MLCS Router Lift

[Howard Jahnke]

Has anyone actually purchased one of these to be able to post some thoughts/reviews on them yet? I noticed they have been on backorder for a while. At this price point, if it lives up to the hype, could be a nice addition to my router table.

[Bill Edwards(2)]

I find it to be a very interesting amd will probably give it a try when the shop is
finished. Even though nobody here has any experience with it, they are not
MLCS fans, so I doubt you'll get anything in the way of a positive response.
(I hope I'm wrong)

I like MLCS. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/images/icons/icon12.png

[Mike Monroe]

I'd consider the unit if it worked with a PC 7518 router motor.

[Bill Edwards(2)]

This is fun bunch.http://www.unclebill.us/bigs/biggrin.gif

[Jerome Hanby]

Same boat here...

Seems funny to build a single model of a router lift and not be compatible with the 7518. Isn't that still the motor of choice for router tables (assuming you can't/won't afford the Milwaukee with the detached controller...is it the same diameter as the 7518?).


I'd consider the unit if it worked with a PC 7518 router motor.

[Van Huskey]

I'd consider the unit if it worked with a PC 7518 router motor.

+2 I suppose it is now. I may still get one after some reviews as it would be for my thrid table and I could just use a smaller motor, the 7518 is still the king in my book.

[robert micley]

it looks great. but i did not realize it doesnt accept the porter cable router. also it comes with a plate and inserts which are not as good as woodpeckers. the inserts look kind of cheap

[Howard Jahnke]

One of the appeals to me is the size of the plate is the same as the Rousseau plate I have in my table now. So it should just drop in the existing hole.

[Howard Jahnke]

I have one being delivered tomorrow. I will post a comprehensive review within a couple of weeks.

[Keith Palmer]

Not sure if any of you have seen this (http://www.eaglelakewoodworking.com/post/Motorized-Router-Lift.aspx), but the MLCS lift was developed jointly with John Nixon of Eagle Lake Woodworking. He has a handful of videos of his homemade version in use.

[glenn bradley]

I didn't realize that many folks put smaller motors in lifts. I guess I should have as my dad's 2-1/4HP Triton seems to handle most things easily. I have enjoyed the idea ever since I caught John's video way back when. I hope it turns out to be a winner and look forward to Howard's review.

[Howard Jahnke]

Well, I have completed 2 projects using the lift. One, a set of raised panel doors (10), and the other was rounding over the edges of a router bowl chip/dip type thing. The first thing I'll touch on is the plate that I thought was the same size as my rousseau plate was a tad off. A little resizing of the hole w/ a straight bit and all was well. Fit very nicely. Plate is well made and thick enough that I don't think sag will ever be an issue. Inserts do seem to be a little on the cheap/flimsy side. They need to be screwed in, instead of snap in, as my previous plate had. Don't know if this will be an issue, aside from me misplacing the screws. The lift itself is a nice piece of work. Didn't see anything that appeared to be cheaply machined or chincy. Setting up on my router table was a breeze. Instructions were very clear, self explanatory. I must say that it made the raised panel door project much easier, more precise as far as changing from stile to rail bits. Just set the stop from one bit, insert other bit, zero out, and perfect matching of the rail/stile. The included foot pedal is great for raising the panel cutter height on the fly. The control box for raising the motor/router speed etc. is very well thought out and adjustment increments are small enough for any precision I could foresee needing. I could go on, but for fear of sounding like a company rep, I won't. Overall, I am absolutely pleased with the product, especially at the price point with whats included. My only deduction would be on not accommodating larger routers. I felt I needed to take smaller cuts on the panels than I normally would have, had I had my 3 hp router in place. If anyone would like to see pics of it actually in place on the router table, let me know. I'm sure I can figure out how to post them.

[Van Huskey]

Thanks for the review Howard. Nice to here it is a nice piece, I have been waiting to here from someone about these.

[Rob Vicelli]

Thanks for the review. Nice to hear it worked as designed.

[Neil Brooks]

Great review, Howard, and ... if it WAS easy ... I'd love to see pics of yours, set up.

If it's NOT easy ... ship it to me. Given a few weeks ... I'm SURE I could post up a few pics ;)

And then ship it back, of course :D

[Bill Edwards(2)]

Well, I have completed 2 projects using the lift.
*edited*


http://www.unclebill.us/bigs/bowing.gif

[Howard Jahnke]

Thank you, thank you. No need to bow, though. It's wintertime, so I get lots of shop time in.

[Steve Bearden]

