Did you see Woodpecker's email today????

[Jim O'Dell]

The have a new lift called the sidewinder. It has a crank handle on a flex cable. You mount the crank handle on the outside, presumably, of your RT stand. No mussing or fussing with the lift crank! And they have an add on to the PRLv1 and Quick Lift!!!!! Priced at 59.95. Might be a good add on! Jim.

[Tim Null]

I did. I have a Quick Lift and this would be a great add on. Definitely tempting.

[Van Huskey]

Saw it at IWF, way to much sticktion for me and this was a clean lift, it could only get worse in use. I couldn't remotely make small changes without overshooting every time back and forth around the point I wanted to stop.

[Tim Null]

That is a bit disappointing. It is such a good idea.

[Lee Bidwell]

Yeah Jim, I saw that. I was all set to pull the trigger on the PRL closeout for 199. My plan was to get the PRL and the adapter for the PC890, so I can use the 890 router I have for now while I keep an eye out for a deal on the big PC router. The "sidewinder" can be had for 230 with a coupon code, but that price only gets you the lift configured for the 890. This eliminates the ability to upgrade routers in the future. The bigger sidewinder is more than I want to spend. So, my question is, will I regret being tied to the 2 1/4 hp routers?

thanks,

Lee

[Lee Bidwell]

Saw it at IWF, way to much sticktion for me and this was a clean lift, it could only get worse in use. I couldn't remotely make small changes without overshooting every time back and forth around the point I wanted to stop.

Hey Van,
Saw this as I was typing my other post. Thanks for the feedback. Maybe I'll just stick to my original plan to get the PRL.

Lee

[Van Huskey]

So, my question is, will I regret being tied to the 2 1/4 hp routers?

thanks,

Lee

Depends on what you do with the router table BUT I personally think the best way to go is a 3 1/4hp motor in a lift. I think if it is an economic issue get a 3 + hp plunge router that has good above table control. Then over time save up for a top end lift and Milwaukee or PC motor, then when you pull the plunger out you still have a great router to use handheld.

The again some peoples uses for a router table would be covered by a mid-sized router.

[Dave Lehnert]

Was it Norm who had that type of thing on his router table?

[Jim O'Dell]

That is disappointing Van. I'm not sure it would work with my setup would be the only thing. Sure looks neat though. Jim.

[Van Huskey]

That is disappointing Van. I'm not sure it would work with my setup would be the only thing. Sure looks neat though. Jim.

I can't speak for anyone but myself, others may have a different view and it could have been and issue with the one at IWF, but I would have thought they would have a good example there for the "world" to see.

[Peter Quinn]

As soon as I saw that I thought, "A little more work and they have a motorized lift there...", but I won't buy one, because I frankly need the exercise. I'll take the stairs over an elevator and stick to a hand crank.

Interesting idea there, sorry to hear its flawed. I've been stuck a few times trying to raise a bit during a set up where I couldn't do so with the test piece in the way of the crank handle on my lift, and thought "If this were only only out front like a shaper or molder." So they did it, but in a speedometer sort of way. Maybe they will keep the concept and improve the implementation?

[glenn bradley]

Saw it at IWF, way to much sticktion for me and this was a clean lift, it could only get worse in use. I couldn't remotely make small changes without overshooting every time back and forth around the point I wanted to stop.

Van, thanks for the hands-on report. I wondered about cable spring under torque.

[Tom Rick]

Something does not fit here.

I have a PRL-2 and have to say that the folks who made this well engineered lift would have not put this new feature on the market if it performed poorly.

From the email I got:

"Introducing the new Woodpeckers Side Winder Router Lift. After building high quality router lifts for almost ten years, we're rolling out what we feel is the best lift yet. And for those of you who already own a Woodpeckers PRL or Quick Lift, we even offer a Side Crank Accessory that you can add to your existing lift. The latest and greatest in patented router lift technology is the basis of the new Woodpeckers Side Winder. This state-of-the-art router lift combines Woodpeckers' patented quick lift design with a side crank assembly for fine adjustment. Now you can raise your router bit above the table in seconds with just a 1/4 turn of the lift wrench, change router bits, lower it to an approximate position and fine tune with the side crank to a resolution of .001" per scale increment or 1/32nd per rotation."


And a photo of what is being discussed:

[Van Huskey]

Something does not fit here.

I have a PRL-2 and have to say that the folks who made this well engineered lift would have not put this new feature on the market if it performed poorly.

I will just simply ask, have you touched one. I am perfectly willing to accept I am more finicky than someone else but I saw/felt what I saw/felt. As I turned it each way it jumped more than one gradiant on the scale, from which I made one conclusion and one assumption. The conclusion was that it was not for me, the assumption was it was too flexible to work correctly doing a stopped cut under power. If anyone thinks I have some issue with WP, I would point out I have 3 router lifts, each one of them is a WP and I have a 4th in transit to me also a WP and it was purchased after IWF. It may have been a flaw in the one they showed, it may have been a pre-production sample, I did not ask, but it any case it was the biggest woodworker show in the world. The action felt to me like the Mast-R-Lift Excel from JessEm with its belt drive side crank.

The reality is the gradiants are .001 of an inch so hoping around one of these gradiants is truely a non issue in the VAST majority of woodworking but the feel to me was sloppy enough to turn me off. For me to buy one or 4 as the case might be it would have to feel like it was a direct connection, it just did not.

[Tom Rick]

The reality is the gradiants are .001 of an inch so hoping around one of these gradiants is truely a non issue in the VAST majority of woodworking but the feel to me was sloppy enough to turn me off. For me to buy one or 4 as the case might be it would have to feel like it was a direct connection, it just did not.

Yep- that would drive me mad as well.

I still don't see WP putting the thing out to air when the thing acts like this, and stating that the fine tuning is to .001 with crank when in fact it is a guessing game as to where the drive will jump to with torque.

Not second guessing your experience- just does not fit for me that WP aired this product with this sort of functional problem.