Router table system and lifts, which one?

[mreza Salav]

I am thinking I will want to upgrade my inefficient and small router table (it's a basic laminated MDF table with a track for which I made a fence and base).

From my research it seems Jessem and Woodpecker are the top ones (at least for the lifts). What I cannot figure out yet is whether I really have to go with a lift or should I buy a good dedicated 3.5HP router with above the table height adjustment (like the Milwaukee).

Then it comes the question of which lift and to what extend I buy or build other things. I'm fairly sure I'll build the base as I want an enclosed cabinet but for the top and the fence I'm not sure. My current fence (out of BB ply and MDF) has gone so slightly out of flat that I had to shim out the movable fence faces.

I know with all these sort of questions I have to provide a budget. I've seen the lifts go around $300 range and with the top and the fence it can easliy get into $600+ range. It's not that i have a fixed budget that I have to stick to, I usually look at what's the value and whether I should spend that money or I can easily fabricate an equally good replacement in the shop. Plus, if i can justify the expense to myself.

So please share your experiences: what router table system you have and what do you like/dislike about it?
Among the lifts which one do you like or dislike?
I'm thinking of adding a dedicated 3+HP router and for that I'm thinking of either the Milwaukee 5625 or 5626 EVS 3.5HP or the PC 7518. Any comments in these two or any other suggestions? I should add this is for a hobby shop.

[Will Overton]

I used the Milwaukee 5625 for a number of years without a lift. The above table height adjustment was no big deal, since you still needed to reach under the table to clamp the motor in the base. Sometimes, when tightening the clamp the height adjustment would move ever so slightly.

Keeping the same homemade base [I like drawers] I went with the PRL-V2 and top from Woodpeckers, and the 5626 from Jessem. The lift allows for more precise height adjustment and has a quick lift feature for rapid bit changes, above the table. I am very happy with this setup.

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd75/Bill_de/router-table.jpg?t=1283825018

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd75/Bill_de/router-1.jpg?t=1283825456

[David Christopher]

I have the jessum, and it works perfect

[Van Huskey]

I am a big fan of quality router lifts and my favorite is the PRL V2. I like both the 7518 and 5620 and don't care which one, if I had to replace one of my big routers I will buy the one I get the best deal on.


Routers with above table control are an excellent alternative IF you don't want to spend the extra money. The big Triton would be my choice and is really economical.


A big production motor in a high quality router lift is a joy to use BUT you don't have to spend the money to get the job done.

[christopher stemen]

I have the jessum master lift with the big pc router and love it. I bought another big router at a auction for cheap so went to jessum sight to buy another lift. They had a sale on their foriegn made master lift for $165 (great deal). Just recieved the lift and out of the box i can not tell the difference. Cannot wait to set it up ( no more changing bits for my cope and stick doors). I think the sale is still on check it out!!! Hard to beat that price...:d

[mreza Salav]

I have gone through upgrades of my other tools and would like to do this one right this time and not to upgrade again (and at the same time don't want to overdo it and get something that I really didn't need).

How good is the over-the-table adjustment of those big routers, like the Milwaukee 5625?
One user said the it's mostly plastic and breaks easily or doesn't lift properly. As for the Triton, I've seen too many people with problems with them and will stay away from that.


I have the jessum master lift with the big pc router and love it. I bought another big router at a auction for cheap so went to jessum sight to buy another lift. They had a sale on their foriegn made master lift for $165 (great deal). Just recieved the lift and out of the box i can not tell the difference. Cannot wait to set it up ( no more changing bits for my cope and stick doors). I think the sale is still on check it out!!! Hard to beat that price...:d

I saw that deal and am on the edge whether I should jump on it. Does that fit the big PC or Milwaukee?
How easy is to do very fine adjustments (raise/lower) on that specific lift?

[Van Huskey]

If the cost of the 300+ dollar high end lifts has you tenative you might pick up a Jessem MastRLift, they have the Asian versions they are clearing out for $165. I haven't heard anyone say anything negative about them since they started blowing out the imports a month or so ago. I prefer other lifts at the full price but can't think of one I would rather have at the $165 price point.

I typed but didn't post it until after I took the dog out, so I got beat to the punch.

[christopher stemen]

it ismade for the big pc but you can get an addaptor for the mill.for about $30..

