Do I need a router lift?

[Eric Hartunian]

Hi all,
I am getting ready to buy another router. This one will live in a table, and I have a dewalt 621 for hand held use. So here is my question: since many new routers have an above table adjustment feature, do I need a router lift? Does anyone have this style router, and feel that they are somehow lacking without a lift?

Thanks,
Eric

[Dewey Torres]

If you already have above table adjustment feature, you should not need a lift. IMHO, you should save your money.
Dewey

[Mike Goetzke]

Of coarse you do!

About a year ago I bought a Milwaukee 5625 and a Woodpecker Quick-Lift. I'm impressed at the speed of bit changes, power of the router, and accuracy (especially when making DT cut with my positioner system) of this combo every time I use it.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/mbg/Unisaw%20Cabinet/th_IMG_0902_1_1.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/mbg/Unisaw%20Cabinet/IMG_0902_1_1.jpg)


I actually tore into the router and put the variable speed control outside the cabinet - I never have to reach inside the cabinet to make adjustments anymore.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/mbg/Unisaw%20Cabinet/th_IMG_0728_9_1.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/mbg/Unisaw%20Cabinet/IMG_0728_9_1.jpg)

[Larry Prince]

Hi all,
I am getting ready to buy another router. This one will live in a table, and I have a dewalt 621 for hand held use. So here is my question: since many new routers have an above table adjustment feature, do I need a router lift? Does anyone have this style router, and feel that they are somehow lacking without a lift?

The supposed value of the lift, or a router with built-in above-table adjustment, seems to lie in being able to raise/lower the router without having to bend/kneel. This is problematic since you have to get your eye down to the level of the bit anyway, to see where it is in relation to your workpiece.

That said, for table use, if you go with a Triton 3.25 HP router you'll be forever happy and will never look back.

Triton makes both a 2.25 and a 3.25 HP version. The smaller has above the table adjustment built in, but it's a tad light on power for use in a table, particularly with panel raisers.

The larger one doesnt have above-table adjustment but it's so easy to do that it doesnt matter. With both coarse and fine adjustment, I find I can quickly set a bit to within a couple of thousandths (using a height gauge).

Prices on these two units seem to range from $199 to $220, with the cheapest (that I've found) being at Sommerfeld Tools.

Another feature of the Triton is that the cooling air exits from the "bottom" of the unit instead of the top. This means that when it's upside down in a table, chips and dust are blown away from the motor instead of being sucked into it.

I've been so happy with Triton that I now own three of them and, IMHO, they're the best router on the market. An australian design made in Taiwan, they're rugged, well engineered and put together, and with reasonable care should last at least as long as you do.

The wrench that comes with the Triton isn't "bent" quite enough to allow easy above-table bit changes, but an alternative wrench is available from Sommerfeld that makes this a breeze.

No, I have no affiliation with Triton. But every once in a while you come across a product thats so good you just have to talk about it.

[Robert Leonard]

Larry,

I just had to say "hello" to a fellow Ypsilanti resident. I am near Michigan Ave. and Carpenter Road. How about you?

Bob Scott
Ypsilanti, MI

[mike holden]

Need a router lift? No.
Want one? YES!

However, if your router has the lift mechanism internally then an outside lift is unnecessary.

The lift makes bit changes and setting bit heights very easy. But, its not overly difficult without - so how much is convenience worth?

Mike

[Robert foster]

Eric:

I too have both Triton routers. Just got the 3 1/4 yesterday so haven't had much time to check it out. I'm well pleased with the 2 1/4 with all it's features. I was a little disappointed that the 3 1/4 didn't have the same kind of through the table lift that the 2 1/4 does but I'm sure that the other three ways for raising it will suffice.

Bob

[Ben Cadotte]

Larry,

I just had to say "hello" to a fellow Ypsilanti resident. I am near Michigan Ave. and Carpenter Road. How about you?

Bob Scott
Ypsilanti, MI


Hahaha, I lived in Ypsi until middle of 9th grade. Parents still own the house I grew up in on Grove rd (rental now). Parents moved to a new house in Ann Arbor middle of my freshman year. Of the kids I am the traveler. Lived and been all around the world. Rest of the family has stayed in the area.



