On June 30, 2025, Harbor Freight added a benchtop router table to its BAUER line, with a dateline of Calabasas, California. The legs clamp to a bench, so the table doesn't stand on its own feet on the floor, and it's sold only at Harbor Freight. No price was printed, and the release points to harborfreight.com for current pricing. The same text was also posted as a press-release PDF. TMWB hasn't used the table, so these are Harbor Freight's claims. The release is about a table and not a motor.
What is a router table for?
A router is a motor that spins a shaped cutter called a bit. Used by hand, the motor travels across the wood, which works on a panel that can be clamped down but poorly on a narrow strip, where hands crowd the cutter and there's little surface to steady the tool. A table reverses that arrangement. The router hangs underneath, the bit comes up through an opening, and the wood slides across the bit with the table supporting it. That's why a table suits edge profiles, rabbets (steps along an edge), and grooves (slots).
Harbor Freight says the table works with most major router brands, including its own HERCULES, BAUER, and DRILL MASTER models. The insert-plate dimensions aren't listed, so there's no way to check a particular router base against a drawing from the announcement alone.
What features does the table have?
- Throat plates. The bit comes up through a removable plate with a hole for the cutter. A hole only slightly larger than the bit leaves more table under the wood, which matters at the end of a narrow cut. Harbor Freight lists five plates: 1/2, 1, 1-3/16, 1-1/2, and 2 inches.
- Fence and slot. An adjustable fence keeps edge cuts parallel at a constant depth, and a miter-gauge slot accepts a gauge for feeding wood at an angle. The slot is listed, but a gauge isn't confirmed in the box.
- Featherboards. These are rows of flexible fingers clamped to press the wood against the fence or down on the table. They let wood slide forward and resist it moving back, which also helps against kickback, where the bit grabs the wood and throws it. The release doesn't give the count or mounting.
- Guard and dust port. A clear plastic guard sits near the bit, and a vacuum port accepts 1-1/4 in. or 2-1/2 in. attachments. No airflow figure or hose is included.
Why do the legs clamp?
The top is 32 x 16 x 1 in. laminated MDF, which is wood fibers and resin pressed into a flat sheet with a wear surface bonded on. The legs are 16-gauge steel (a smaller gauge number means a thicker sheet) and clamp to the work surface. The bit pushes the wood and the wood pushes back through the fence, so a table that can slide changes depth mid-cut. Clamping borrows the bench as a stand. The release doesn't say what kind of clamps are used or what thickness of benchtop they fit.
What about the switch and power?
The table has a 6 ft cord and an on/off switch with two outlets. The router's own switch hangs under the top beside the bit, so plugging the router into the table lets the switch in front of the operator control it. A second outlet is a natural place for a vacuum. Harbor Freight doesn't say both outlets are switched or give an amp rating, and different routers draw different current.
How does it compare with a floor model?
A floor-standing table carries its own weight to the ground and takes up floor space. A benchtop table stores on a shelf and goes where the bench is, which suits a small shop. The trade-off is stability and capacity. A 32 by 16 inch top suits edge profiles on narrow stock, but a long board overhangs and needs outfeed support, and the clamped legs depend on how solid the bench is.
How does it fit into the BAUER line?
BAUER is one of Harbor Freight's power-tool lines, and the release calls it popular. The line is built around corded and cordless tools at lower prices than HERCULES, so a benchtop router table fits naturally as an accessory for the person who already owns a BAUER router or another brand of router. Harbor Freight says the table fits most major brands, with HERCULES, BAUER, and DRILL MASTER named, and the sentence is notable for naming its own three brands first.
It also helps to know what isn't being announced. The release says nothing about a router, a bit set, or a kit, so the table has to be matched to a router the buyer already owns. A router has a base, which is the flat plate that rides on the work, and the table's insert plate has to accept that base or an adapter. That's the reason the insert-plate dimensions matter, and why their absence from the release is a real gap.
What does it cost, and where can you buy it?
Harbor Freight didn't print a price. It says to check harborfreight.com for current pricing, and the table is sold only at Harbor Freight, as the newsroom post states. The same text was posted as a press-release PDF, so the PDF adds no extra specifications, and the release doesn't give an item number. The headline calls the BAUER lineup "popular," which is the company's word and not a sales figure. Because the release says nothing about a router, a bit set, or a kit, the table is a separate purchase that has to be matched to a router the buyer already owns, and the insert-plate dimensions that would show whether a particular router base fits aren't listed.
What's left out?
Price, router fit beyond the named brands, fence height and scale, switch amperage, weight, an included hose, and any outfeed support for long boards. For edge work and smaller parts, the 32 x 16 inch reach is the figure that matters.
Sources and image credits
- Harbor Freight newsroom, June 30, 2025
- Press release PDF
- Product images: Harbor Freight newsroom
