Tool Review: Router Lifts

 

Router tables have become a staple in home woodworking shops. But for most of us, it's still a hassle to raise and lower cutter height as we fumble around below the table to make time-eating adjustments. That began to change about the turn of the 21st century when Darrin Smith at JessEm Tools introduced Rout-R-Lift -- the first device that brought through-the-table height adjustability to router tables. Smith's insert plate replacement spawned a raft of imitators, and even inspired router makers to rethink height adjustments on their tools. Today there are no less than a dozen router lifts on the market. And the price range has broadened as well, with lifts costing from $150 to $350. So what do you need to know before you drop that kind of dough? Read on.

Boiled down to its basics, a router lift consists of two primary parts: the elevation mechanism and the insert plate. On the typical lift (shown in the photo), the motor from a fixed-base router mounts in a carriage that travels up and down a lead screw (or screws) when a removable crank is turned from above the table. Guideposts keep the carriage tracking true throughout its full range of travel. Regardless of whether a lift uses a gear drive, chain drive, belt drive, or direct screw drive, they all operated smoothly and reliably in our tests, even after we hand-packed sawdust into the threads of the lead screws.

One key difference between the lifts is the thread pitch of the lead screw (or screws). An 8-threads-per-inch (tpi) lead screw, for example, raises the router 1/8" for each crank rotation; a 32-tpi screw changes the height 1/32" per rotation. Those finer threads make it easier to eyeball a tiny adjustment, but make large height changes, such as when changing bits from above the table, tedious. Thread pitch is a reliable way to calculate height changes -- until you change directions. Whenever you reverse the rotation of the lead screw, slack between the threads has to be taken up. The resulting loss of height change -- called backlash -- means you can't rely solely on a lift's scale.

All but three of the tested lifts raise the collet high enough to change any bit from above the tabletop. (On those three, the router itself limits the collet height.) Offset wrenches that reach through the bit opening can ease bit changing on these models. Remember that 32-tpi thread pitch that provides superfine height adjustments? When it comes to changing router bits, that now means 32 turns of the crank to raise the bit 1".

Router lift or not, a good router-table insert plate should have adjustments for making the plate flush with the tabletop. And, with bit openings 3-5/8" or larger in these inserts, that leaves quite a chasm around a 1/2" straight bit. Most, but not all, lifts come with reducer rings that fit into the bit opening and close that gap.

In most cases, installing a router in a lift is no more or less difficult than mounting a router to an ordinary router table insert plate. So you may want to dedicate a router to your lift and leave it there. But some lifts have toolless quick-release mounts that allow you to move a router motor as easily as it swaps between handheld bases. Some lifts also require additional adapters for some router motors.

Top Tool: Jointech Smartlift Digital
Top Values: Woodpeckers Quick-Lift QL420 (for Porter-Cable 7518); JessEm Rout-R-Lift FX and Woodpeckers Quick-Lift QL3540A (for popular midsize routers, such as P-C 690 or 890)

Learn the results of our testing of the BenchDog ProLift; JessEm Mast-R-Lift, Rout-R-Lift, and Rout-R-Lift FX; Jointech SmartLift Digital; Rousseau Router Lift LS; Woodhaven EZ Lift; and Woodpeckers PlungeLift, Precision Router Lift, Quick-Lift, and Unilift in the September 2006 issue of WOOD magazine, or download the review.

Download the full review