lift is amazing also. I'd like to set a t-track into the wooden top for feather boards sooner than later.


Now for Mr. Holmz, I got out my metric tape just for you, and took some pictures with it hooked so you could see where best to drill and tap your holes. The first set of 3 are the front side and the next set of 3 are the backside. There are pictures of the underside also to show where the bolts come out. The first and third actually go into the rib metal framing of the saw so there's no clearance issue and the second was placed to be out of the way of all moving parts. I've also got a couple pictures of the Jessel clear cut guides for you too. 


Hope they were helpful and ill try to answer any more questions 👍

Edit:pictures decided to go out of order, sorry for that but I have no clue how to fix.

Very cool indeed rizzoa! Thanks for taking and posting those.

I've been looking at potential router/table saw solutions that can be stored away and set-up relatively easily. I haven't seen anything that looks as good as what you have going on there. Another option would be the festool MFT/CMS combination with the Incra positioner mounted on the connected MFT. But the actual saw/router surface is smaller and I have some doubts that the track saws mounted in the modules will be as consistently accurate as the Erika, especially with angled cuts - but I'm just going on what I've read.

A few more questions about your set-up (if you don't mind)

1) do you think there's any reason why someone couldn't also use Incra's own router table tops www.qy1.de/img/tablesawcombo2.jpg - presumably they would just fit on the rails using the same Incra mounting hardware you have used?

2) when you're using the router table is it pretty solid and stable with those extra legs on the end?

3) has the lack of zero-clearance insert for the saw been a problem for you at all? for example, could I still hope to achieve nice clean splinter-free bevel cuts in quality birch ply with the Erika?

4) Once you have drilled and screwed in the brackets that hold the main Incra rails onto the sides of the Erika, does that mean that you no longer have the option to use the extension bars that would allow someone to use Mafell's own extension/router tables?

I appreciate it, thanks!

holmz - best of luck with your own modifications.

1. The Erika 85 is 36" deep, I haven't found any commercially available router table inserts with that dimension. If you can find one please let me know as I'd really like to get one.

2. The Incra support legs are surprisingly sturdy, I was doing lock miters on 18' long pieces of Azek. As I don't have featherboards set up yet I had my partner feeding the board while I was applying a LOT of pressure downwards and towards the fence. Nothing moved.

3. The zero clearance hasn't been an issue for me but may be on really splinter prone wood. The high power motor, solidcomponents and really good quality mafell blades have been good enough for me even on pre-painted, notoriously pain in the ass cabinet fillers.

4. You would lose the use of the mafell dovetail rails on the front and back of the saw. You could always remove the brackets and be able to use them but then you'd need to reset the heights so that your incra rails are coanar with the Erika top again. I've found with the sliding table and the Incra setup I never need to use anything else. If a board is too long I take it to my miter saw.