Reasonably priced router lift?

[goaliedad]

I would like to add a router to one wing of my table saw. Wow—some of them must be made of gold!
Any recommendations for a reasonably priced lift? I have a Porter Cable motor Taft is currently in a cheap basic table.

Thanks

[Tapper]

Over the many years I've been practicing this hobby, I was able acquire two lifts. The first one was a Woodpecker PRL (either bought it as a "second" or from someone on this forum, can't remember). Nice lift that I still use today. Later I bought an Incra Mastr-R-Lift II to use with my Incra fence system for making dovetails. Would definitely buy the Mast-R-Lift again. Smooth operation and easy to use; crank works very smoothly.

I suppose it depends on what your definition of "reasonably priced" is. Some of these lifts come with phenolic plates. The Mast-R-Lift is metal and very well built. Might be worth saving up to purchase if it doesn't fit your budget right now.

Good luck,

Doug

[Cabinet Monkey]

YOU are going to have to define “reasonable” before we can attempt to give you any meaningful recs. 

[jdonhowe]

I can't speak for the Incra, though I am sure it's a really nice lift. But for half the price you can get a Jessem Rout-r-lift II. It has a phenolic base plate instead of ground aluminum, and plastic insert rings, but as a sturdy, smooth, easy to use lift I believe it's the best bang for the buck. Keep in mind that the most popular model (02310) will fit only 3-1/2" wide router motors (P-C, Dewalt, Bosch, some C'man)- no issue if you already have a Porter Cable.

[goaliedad]

Thanks. Much more reasonable!

[Juss1]

Triton router have the ability to be used directly on the router table and have built in above the table height adjustment.

That said I’ve had the woodpecker prl v2 and jessem and both worked great. This particular Jessem lift is integrated into the table and has a side handle to adjust bit height. My favorite lift by far.

[kurt18947]

The cheapest router lift I know of is Router Raizer It uses a 3/8 -16 lead screw so one turn of the crank moves the bit 1/16", 1/4 turn = 1/64". That may be too coarse for some. I have one on a Freud FT2000E and it works fine. I found there's enough drag in the mechanism that I don't have to mess with the plunge lock and it doesn't move. One thing - it only works with plunge routers AFAIK. Several routers have built-in lifts, Triton has been mentioned and I believe the big Milwaukee has above the table adjustments as well.

[Philip1231]

I used my router table for many years without a lift. Yes it is more convenient to have a lift (I have the original Bench Dog lift), but I don't consider it a necessity and if I had to give up the lift I am currently using, I don't think it would impact my work at all. Just a thought, if funds are tight. I have been using the large Porter-Cable router from the beginning and it provides all the adjustment necessary, lift or not.

[goaliedad]

I have been using a basic Porter Cable table for a long time. Space is at a premium in my shop so I think putting my router in a wing on my table saw makes sense. A lift is not a need, but a want.
I am going to be making all the trim for our house so it makes sense to upgrade. Just hard to spend the money when there are many other things I will be buying

[kurt18947]

I have been using a basic Porter Cable table for a long time. Space is at a premium in my shop so I think putting my router in a wing on my table saw makes sense. A lift is not a need, but a want.
I am going to be making all the trim for our house so it makes sense to upgrade. Just hard to spend the money when there are many other things I will be buying

Making a bunch of trim? I'd probably be more concerned about board guides and feather boards. In fact if it were me, I'd give thought to a variable speed stock feeder. I've heard/read that even the 'baby' (1/8 hp) feeders work pretty well on router tables. They weigh 28 lbs. shipping weight so don't require super stout mounting points. I'm pretty sure they'd be undersized on a full sized shaper but I'd be tempted to give it a try on a router table. I sometimes see where I stop to reset my hands while feeding a longer piece and I assume you'd be feeding long pieces. I wouldn't have that with a stock feeder. Even a 1/4 hp stock feeder shipping weight is 80 lbs. and costs $1449. Even 65 or 70 lbs. cantilevered on a router table seems like quite a bit. The baby feeder is $495, similar price to a router lift. For day to day work feeding short pieces a router lift might be more useful but for making trim perhaps a stock feeder might be more useful. Prices and weights are from Grizzly.