Ya! Now that's my kind of innovation.Saw some You Tube videos on this and r4alized it's the answer to the design flaws of my crappy Craftsman router. Biggest problems were the height adjustment mechanism is useless and the dust collection adapter was on the wrong side, requiring removing 2 tiny screws to remove it in order to change bits. After battling with these issues for a few years I am thrilled to have found the solution. I removed the rack and alignment pin so that I could rotate the router body 180, solving the dust collector adapter problem and allowing the jack to easily raise the router to the needed height. It's also now easy to slide the router body in and out of the base for frequent cleaning. View attachment 397864 View attachment 397865
You'd have to measure the height of bit extension above the table with dummy work piece or a dial caliper as you slowly turned the handle on the jack. If you keep the clamp on the router body relatively snug, I don't see why it would not work.I tried a jack many many years ago. It soon became obvious that it was not a practical solution for a router lift. A lift needs to be able to raise a router in small enough increments to allow precise adjustments. The acme screw on a jack is fine for lifting a car but it's not capable of raising a car 1/16th or 1/32 or 1/16th of an inch. With router work, it's often necessary to adjust the bit by a few thousands of an inch.
Yes. Venting holes would be a must.Make sure you're not blocking the motor venting. If necessary you might have to make some holes or channels so it can breathe.
I like that design. What is the approximate mechanical advantage of the router vs the foot pedal?We mustn't forget that wood, unlike metal moves with the weather therefor absolute accuracy is not required. To operate my lift the pedal is pressed 'till the bit is slightly higher than required then foot pressure is gently released until is the bit is at the required height. A measuring device that reads in microns is not required.
