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Thread: Debating to buy a router lift

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    columbia, sc
    Posts
    808

    Debating to buy a router lift

    Currently my router -- a Milwaukee-- sits in my table saw and it serves me pretty well but I think it's time to build a dedicated router table. So I'm wondering how convenient a lift would be. I bought the current router partly because of its above the table height adjustment but I found I never really used it. I'd just pop the router out and change the bits out of the table and I'd reach under to adjust it.

    Is a router lift much different. I don't mind investing the 300-400 but I don't want to waste it.

    For what hat it's worth the two lifts I'm thinking about are the incra and the woodpeckers.

    Any insight is appreciated.
    Bob C

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Los Angeles, CA
    Posts
    919
    I have had the Rockler lift for years and couldn't live without it.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Dickinson, Texas
    Posts
    7,655
    Blog Entries
    1
    My saw table mounted router is height adjusted by setting close with the router base clamp. I fine adjust the
    router by rotating it in the base. I can adjust the height infinitely. I don't do that much on it, so a lift is not required.
    My router work is minimal, so I don't feel the need for a dedicated router.

    Also, I have a shaper that I use when making doors, so my comments are probably not germane.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Location
    Coppell, TX
    Posts
    908
    Yes a router lift is worth it - especially if you are trying to dial in small adjustments

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    Sacramento, CA
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    2,005
    Definitely worth it. Go with the Incra and get the Clean Sweep magnetic plate inserts, add to it the Rockler router dust box and a fence that has a dust collection port on it and hook it all to a good dust collector and youll wonder why you ever dealt with dust from your router table in the past!
    If at first you don't succeed, redefine success!

  6. #6
    Definitely worth it! I had my router base attached directly to the table a few years ago and until i got a lift i didn't even know how bad i needed one. I found it to be very difficult to exactly replicate moldings and trim before i had a lift.

    Also just as a side note, i had a total disaster about 5 years ago with a porter cable router attached to a table with its base. I had either not completely closed the latch or it came undone and about 5 mins into milling some trim it came loose from the base. Holy crap it was one of the scariest things i have ever had happen. The bit completely chewed up the base and some stuff i had under it. I didnt use a router table again until i had a lift.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Napa Valley, CA
    Posts
    916
    Bob--

    I also have the Milwaukee router (5625). The "above the table" height adjustment is, IMHO, kinda bogus: you still have to reach under the table to lock in the adjustment. Not the same as a real lift.

    I bit the bullet and mounted the router in a lift (mine is the Woodpecker's)--- VERY glad I did! One of the best investments in tools I ever made. Fine adjustments (to .001 precision if you want it) are quick and easy. Definitely worth it!!

    Get a lift. You won't be sorry

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Napa Valley, CA
    Posts
    916
    Quote Originally Posted by Evan Stewart View Post
    i had a total disaster about 5 years ago with a porter cable router ... it came undone and ... completely chewed up the base and some stuff i had under it.....
    I had a similar experience--- except the bit chewed up my leg on the way to the floor. Still have the scar as a reminder. I always make sure it is tight before starting the motor now.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    SoCal
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    22,492
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    Like some other things, once you have one you will not want to be without one. My lift and what I can do with it are factored into my thought processes now.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Lewiston, Idaho
    Posts
    28,504
    I enjoy my router lift and table.
    Ken

    So much to learn, so little time.....

  11. #11
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    columbia, sc
    Posts
    808
    All thanks for the feedback. I'm pretty sure I'll pull the trigger. Seems like both companies I'm considering make very good quality tools. Is there a big difference between these two lifts? I'll likely buy a new router as well...maybe the triton 3HP.

    This is getting $$ fast
    Bob C

  12. #12
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    N.W. Missouri
    Posts
    1,564
    Just make sure that the lift you are looking at and your router are compatible.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Central Missouri, U.S.
    Posts
    1,263
    Bob, I went through your decision process (Incra vs WP) about six months ago. The main thing that pushed me away from WP was the thumb wheel for fine adjustments. I never got a chance to try one in person, but some told me that it can be a bit hard on the thumb.

    Went with the Incra (with a WP table and fence) and am very pleased. Absolutely nothing I would change about the set up, and that's rare for me.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Location
    Coppell, TX
    Posts
    908
    Don't know if the Bench Dog lift is on the OP's list but there is another recent thread showing strong support from owners

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Leland, NC
    Posts
    476
    I have an older JessEm lift. About 15 years old now? One thing I like is that the height adjustment is driven by a 1/4 hex. That means I can just chuck a bit in my drill backwards and presto, I have a motorized lift. This is very handy since the screw is 16 TPI and to raise the router to change bits is about an inch and a half of travel, then with a bit depending on a lot more it is a lot more travel. Speeds things way up.

    The other thing I did was head over to the hardware store and get a couple of boxes, an outlet box and a switch box. I wired them up so I can turn the router on/off from the front of the table. Cost I am thinking maybe, maybe, $15. Ok, maybe a bit more since I sacrificed an extension cord.

    My router table sits right next to the left wing of the table saw. When I am not using it I remove the fence (an old Incra Ultra) and use the table to pile lumber I am milling.

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