[Michael Antimisiaris]

very amateur woodworker. Did some 15 years ago and now close to retirement as a medical doctor and surgeon. Left it because I got spooked when a colleague lost 2 fingers on his dominant hand and almost had to give up surgeries. Now got a sawstop table saw and less scared as I'm 61 and close to retiring. I'm looking for a router table and lift but want to use them with the Leigh Valley tools dovetail jig for router tables and have issues with the Porter cable style bushing/ ring insert compatibility. The Kreg lift comes with the ring from the get go. I love the Jessum system but don't see that they have it. I'm intrigued by the MLCS bluetooth enabled motorized system but am scared about all the technology but they have the proper ring also.
Any thought or advice I would really appreciate.

Michael A:smile:

 

[Stick486]

Hello and welcome to the forums N/A...

About your desire to learn... We have some light reading for you...
As in, we've put some helpful information together at this here link to help you get up and running in the world of routers... We hope it to be useful to you... Enjoy...
Do take some time and read the safety PDF's... PLEASE!!!
Blood and trips to the ER, we find, are very annoying... Not to mention – expensive...

DUST COLLECTION​

There is some information on dust collection w/ your health in mind at this here link if it you need it...

ROUTER TABLES​

there's more here at this link on RT's than you'll be able to digest at one sit down (or many)...

 

[Stick486]

very amateur woodworker. Did some 15 years ago and now close to retirement as a medical doctor and surgeon. Left it because I got spooked when a colleague lost 2 fingers on his dominant hand and almost had to give up surgeries. Now got a sawstop table saw and less scared as I'm 61 and close to retiring. I'm looking for a router table and lift but want to use them with the Leigh Valley tools dovetail jig for router tables and have issues with the Porter cable style bushing/ ring insert compatibility. The Kreg lift comes with the ring from the get go. I love the Jessum system but don't see that they have it. I'm intrigued by the MLCS bluetooth enabled motorized system but am scared about all the technology but they have the proper ring also.
Any thought or advice I would really appreciate.

Michael A:smile:

Take a moment and look to Leigh Jigs...
I'm very partial to JessEm also because, just like Leigh, of their outstanding CS/TS ...

 

[RainMan 2.0]

Welcome to the forum. I’ll let the experts help you. I bought an Incra table with the magnetic inserts and a V2 lift., but unfortunately never assembled it so I can’t really provide a review .
But I went with Incra because I believe they have one of the better dust management systems , if dust collection is important to you .

https://www.incra.com/

 

[DesertRatTom]

Welcome. It's good to be cautious and to learn good technique for all tools. You might consider getting a Triton TRA001 router. It is 3.25 hp, has a built in lift, and really good safety interlocks. It is too heavy for my ageing hands to handle freehand, but that's work for a smaller, lighter machine.

A smaller router 2.25 hp with a lift will cost more than the Triton. If you want to see it in action, find Marc Sommerfeld videos on YouTube. The router has a safety interlock so that when you crank it up, it locks the power off.

Do make certain you handle the dust collection issue soon. Sawdust is nasty in the lungs.

I also suggest getting a couple of items if you don't have them yet.

A Wixey digital angle gauge (for setting your saw blade at a perfect 90 degree angle to the table.) About $30 on Amazon. The new ones use AAA batteries and have a backlight.

A Gripper. This is for guiding your workpiece through the table saw. It lets you press down, forward and against the fence all at the same time. Keeps your fingers a safe distance from the blade.

Last picture is of a Triton TRA001 mounted on a plate.

Glad you decided to join the fun. This isn't so much a hobby as it is an addiction. The most important thing is to make stuff. Every projece will teach you something. In fact, I made the same project several times at first, each time it turned out better.

 

[old55]

Welcome to the forum Michael.

 

[sreilly]

Welcome aboard Michael. I'd suggest looking to JessEm for the final word on whether it would work as you want, same with Leigh Valley. I would think they would be more informative as to what will work with what. Not that personal experience isn't good feedback but I suspect they have a collective knowledge of those experiences to help guide you.

