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Thread: Trim Router Lift Options
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26th September 2023, 12:08 AM #1SENIOR MEMBER
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Trim Router Lift Options
I'm looking at making a small Benchtop Router Table, for occasional use, for my Makita N3701 Trim Router.
They are rather expensive, for what they are, so I'm going to make something like this:
Screenshot 2023-09-24 205200.jpg
I also want it to have Router Lift.
I can't justify the cost of a good known brand as it will be just for small jobs.
Is there a half decent chinese router lift at all? Even one that needs 'fixing' before it is reasonable?
Have trawled through many pages of Aliexpress and I found 2 or 3 that *might be ok, but I'm wary of pulling the trigger, as you 'get what you pay for'...sometimes less....lol
Was going to buy a plate and router lifter together.
Screenshot 2023-09-25 205438.jpg Screenshot 2023-09-25 205807.jpg
I saw a video on the Red one and they said that it can have problems changing height when using it and the Black one had a review where their router didn't fit!
The only other option is to make one......Ican do that, but its the time to find a design or design myself, research parts I need, order parts, order more parts, build, test , modifiy, etc.....when I just want to route some jobs occasionally....
I have a cnc Router to machine the parts and can use cad to draw up a design, but I'd rather just buy one if suitable.
Can anyone enlighten me or put me out of my misery.....lol
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26th September 2023 12:08 AM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
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26th September 2023, 12:17 AM #2SENIOR MEMBER
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Just found this one on Ebay.( I looked before but didn't see this one.)
It *looks* reasonably solid?
Screenshot 2023-09-25 211553.jpg
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26th September 2023, 12:27 AM #3Senior Member
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Alas, not.
I've been through the same process but can't commit to the bargains on Ali Express, Temu etc, on the the basis that I've bought some very nicely built items in lovely coloured alloys such as router guides (e.g the sort that sits on top of a door to mortise a hinge) and found them to be sufficiently inaccurate to be useless, at least to the standards of accuracy I work to. Which partly prompted my thread at Why are there so many rubbish tools and aids on the market?
Doesn't alter the fact that from time to time I still trawl Ali Express etc in the hope that there's something there that lives up to its advertising.
I'm not opposed to Ali Express etc as I've bought plenty of stuff there that does the job, but I'm wary of anything that is supposed to be a precision tool.
Beats me why so many companies go to the trouble of making a really nice tool to about 97% accuracy and render it useless when a little more attention to detail and or quality control would have made it 100% worth having.
It's not a problem with crappy Chinese quality because they can make anything you want to any standard you want. The problems I was moaning about in the link above were all well recognised Western or European brands but made in China. The fault was with their quality control of the products coming out of China.
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26th September 2023, 05:03 PM #4Intermediate Member
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Router lifter
Hi - I was in the same situation - ended up getting a scizzor jack from Willtronics - works well for occasional use. $60/80. Laboratory Jacks | Laboratory Scissor Lift | Wiltronics Cheers
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26th September 2023, 07:22 PM #5SENIOR MEMBER
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26th September 2023, 07:24 PM #6SENIOR MEMBER
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Pictures
Can you not see the pics? They'e in there.
Anyone else not see them?
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26th September 2023, 11:03 PM #7
You do know that Lee Valley makes a version
top
and, if you need it a base
but what I did -- for occasional use -- is drill an approximate 12 mm hole in a piece of good quality ply and attach the trim router using a set of long screws.
Lee Valley item number 05J2905, Base Plate Screws, pkg. of 24 cost CAD $8.90
you will only need 4 of them, but Lee Valley supplies both short and long versions in the common thread diametersregards from Alberta, Canada
ian
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27th September 2023, 12:01 AM #8Senior Member
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I haven't used or seen one of this type of lifter in the flesh so I might be missing something, but it's not clear to me that they have any sort of locking mechanism to hold the router once it's raised to the desired height. If they don't, the router vibration and gravity would drop the router sooner or later, and probably sooner.
At the risk of being laughed off this forum, on an impulse I bought an Aldi version of this cheap table Just a moment... many years ago and recently put it into service with a permanent chamfer bit for timber up to about 600mm long. It does the job out of the box and it's a lot easier and quicker than making your own from scratch. I think it'll take a router / router lift up to 150mm in diameter as there's a ring on the underside that limits the size of the router. I think the biggest router bit it'll take is 22mm, so if you're tempted you'd need to check those sizes.
Forget about the mitre gauge and extension tables as they're rubbish, but otherwise okay for small jobs on short timber if the flimsy legs are screwed or clamped to a solid base.
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27th September 2023, 12:23 AM #9SENIOR MEMBER
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27th September 2023, 12:37 AM #10SENIOR MEMBER
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Yes, all the cheapies seem to be missing a locking mechanism. If thats the only, downer then I could possibly fit one.
I found another one Ebay, which I was initally intersted in but it appear to only have a thin ring gripping the Router.( although I could make a new wider one and fit it.) Also, no locking mechanism.
Screenshot 2023-09-26 213123.jpg
The Ozito table was found and disregarded a long time ago...lol. There *was* one on Gumtree locally, but its gone now.
Steve
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27th September 2023, 01:08 AM #11Senior Member
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The problem with that, at least as far as I can see, is that you'd need a screw or clamping mechanism against one or both posts, which means you've got to get under the table and that's a nuisance.
There's always a few on Facebook Marketplace, often new in box, if you change your mind.
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27th September 2023, 09:47 AM #12
Steve,
You will be able to get long router base screws in WA. After all, they are standard machine screws.
Go to any bolt supply place, you could even try the Green Shed ...
I expect that you will need to buy many more than 4 -- most bolt supply places have minimum order quantities, meaning you will likely need to buy many more than the four you actually need.
I note you initially specified that your DIY option was for occasional use, so I don't understand the desire to fit a router lift. I used the depth adjustment on my trim router when I bolted in under the piece of ply.
A router lift implies a much more permanent setup.regards from Alberta, Canada
ian
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27th September 2023, 10:10 AM #13
Just wondering if there is a soft pad under that grubscrew in the router clamping ring that would allow you to lightly tighten the grubscrew onto the thread once you have the height you want. Even if it didn't come with a pad, providing there is enough depth in the thread you could make your own out of brass or nylon. Only needs to be a couple of mm thick so the grubscrew doesn't bear down on the winder thread.
It may be that the grubscrew in there is only holding in the threaded insert so can't be done there but might be able to do it under the grubscrew on the head section as that one possibly goes in to a groove to prevent it moving up and down.Dallas
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27th September 2023, 11:35 AM #14Woodworking mechanic
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27th September 2023, 03:40 PM #15SENIOR MEMBER
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I was thinking of extending the locking mechanism to the side of the table, so its easily accessable, but I cannott be sure that would work unless I buy one and eyeball it....A bit of a gamble.
Yes, might be worth a try. The one I saw was only $50.....lol
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