New Incra router lift, no router. What to do?

[Christopher Charles]

Roger, thanks for the quick feedback. Though my bank account does not thank you. Lift on order. I did get the english version, but did not get a motor yet. I have a PC 890 that will fit and get me going just fine as I don't anticipate a need to swing a big bit in the immediate future. Any maybe I'll find a unicorn in the mean time (i.e., a good deal on a used 3 HP router).

Best,
Chris

[Michael Drew]

Michael, I have exactly the same problem as you describe, where fine dust accumulates on the adjustment screw. My only solution to date was to remove the lift from the table and use a brass brush to remove the fine dust from the screw.

Glad to hear I'm not alone..... The threaded adj rod needs a collapsable boot, similar to what you might find on an off road vehicle shock absorber. This has not irritated me enough to figure out a solution, yet. But I will eventually, unless I stumble onto someone else's solution first..... (I'm OK with stealing someone else's good ideas)

[Wes Grass]

I had one of mine bind up and destroy the shaft. Chewed up the nut to where running a tap through it wouldn't fix it. Had to drill the ID out a bit to clean up the material that had been extruded in. Replaced it with a piece of SS threaded rod.

Dust problems like this might be curable by slotting one or the other piece, so it's got somewhere to go after being scraped off. Kinda like chip clearance in a tap or die.

[Robert LaPlaca]

Michael, what’s interesting is the router table is the very first dust collection drop from my Oneida 5 hp cyclone, you would think that combined with the Woodpeckers dust collection enclosure would keep issues at bay.

The issue is super bad whenever I use genuine Mahogany, the Mahogany dust is super fine like confectioners sugar, it sticks to everything. As much as I love the lift, the jammed up adjustment screw is a royal pain in the azz..

[Chris Parks]

I gave up on a dedicated lift & router, too many issues and too expensive. Using a CNC water cooled 2.2 kw spindle and a VFD solves all the issues.

[Christopher Charles]

Chris,

Interested to hear more about the spindle motor and VFD- how do you have it mounted? I've only just heard of these as an option.

Best,
Chris

[Chris Parks]

Chris,

Interested to hear more about the spindle motor and VFD- how do you have it mounted? I've only just heard of these as an option.

Best,
Chris

I am a very infrequent contributor at SMC and I am not allowed to post links to other forums so I suggest you go to the Oz WW forum and have a look at the router sub forum. It has been a subject of discussion recently and there are a couple of threads on it. If you search for "a router table using a linear lift" in google the second hit will lead to the table I built some years ago and there are a few more recent threads on the table as well in the sub forum. Because the router is not mounted to the top the top can be very light and made removeable and the advantage to that is custom tops can be made and quickly fitted. I am just about finished a fully electronic version controlled from a touch screen but the manual version is what most will be interested in. If you do a google search for "just another router table" you will find a thread on a table that was fully converted to touch screen control but used a router in that prototype build. You need to read the whole thread as it is effectively in two parts. The biggest advantage for the water cooled spindle in the nearly total lack of motor noise to the extent that with a moderate amount of background noise it can't be heard.

The advantages are as follows

Lightweight removeable top

Custom tops can be made

Far more robust

The spindle has less run out than a router

The spindle comes with a selection of ER collets which can hold a range of tools such as sanding spindles etc.

The spindle is way more robust than any router

The spindle rotation can be reversed on the VFD

Water cooling

Cost to benefit ratio is far greater than a router + lift

Dust extraction can be optimised and made more effective

Dust is not a problem for the motor