MIMF

I need ideas for sound proofing a router area. How does one handle the apartment shop area?

hmm, can you - figure out when the neighbors are out? Use a hand router?

How about some vibration-absorbing material under the feet of the table/bench? How about a 'sound-shield' around the workbench - a curtain of sound-absorbent cloth or cardboard?

It's your problem, not your neighbors', I'd say.

And, some routers are louder than others. Get a quiet one. My Bosch 1617vs screams even without a load.

Get a variable speed router and run it at as slow a speed as you can safely get away with. Your cutters will last longer but you'll want them as sharp as possible to begin with. The spiral flute cutters cut a lot more quietly than straight flute ones. Folks seem to prefer Whiteside brand for sharpness but once that wears off they all cut about the same.
The quietest possible router would be a brushless spindle motor. I've been hoping to go this route but it's not cheap. A 3HP air-cooled spindle costs about $285 from China and a 3 phase, 220V, 400Hz inverter needed to run it is another $220. You would then need some sort of adjustable base to hold an 80mm motor mount.

As far as quiet conventional routers go Makita is one of the better ones.

I like Bob's ideas regarding limiting acoustic amplification. You might even want a thicker MDF table. A sound deadening table could be a hollow core filled with sand.

Some polyurethane floor mats might help in several ways. They dampen vibration , both for sound transmission and tooling. They're also easy on the feet, and if you drop a sharp edge on the floor then it's less likely to be damaged. For example, if you call the company below, they'll send you some sample that you can tuck under the feet of your table/workbench:

http://www.softtiles.com/

I would not use a router in an apartment. I am making the assumption that you are talking about something in the 500-1000 sq ft area. The biggest issue is how to control dust. It will get everywhere. Use old-fashioned hand tools that generate shavings rather than dust. The only power tools I use in our apartment are drills. If I use a router or power saw, I do it out of doors and in the case of a router, when other people are away. Our apartment is about 850.

Hand tools can be efficient, quiet, and pleasant to use. As a matter of fact, I've been using them more and more these days. For basic instruction about traditional hand tool techniques, look up Paul Sellers.

The most used router I use for instrument making is a laminate trimmer. Some of them are surprisingly powerful but many are relatively quiet - about like running a loud vacuum cleaner (which you might also run at the same time). Picking a reasonable time of the day to do the work and duration of routing may be more important than the actual decibels generated by the tool.

Hmm, I wonder if you could make a dampening enclosure. The foam eggcrate bedpads would probably be good. Or maybe you could make an enclosure from cardboard liquor/wine boxes. Cut them down to 4 " tall (dividers too), and then build an enclosure with them. And come to think of it, one of the polyurethane floor mats might make a good surface to lay the workpiece on. It would reduce the transmission of vibrations to the bench/table surface.

When making cavities, I'd drill out most of the waste with a Forstner bit, so as to leave only the smallest margin for cleaning up with a router.

I would say (you aren't going to like it) Don't make noise in an apartment out of respect of others. I lived in an apartment and really lucked out bigtime. I had a cabinet shop two doors down from me. I asked them to saw a board for 10 bucks and after that they didn't charge me to drop in and use their routers, drill press, or for them to saw some wood for me. Of course I only made one guitar a year so I didn't impose much and was a diversion of interest to them.

Anyhow... I would say Do you have relatives/ friends with basements or garages you could periodically use? Ask around.

Wow. I got kinda choked up by all the care and concern expressed in the advice you've all offered. There are some Tijuana/Ensenada store fronts and small industrial spaces I'm looking at. I use a basic Porter Cable 690 and it is very loud. Dust. Dust just begs an eviction notice. Thanks. I will try to keep this thread going. I really love this forum.

Then you got your nitrocellulose aerosols.

I'll be looking at this thread intently...living vicariously through you guys.

On a more relevant note, a mimfer once posted a way to do most things with some scraper stock and wood.
It was pretty ingenious, and looks like it works well.

One example is the Old Hag's tooth router.
I'd post pics, but haven't made mine.