 

[mgmine]

I wouldn't center my search for a table based on a dovetail jig. How many times are you going to make dovetails? As far as the lift if you don't already have a router then get one with a lift built-in. If you do have one then take a look at the Router Raizer. It's not too expensive and does everything that the lift is supposed to do. Consider this, what are you going to do with all the time you save with a motorized lift? Over your lifetime it may add up to 5 or 10 minutes.

 

[roxanne562001]

Welcome to the forum

 

[Herb Stoops]

Check out this table insert fro Jessem, it has the bushing recess.
https://jessem.com/products/1-3-8-insert-ring
Herb

 

[DesertRatTom]

Cutting dovetails on a Leigh type jig is done with a bit with a bearing on top. No need for a bushing. I have a similar jig made by Sommerfeld and it also does not require a bushing.

If I were in your shoes, I'd definitely go for the Triton and use the money saved to get one of the new Bosch GKF125CEPK Colt 1.25 HP (Max) Variable-Speed Palm Router Combination Kits (pix). At 1.25 hp it will do most of the hand held work for you. Or, go with the Bosch 1617 EVSPK kit, which is an all time favorite here among USA members. Bosch also has a great customer service reputation. There isn't much price difference between the two routers.

I had a 1617 in my table, but it is now on a shelf, unused for some time because I always prefer the safety of using the table mounted router. For everything else I seem to always get by with the smaller (Colt) machine.

One of thos naming conventions that I just cannot remember is whether the bearing on the bit is on top, or bottom. It is counterintuitive, so here's a pix that shows which is which. The last picture is a chart of many kinds of bits and the profile they cut. It's helpful as you're working out what you want the piece to look like when done.

 

[Michael Antimisiaris]

Wow great forum and wonderful and quick responses. Looked at incra and Jessem per recs and I think it’s down to them. Jessem does have the required ring on their website and may go with them. But want to thank everyone for their great responses and willing to share and teach

 

[Cherryville Chuck]

Welcome to the forum Michael. As you’ve found out it’s a very friendly place to hang out. We have 2 other doctors here that I know of. Dimitri (osteopathic surgeon) from Greece and Biagio (psychiatry) from South Africa.

 

[MEBCWD]

Welcome to the Router Forums Michael

 

[Geevesmac]

Very good advice Art. I was fascinated with dovetails, and bought the Incra system, which is fantastic, but over kill if it is not used. After playing with a few dovetails, I found other things and have never gone back to it. A universal, quality system is the way to go. I have the Triton in my table, and it has been excellent. Our woodworking club went with a vastly more expensive lift with dedicated router, and have had the router replaced and repaired several times. They went that way as inexperienced users had damaged a Triton, but being the only user, and no doubt you will look after your equipment, the Triton will suit admirably. Although it is big and heavy as Tom says, at a pinch, if you need a big gutsy router to do a heavy job, you have it. Don't over analyse, just enjoy the journey.

 

[DaninVan]

Hey, Michael; welcome!
On the parting with digits thing, make it an absolute personal commitment to never let your mind wander when you're using power tools. It's so easy to start thinking about something else when your total focus needs to be on where your hands are, and the cutting process you're working with. It happens so fast you won't get a chance to react.
If you're starting to be distracted, call it a day, or do something in the shop that doesn't involve sharp whirly bits.

 

[jw2170]

G,day Michael, welcome to the forum.

 

[tulowd]

Welcome Dr. Mike

Since you are no doubt used to highly precise and accurate tools, I would suggest looking at a Woodpecker router table, lift and some of their other items. Eye watering prices, but certainly the standard in precision and design and up there with the SawStop and other premium brands.

Maximizing your shop space and efficiency is something that most folks battle with. If you have limited room, think of multi use and easily movable tools and fold up or portable style workbenches/ sawhorses /workmate.Remote dust collection makes for space saving and a quieter shop.

I'm stuck in a small garage and am forced to setup tools outside for larger cutting etc, so having a little system makes for quick and easy setup and teardown. Side benefit, fresh air and sunshine, lol.