In the last couple of years either Wood, Woodsmith, or Woodworkers Journal did a comparison of all the popular router lifts. I can't remember which one it was and haven't found it in my back issues. Can anyone find it and let me know where to look. I would like to review the article because I am considering buying a lift. Thanks :nerd:
Looking for article on router lift
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Don't have the article, but before you buy a lift, carefully consider a Triton TRA001, which has the lift built in, and will cost less than most lifts alone. Many of us are very happy with the machine in a table. I did have a Rockler lift, surely on the cheaper end, but I didn't like it very much (it crept down repeatedly). Watch the Marc Sommerfelt woodworking videos on YouTube to see one in use. You might be thinking, Do I really need another router? Probably.
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The Bosch fixed base 1617 can also be used in the table with the factory base W/ the plastic sub base removed. You might have to drill a hole in the table for the height adjustment tool.
Herb
Herb
I'm still very much a newbie to this forum and the craft but I looked extensively at the different lifts - Triton, JessEm, Rockler, you name it. I finally settled on the DowelMax lift because it adapts really well to the table/cabinet I am building and, although the engineer in me really likes the ability to crank up and down from above the table and get exactly the height I want, the pragmatist in me recognized that I will likely be using some pretty standard heights and the Kreg router table setup bars are probably what I will guide myself by 90% of the time. I have some nagging back problems and the tilt-action of the DowelMax table seems to be a bit more kind to my physical situation.
However, a nice surprise that I recently got when I bought the Bosch 1617EVS with an extra router table base -- there is an above-the-table adjustment tool included that Herb mentioned above. I can do the table tilt, mess around with the wrenches to chuck in a new bit, do the rough adjustment with the 1617 collar, lower the lift top, and then use the adjustment crank from above the table to fine-tune my cutting height. All in all, I don't know that I have the same rig that the Triton users prefer (and I may graduate to that later, anyway) but for now my back and my wallet are really digging the Dowelmax/Bosch combo.....
Good luck!
However, a nice surprise that I recently got when I bought the Bosch 1617EVS with an extra router table base -- there is an above-the-table adjustment tool included that Herb mentioned above. I can do the table tilt, mess around with the wrenches to chuck in a new bit, do the rough adjustment with the 1617 collar, lower the lift top, and then use the adjustment crank from above the table to fine-tune my cutting height. All in all, I don't know that I have the same rig that the Triton users prefer (and I may graduate to that later, anyway) but for now my back and my wallet are really digging the Dowelmax/Bosch combo.....
Good luck!
Not included in those review lists is the Ready2Rout system from Next Wave... I'm moving into the CNC world, and this uses 3 CNC stepper motors and a similar controller to their CNC machines. You can zero the bit to the fence and the table top, and it has some pre-programmed joints built in. Box joints? Give it the width of the bit, how much glue line you want, the width of the piece of wood, and it calculates it all for you. It's a LITTLE pricey, but I find it so much more user-friendly than my Incra Jig and Woodpecker lift. And, needless to say, it gives you precision on a CNC-level. I've written about my experience elsewhere on this forum...
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I feel the same about the Bosch 1617, and had 2 Bosch fixed bases mounted in tables. Then, on a Warehouse Deal with Prime Day discount...I found an Incra-Jessem Mast-R-Lift. Still using the 1617 motor in that lift--but there is a world of difference in comparing the Mast-R-Lift to Bosch base. Everything got easier, and for me--better. I still think it's a crazy amount of money when it cost the same as a refurb 1617EVSPK would have, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Might even do one for the second table so I start using it again.
I swore i'd never get a lift, but now i'm not willing to part with mine. Glad I did it.
earl
I swore i'd never get a lift, but now i'm not willing to part with mine. Glad I did it.
earl
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