Beautiful cabinet James.
I have the Jessem MastRLift II and love it. I thought about the side crank, but use a cordless screwdriver with and allen key in it to raise up and down quickly.
Don't think that I'd have a lift that doesn't lock like these do. The only thing I really don't like is the magnetic inserts.
John, what o-rings did you use as a replacement? I have both the router and table saw versions that I'd like to improve.