Well hello fellas, I just received the lift in the mail after a long back order. There should be alot more reviews if that many people are buying them. My first impression was good out of the box. everything was packaged well and was no chance of damage during shipping. Now to the meat and taters, I plugged everything up (very easy setup no instructions needed) and tried it out before putting it in the table.First thing i noticed was the cheap way the limit switches where bolted to the base. Next i tried the switches and the upper limit switch did not work. After some troubleshooting i found that the wire was broken at its connection to the switch. I busted out the solder gun and fixed that. Now i wanted to see how accurate the digital readout was so setup a half inch straight bit in the thing and set the hieght to 1/4 deep based on the read out after zeroing out the bit to the top of the table. Next i ran a scrap piece thru the bit and got a measurement of about .270 which i feel is fine because zeroing it out could have been a little off. so i lowered the bit by .020 and re-zeroed the display. ran the piece again and was within about .005. Now i ran the bit up then down past my number and back to the .250 i wanted. Next i ran the piece again and man it was off by almost .037. I ran the motor down again thinking maybe backlash on the thread so i made sure i went far enough to take care of that and ran it back to .250. Ran the piece again and it was off by about.017. I tried this several times and found that sometimes it was a little high and sometimes low by about .20 on average either side. This is a error factor of damn near .040 of an inch. Now i know that in order to do woodworking that you don't need machinist precision but come on i can get closer than this with a gauge block and finger nail. The upper limit switch is a cheap rocker type with a piece of metal bent to make the switch. the adjustment bar that contacts the switch is very hard to set becuse the switch has so much movement even after it is activated. but at least digital display wise it is pretty accurate and stops to within about.003 of an inch but as i discussed earlier you cant pay a damn bit of attention to what that display says i guess. My feelings are first i should not have to work on something that is brand new out of the box(but hey i am a realist and that's why i learned electronics so i can handle that) but secondly the fact that you can not trust the digital display at all if you want to be accurate anyway that for me is BS. I don't know what im going to do yet but i feel like i could build something for allot less money that will work as well as this. That is not what i wanted. For 400 bucks i wanted something better than i could build. Hope this helps some people on making their decisions to purchase this unit. Hopefully they will address these issues. Thanks for your time.

[jason lambert]

Well I alsojust received one after a long wait. I won't get into to details but I lookedat it and it is going back because of quality issues. I called MLCS and they said send it back but thereis a 10% restocking fee. Now I am annoyed. I had faith in the company bought aproduct with no reviews and was an early adopter. Decided I didn't like thequality it was still new in box now if I want to return it I get hit shippingto me, shipping back to them and a restocking fee of 10%. I suggest peoplethink carefully and read reviews, after looking at how this is made for the price and thererestocking fees realizing if you don't like it you will be out some cash.

[glenn bradley]

I was hopeful of the concept. I must confess I had some concern with MLCS being the delivery point. The price-point is still acceptable if it were build like a Woodpecker or other quality lift. Unfortunately, this is one of those items that if it is not top quality, it is pretty much useless. I have had experience with other such items and it is always depressing. I'll keep the jury out and see if MLCS addresses the quality issues.

[Alan Lightstone]

I had an order for one, but cancelled it due to the incompatibility issue with the PC 7518 also. Now, considering the above, I'm feeling pretty good about the cancellation.

I love the concept. Hopefully they can beef it up, make it more repeatable, and allow compatibility with the 7518.

[jason lambert]

I also really liked the idea and was willing to take the gamble. Just wish they had a more understanding return policy i will not be doing busness with MLCS if I can avoid it in the future because of this.

[Alan Schaffter]

I think the target market and possibly the need for this is a bit small. Why do you need this? Ostensibly to precisely position the bit, up and down, each time it is used.

There are a few weakness with the concept as well as with the unit as mentioned by previous posters.

Chiefly, concept-wise, unlike many expensive CNC mills, etc. no router/router bit used with this machine or available today, will precisely, automatically register a router bit- standard router bits and router collets are not designed so the bit mounts in the same, precise vertical position in the collet each time a bit is installed. What this means, to take advantage of the capabilities of the unit, you must register every bit (zero out the display/set the lift for that bit) each time you mount it. To do that you must select a registration point somewhere on the bit and keep a log of that point. Then you must either precisely align that point with the top surface of the router plate with a straightedge, flat bar, or special probe. Once you do that, however, you can use the lift and readout to duplicate any bit profile in your log by adjusting the height of the lift to that setting. If you don't plan to do repeat operations like that, then you really don't have much of a need for a precision readout.

Another weakness is that the MLCS unit does not have stops to precisely limit the travel of the bit, or steps to automatically control the amount of feed when you step on the "up" pedal- both of those are easily achievable via software in a CNC type unit that uses stepper motors.

I motorized my INCRA/WoodPeckers lift by coupling a surplus bidirectional gear motor to the leadscrew. I use it mainly to run the router up to change bits (takes about 10 seconds) but also use it to set bit height. By quickly and briefly tapping my paddle switch I can cause the 32 TPI leadscrew to make "about" 1/4 of a rotation which equals 1/128" vertical change in bit height, though I still use the crank. I have a Wixey remote readout, but never got around to installing it.

206579

I wrote a design and operational concept proposal for a stepper motor driven lift which would solve the weaknesses of the MLCS unit and add additional capabilities. The unit was designed for either OEM or aftermarket (incorporated selectable leadscrew pitch setting). I discussed it with Barry Wixey and Rich Hummel of WoodPeckers. WoodPeckers was interested, but we determined early on that the developmental and production costs and hence retail cost would be just too high for the market. I also thought that to be useful, it would be best if the unit had a digital library so you could store bit, profile, and setting information and be able to retrieve and have that info set the unit, but now you really start getting expensive.

Here are some control units I designed for them at the time. The first one uses a paddle switch and rotary mode selector, which I prefer, while the second incorporates surface mount foil buttons which are cheaper to manufacture.

206580

206581

[Alan Lightstone]

Alan, you never cease to impress. Wow! Can I magically blink and have one of these?