Router Lift Side Crank Mod
I figured I'd post this here in case anyone is interested. I have a Jessem Mast-R-Lift that I wanted to modify so that it would have a side (front in this case) crank to raise and lower the router without having to remove the wood from the table. I removed the original 3/8" 16 zinc plated threaded rod and replaced it with a stainless steel rod because the original was starting to show wear on the threads and the stainless is more durable. Once I popped out the roll pin from the height adjustment assembly to be able to remove the original rod, I drilled and tapped a 10-32 hole for a set screw to lock the new rod in place. I cut the rod to length and installed a long coupling nut with a set screw added, on the bottom to replace the original lock nut.
My router has a dust collecting box that I installed, so I drilled a hole through it so the Dewalt 90 degree flex shaft drill attachment can pass through it, then I put a short 1/4" hex to 1/4" socket adapter and a 14mm (it fit perfectly on the coupling nut) socket into the flex shaft. I mounted a wood bracket to the table and drove a screw into the side to hold the operating end of the flex shaft in place. The crank handle that the router lift came with has a set screw that can be removed and then the crank handle can be attached to the flex shaft. I just installed it today, so it hasn't seen real use yet, but in testing, it works very well. There may be mods that need to be done later, but this seems like it will serve its purpose for the time being. Below is a link to some pics.
https://imgur.com/gallery/oZL8O
My next mod to this lift will be to use a dial indicator with a 2" depth attached to one end of a push pull cable (like a camera cable release), which will be clamped to the router lift and the other end secured to the bottom of the lift plate, so I can have a remote, analog dial indication of the bit depth. I believe I would prefer the reliability and accuracy of an analog gauge over a digital one.