[Jim O'Dell]

I bought the old style Woodpecker PRL. The vs 2 with the quick lift is really nice! I bought the PC 7518 router on Amazon. It was 275.00 with free shipping, and an instant 50.00 off Father's Day special when I bought it 6 years ago. Haven't seen even the motor only for that price since.
I did spring for the Incra fence system. It is a killer fence, even if you aren't getting it to do dovetail joints.
I built my own router table to the size I wanted, not picked from a size someone else builds. It really is not hard. Mine is 36 X 53 (54?) to take full benefit of the 25" fence. You can see pictures of it here: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=14427&page=4 starting at post 114. I lost some storage because of the mobile system used. Jim.

[keith micinski]

I bought one of the Asian Jessem lifts for the smaller 2 1/4 horse motors and while I haven't got use it yet, I have it setup and can't find anything obviously wrong with it. 99 dollars and a used Bosch 1617 for another 100 is an awful lot of value in my opinion. 3 horsepower routers seem to be needed for exactly one bit. And unless you are doing production raised panels they seem a bit wasted. The few times a year you do a raised panel, a couple extra passes with a 2 1/4 horse motor seems justified. Plus you can get a nice plunge base and the router serves as a dual purpose router as opposed to the 7518 and 5625.

[Tom Rick]

I have the PR- V2 with a 7518 vs.

It's a very good combo & I am a happy camper. I have the lift in a large out feed table/workbench and find the quick lift feature to be very handy for getting the bit out of the way if I am using the table for some other purpose.

I personally would not invest a bunch in a fence. I use a simple 'L' extrusion fence and it works fine without hundreds invested. I use a shaper for split fence work & heavy cutting.

[Bill Huber]

Jessem is coming out with a new lift that will hold just about all of the routers made today, the smaller ones to the larger ones.

From what I understand it has a much larger lift screw and a break lock if you need it. The larger screw make it very smooth to operate.

I have a FX and I just don't see how you could ask for a much better lift. I also have the Jessem table and fence and they both are just outstanding.

One of the biggest things I like about the fence is the fact it does not have slots in the table but is mounted to rails on the end of the table.

Here is the info on the new one.

http://www.jessem.com/Mast-R-Lift_II.html

[Jerome Hanby]

I'm not a big fan of buying router tables, but last year Woodcraft had a killer deal on the big Freud router with their router table and fence. Basically the table and most of the fence was free. I added a five dollar speed wrench from HF and a cheap hex driver bit to the mix and it's a pretty good system. The metal stand is a little flimsy, but adding a plywood shelf made it a good bit more sturdy. The fence is great and very adjustable. The routers above deck adjustments and locking work great. Only real gripe I have is that the metal stand isn't stiff enough to handle casters (or really even the feet that come with the system). I think another piece of plywood as a base will take care of that...

[glenn bradley]

Milwaukee 6525 and a Woodpecker PRL-V1 here. With the auto-lock feature on the carriage I only reach under the table now and again to adjust the speed when I run very large bits. The quick-lift feature on the V2 would be nice. I got the V1 on sale when the V2 was announced and speed up my carriage moves for bit changes like so:

[Heather Thompson]

Milwaukee 6525 and a Woodpecker PRL-V1 here. With the auto-lock feature on the carriage I only reach under the table now and again to adjust the speed when I run very large bits. The quick-lift feature on the V2 would be nice. I got the V1 on sale when the V2 was announced and speed up my carriage moves for bit changes like so:

I to have a PRL lift with a PC7518, very nice setup. My router station is in the right wing of my PM66 that uses a Incra TSIII fence system, I was so impressed that I bought the Wonder Fence, sweet setup. Like Glenn I use a cordless drill, makes bit changes and rough adjustments very fast.

Heather

[mreza Salav]

Thank you all. I guess I keep pondering whether I should get the clearance model of Jessem or not long enough until it is sold out and then will get the new model or the woodpecker one :D

[Van Huskey]

Thank you all. I guess I keep pondering whether I should get the clearance model of Jessem or not long enough until it is sold out and then will get the new model or the woodpecker one :D

Tough call, I like the WP better BUT that is a big price difference...

[Greg Urwiller]

So, if a guy was going to get the Jessum to use in a TS extension table, and wanted to go with a PC router, would it be best to go with the 75182 which is just the replacement motor (w/collet)? Would this be better (it would be cheaper!) than buying the whole router? Greg

[Van Huskey]

So, if a guy was going to get the Jessum to use in a TS extension table, and wanted to go with a PC router, would it be best to go with the 75182 which is just the replacement motor (w/collet)? Would this be better (it would be cheaper!) than buying the whole router? Greg

No reason to get the whole router if you have others and it would live in the table its whole life.

