Router Bits and Woodworking Products

Average Customer Rating: (8 reviews)
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By Michael Conte (Spencertown NY US)

Have now used lift on two Christmas projects and has made multiple mortises a breeze. Easy to install, operate and use. Only complaint is the foot pedal came with a "used" look, when I first used lift it would not complete up and down motion completely. It became apparent that the plastic gears were not runny centrically and slipping, appears they were installed sloppily at factory or over tightened. Will probably need replacements with the heavy use I expect. Only other criticism is the cheap wire harness and soldier attachments. MLCS you should improve on this.

By Robert Madison (Northwood NH US)

Can't really say enough. I had a slight setup problem, but called tech support at MLCS .... resolved in seconds. I ran the MLCS PowerLift a dozen times since it was installed ... yesterday. I had to make a couple of minor adaptions to my router cabinet and table, but in all, it took me 45 minutes to set it up. The only problem I encountered was accessing the collet with wrenches. Now I'm looking at the collet extension from MLCS.
So far, so good...I LIKE!

By JACKIE (NIAGARA FALLS NY US)

I HAVE PURCHASED A SECOND MOTORIZED ROUTER LIFT, IT IS WORKING JUST AS WELL AS THE FIRST ONE, FLAWLESSLY. GREAT LIFT, CONSISTENT QUALITY. 5 STARS IS NOT ENOUGH STARS TO RATE THIS LIFT, I WOULD NOT HESITATE TO GIVE IT A 10 STAR RATING !

By Howard Fink (New York NY US)

I purchased a motorized Powerlift and am extremely happy with it. I use it to cut stopped dadoes, and there is nothing that can touch it for speed and accuracy.

Installation: I bought a new router to go with the Powerlift and cast iron extension table for a unisaw. For a small shop, I thought it would take up less space. It does, but I believe this tool should be stand-alone.
The 692 variable speed has two pins on the body, and the Powerlift is expecting one or none. I ground off one pin. The initial fit was too tight, and i didn’t get it to fully seat. Running for about a half hour let me fully seat the router spindle. The ears around the brush caps stick out too much, and I had to grind off some of the ears to avoid one post when lowering the router. I wanted the router switch on the outside. Maybe if I had ground off the other pin I could have avoided the posts.

Setting a height stop is tricky. There is an acorn nut that hits the blade of a microswitch. The initial setup is usually a millimeter off. There is no gauge on the stop, but it’s under the table and kind of dark, so it’s try and try again for height. The speed of the lift can affect the height stop by about .2mm due to inertia. So 40-50 percent lift is about right. If the height starts to slip, raise the speed to compensate. We are talking tenth millimeters here. The console displays to a hundredth millimeter. That said, the accuracy is consistently about a tenth millimeter. You want to give the router some running room to hit the height stop, say 5mm, or the height will run low.

The foot switch/console combination is heaven. Tap, raise 5 mm, cut, slide the stock back and forth between the stops on the fence, repeat a few times for a 14mm deep slot. Lower the router below the table with the foot switch and remove the stock. The walls of the cut are perfectly smooth. This is with a 3/8 plunge cutter with a 1/2” shank. I cut 30 8” long 3/8” slots in about twenty minutes. Back and forth means a little climb cutting, so you have to stay alert and press the stock against the fence. You also have to adjust the router plate each time it is removed so it is flush to the table. If you don’t you get a little bump, which doesn’t affect the slot, but may cause you to swing the stock slightly away from the fence and make an error. The plastic cover for the opening of the router plate uses brass screws to hold them in place, and one of the threads was stripped.

The posts need dry lubricant. I used paste wax. There are three different plugs and then the two 110 cords, something to deal with. Removing the console and cables to store them is a bit clumsy. No dust collection with stopped dados, so blow away the dust each piece.

I ran 3/8” slots first, then 10mm, but found 10mm was too tight for my needs, so I went back and cut .75mm wider, and it was very quick. Essentially, I made 30 slots using 270 passes with one bit change in about 90 minutes being very careful but calm. It was taking me five minutes each with a plunge router, anxious all the time.

Did I mention changing the bits from above the table? Switching from 1/2” shank to 1/4” shank without removing the router?

By Ron Skaggs (Paso Robles CA US)

This was well worth the wait. I love the convenience...it works great with the Bosch 1617 EVS Router (will not work with the Hitachi M12VC, Makita RF1101 or the Milwaukee 5616-24). The only thing that detracts a bit is the cheesy plate...mine was a washed out ugly yellow color with a bit of burr still left from the machining....took a bit of sanding and then she was up and running in no time.

By gary l. pope (Gouldsboro PA US)

Been using Powerlift about 8 months now. Purchased with cast iron base to attach to table saw. Best tool investment I have made in a while. I would encourage all to have one in their shop.

By JACKIE ROSINI (NIAGARA FALLS NY US)

RECEIVED LIFT JUST BEFORE CHRISTMAS 2010, PACKAGING WAS EXCELLENT, INSTRUCTIONS EXCELLENT, I CHANGED THE ROUTER PLATE TO FIT MY TABLE WITH EASE, INSTALLED MY BOSCH ROUTER 1617EVS WITH EASE, INSTALLED IT INTO MY TABLE, PLUGGED EVERYTHING IN WITH EASE, TURNED IT ON AND IT WORKED FLAWLESSLY. I HAVE BEEN USING DAILY SINCE. THIS IS ONE GREAT ROUTER LIFT AT A VERY REASONABLE PRICE. IF A COULD RATE IT 10 STARS I WOULD!!!!!

By Lee Baltes (Aurora Il US)

Received my unit early from the ship date. Unit did not work when received,needle bearing spacer was to tight and would not turn the screw shaft. Reamed top plate removed spacer and the units works Great from 10% to 100% lift speed.Not impressed with the wires & isolation but they work. Works as advertised with a little TLC, this is the first of its kind. Hope to see free upgrades to the unit in the future. Overall great idea needs a little fine tuning.
Control unit very top notch, wiring needs a bit more attention.

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