Now for the router question. I recently bought the big and medium Milwaukee routers. Both of them work very well mounted into the table without a lift. Only issue is you have to reach in and unlock / lock to make the adjustments. But they give you the wrench to make the actual adjustments from above the table. I have no intentions of getting a lift. Works just fine for me.

[Brice Burrell]

Ben, agreed, I also have the big Milwaukee and a lift would be a waste of money with that router. Its a nice router too.

[Larry Prince]

Larry,

I just had to say "hello" to a fellow Ypsilanti resident. I am near Michigan Ave. and Carpenter Road. How about you?

Bob Scott
Ypsilanti, MI

Well, Hello back to ya. Are you the guy that lives in that tin shed behind Sam's Club? :)

I think there are a couple other Ypsi-ites who frequent the Creek.

Do you belong to the SEMIWW?

[Larry Prince]

Hahaha, I lived in Ypsi until middle of 9th grade. Parents still own the house I grew up in on Grove rd (rental now). Parents moved to a new house in Ann Arbor middle of my freshman year. Of the kids I am the traveler. Lived and been all around the world. Rest of the family has stayed in the area.


I'm the traveler too. Only been in Ypsi since '95, and prior to that my address was "USN-The Globe". Really miss it sometimes, but trying to figure out how to do dovetail joints on the drillpress distracts me and takes some of the sting out :)

[Greg Hines, MD]

I have a Porter Cable 890, which has above the table height changes on the fixed base. It has worked out great for table use, and by having the plunge base from the set available, I can move the router motor from table to hand held use very conveniently.

From what I have seen, I think that router lifts are eventually going to be seen as "what-we-used-before-good-routers-came-along", since most of the newer routers out there, like the Triton, have such good table-use features. One barometer of that not being the case will be if more companies start making router-lift-only motors like Milwaukee did. I think that if I ever did get a lift, that would be the motor I would use, since I like the remote controls that it offers.

Doc

[jason lambert]

Most people I see are using the Triton routers under a table it has the best runoff and for $200ish you can't go wrong. Forget the lift it is built in to the router.

Wish I looked at them last your before I purchased my woodpecker lift could of saved some cash. But I can't complain about the woodpecker lift it has been nothing but wonderful.

[Mike Goetzke]

From what I have seen, I think that router lifts are eventually going to be seen as "what-we-used-before-good-routers-came-along", since most of the newer routers out there, like the Triton, have such good table-use features. Doc

I used to think the same thing until I installed a Quick Lift on my dedicated Milwaukee 5625. The Quick Lift allows for speedy bit c/o w/o messing with controls on the router itself. Once you have it set close then a 32 pitch screw takes over for precise height adjustment. It's not a necessary shop tool but classified as one of the most functional toys in my shop.

[Edwood Ferrari]

I have a PC 890 that has it's built-in lift but I found it binds up very quickly with dust plus you need to unlock and lock to adjust every time. I found some drift between the unlock adjust position and the relocked position which made setting the height for DT a hit and miss operation. I just purchased the jessem lift from Rockler and so far I love being able to adjust even on the fly to a high degree of precision.

[Josiah Bartlett]

In my opinion, if you are buying an expensive router, building an expensive table with an expensive fence, and buying an expensive router lift, you are better off buying a shaper with a router collet adaptor. However, if you already have a router with a built in above table adjustment, or already have a router table, that is a good thing and you should keep using it.

[Gary Curtis]

I got the Milwaukee 5616 because it has table-top adjustments using a T-wrench. It was recommended by the president of WoodHaven, where I bought my router fence. About 6 or 7 other brands offer this feature.


WoodHaven, incidentally, makes and sells router lifts. But he said that the entire industry is headed away from lifts and towards routers with integral adjustments from above a table.

Something no one here mentioned. A lift will add about 10 lbs or more to the weight deflecting your table top. That is a 24-hour a day assault.

Gary Curtis

[Mike Heidrick]

I had a 7518. I bought a PRL lift from Woodpecker. I bought three routers from HDT for one price a couple years latter and one of those was a 5625 Milwaukee. I sold the 7518 and installed the 5625 in the PRL with a change of a side piece of the PRL. It is super super nice to have the PRL and the 5625 and quieter than my 7518 was.

[Eric Hartunian]

I guess the general consensus is that a newer router that has an adjustment feature built in is as reliable as a lift, and that a separate lift is not needed. That suits me fine, the saved $$$ can go to some other tool I just can't seem to live without...
Eric