[keith micinski]

One thing I have noticed with the Jessem clearance model is that the insert ring doesn't appear to be quite flush with the top of the plate. I wonder if this is just the clearance models or if all of the Jessem's have this problem. It's not much but its there.

[mreza Salav]

One thing I have noticed with the Jessem clearance model is that the insert ring doesn't appear to be quite flush with the top of the plate. I wonder if this is just the clearance models or if all of the Jessem's have this problem. It's not much but its there.

Interesting... if it's not flush it can be a pain while pushing a piece and getting stuck (something similar happened to me in my current router table, that's why I'm looking to change it).

[keith micinski]

It's not enough that the piece catches but its close. I am thinking about sanding it down to make it flush. I haven't gotten to that point yet though.

[Mike Harrison]

I also bought the original PRL a few years ago. I also got their set of rings as well. Put a 7518 in it, and have been VERY satisfied with it. I also did a bit of research at the time and seemd Woodpeck was the best built bar none.

[Wes Grass]

I have a Jessem FX. Actually, I have 2 of them as Woodcraft had them on close-out. They work great, but neither one of them was flat and were 'hollow' in the middle. Made it impossible, basically, to get a consistent roundover or chamfer on the edge of a stick.

I had already machined the first one flat, along with a couple sets of inserts. No problem to match the second one to it, but I happened to have a CNC machine and the original program handy.

If I didn't have that sort of equipment at my disposal ... that'd be a consideration that might push me towards a lift with an aluminum plate that I could verify was flat to start with.

[glenn bradley]

If you are quick enough . . . http://www.woodpeck.com/precisionrouterlift.html

PRL-V1 for $199.

[Trent Shirley]

I also have the PRL-V2. Very nice lift.
The one great thing about this lift is that you can buy different machined adaptors to fit all the popular model routers so you can swap out or upgrade routers without replacing the lift.

If you need to get a new plate look into getting a plate with the Magna Lock insert rings. I have the twist in type and wish I had gone magnetic.

Build your own table and use the money you save to go toward whichever lift you choose.

[Will Overton]

The original PRL is being discontinued by WoodPecker ... now $199

Coupon Sale10 gets you another 10% off.

Made in USA

[Jim O'Dell]

Use the sale 10 to pay for the template. It is well worth it. Jim.

[mreza Salav]

I think I'm going to get a lift and an extra router (I have DW 618B3 now).

I think PRL-V1 is a better deal (even though the Jessem Master-R-Lift is dropped to $129, but after adding the rings it will be at $165).

I wanted to get the Milwaukee 5616 (the 2.25 HP set) but unfortunately it seems there is no collar for it to be used with PRL-V1. So I should either get a 3.5HP PC 7518 or a 3.5HP Milwaukee 5625.


Milwaukee 6525 and a Woodpecker PRL-V1 here. With the auto-lock feature on the carriage I only reach under the table now and again to adjust the speed when I run very large bits. The quick-lift feature on the V2 would be nice. I got the V1 on sale when the V2 was announced and speed up my carriage moves for bit changes like so:

Glen: do you have the PRL-V1 plus the adaptor kit for 5625 or just plain PRL (which fits PC 7518)?
Isn't it true that PC and Milwaukee have different sizes?

So I am contemplaing between the following two options:

1- get the PRL-V1 (at $180) and get Milwaukee 5625 (at $271)

1- Get Jessem Master-R-Lift (at $165) and Milwaukee 5620 set (at $231) plus another $28 for collar.

Which options is better?

[Van Huskey]

So I am contemplaing between the following two options:

1- get the PRL-V1 (at $180) and get Milwaukee 5625 (at $271)

1- Get Jessem Master-R-Lift (at $165) and Milwaukee 5620 set (at $231) plus another $28 for collar.

Which options is better?

For the difference in price I would go with the big production router (5625) in a heart beat (plus I like the PRL better any way). The only way I would go the other direction is if I planned to move the router in and out to use it freehand. I find it to be a big pain to do that if you can avoid it.

[mreza Salav]

Pulled the trigger and went online to order the PRL with the 10% coupon just to realize the coupon was until yesterday only!!
Gave them a call and they were nice enough to honor the code and I ordered the PRL (with shim kit for 5625). Will have to wait for a good deal on a Milwaukee 5625 or a PC 7518.

Thanks for the feedbacks and comments.