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Mine does not look like that.
Fill your heart with compassion, seek the jewel in every soul, share a word of kindness, and remember; the people's what it's about.
Capt. Tony Tarracino
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Those are pretty typical milling tracks. Having said that, I have two of the same lifts and neither looks like that. Mine both have a smooth (about 800 grit) anodized finish.
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I would think they would have anodized it AFTER milling it. So while they may be there you would not see it most likely. Id return it and buy the woodpecker v2. If it annoys you now, you will not be happy with it prob ever.
Glad its my shop I am responsible for - I only have to make me happy.
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Here's the reply I received from Incra:
Yes, all the plates will have this appearance. JessEm made the change late last year, and we're in the process of updating our photography.
JessEm deburrs the plates with the them still fixtured in their CNC milling machines using a wire brush, and the side by side passes of the machine create the illusion of ridges when you run your finger over it, despite the surface being flat. This has no effect on the lift's performance.
They switched to a different type of aluminum plate to improve the consistency of the black hard-anodizing, and this improvement necessitated the change in the plate's finish.
I'm sure the lift functions just fine regardless of the lines but it just bugs me. I can't believe this is going to be the look they are going to be presenting/photographing for their ads going forward. Seems like a step in the wrong direction. As for their statement that me feeling a ridge is just an illusion, there's definitely a ridge (with the ridges on the back more prominant than on the front). That being said, I'm going to see what my options are (maybe they have stock left of the old plate style). If not, I'll probably go in the direction of the Woodpecker lift.
Thanks for the input.
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Seems like the real issue is whether the plate is smooth or not. If you can run your fingernails across the "ridges" and not feel them I don't think there's a problem. If you can't feel them, your work can't either.
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01-12-2018, 08:15 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-12-2018, 08:16 PM by loosetoe.)
(01-09-2018, 03:55 PM)greatscott Wrote: Bought a new router (Incra Mast-R-Lift II) and discovered that the router plate itself has some milling marks (horizontal lines) on both sides of the plate. I figured this was just a manufacturing defect that got past quality control so I called Incra to inquire about it. The lady I spoke to (the lady who answered the phone) explained that this is just a result of their milling process to get the router plate flat and all of their router plates look like that. I was surprised to hear that as I think of Incra as top-notch quality. I explained that every other photo I've looked at of the router plates don't look like mine but she assured me that they all look like that and it's normal.
Does anyone else with an Incra or Jessem Mast-R-Lift II router have the same issue? I still believe that this is a defect of sorts and sent Incra an email with some pictures of the top and I'm awaiting to hear back. Just curious if other owners have similar "lines" (if you rub your finger across the lines, you can actually feel a very slight ridge).
I'll report back after hearing back from Incra but I was just curious if other owners faced a similar issue.
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmc8Xky3
I have a new Mast-R-Lift purchased in the last 2-3 months. It does indeed have that appearance. I did not notice until you pointed it out.
Just wondering, but why did you choose the Incra variation over the Jessem version? The metal insert rings always seemed counter-intuitive to me. I find myself constantly running bits up through the rings to make zero clearance versions. Steel insert and spinning bits = projectile. I had an older Master lift that had the phenolic rings and much preferred those to the current plastic ones, but alas those are NLA. That lift had too many problems with the backlash nut after 12 years of use. The new lift design is much better there.
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01-19-2018, 05:03 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-19-2018, 05:04 PM by Eric Commarato.)
Mine looks like this as well, just purchased it a couple weeks ago...but mine is a Jessem, go figure. I'm convinced these are both made in the same facility. The appearance really doesn't bother me though...
Eric
