# Motorized Router Lift - Eagle Lake Style



## johnwnixon (Aug 6, 2007)

Thanks to everyone for the warm welcome over in the Introductions forum. This forum is a wealth of great information geared towards routing (which is my favorite machine in the shop!). 

I wanted to start a dedicated thread for my motorized router lift, so I can get all the information in one place an address any questions.

Let me start by saying that my foot-activated motorized router has really opened up a lot of functions on the router table that were previously impossible, unsafe or tedious to perform.

*Device Description - *   
I motorized the raise and lower action of the table mounted router. There's a panel on the router table that has a toggle switch to control the direction of the lift, and a pulse switch to activate the lift. There's also a foot pedal that activates the lift, allowing you to use both hands to control the work piece while operating the lift.

*Background - *   
The idea was born from my desire to make mortises with a router. I was on the verge of building a mortising jig for use with a plunge router. The concept of the jig is simple - control the movement of the router while incrementally plunging the bit to make the mortise. By motorizing the lift action of the router, I simulated the plunge (the z axis). By adding a tenon jig to the router table, I was able to control the x-y movement of the work piece. The combination of these two elements makes for highly effective and efficient router table mortising. With a router table that has an enclosed lower connected to dust collection, you get a nearly 100% dust free operation (using a spiral upcut bit, all the dust and chips is extracted below the table).

After installing and using the motorized router lift for a while, I realized there were many other benefits beyond mortising.

*Some of the benefits -*

Changing bits - my Motorized router lift is connected to a Hitachi M12V. Changing bits on this router when it's mounted in a table can be time consuming. With motorized router lift, I can drop the router down in a matter of seconds to easily change bits. The router go right back up to the ready position in seconds.

Stopped Dados - I can start the bit in the middle of the work piece by raising it up with the lift. There's no more tilting the work piece onto a spinning bit to make a stopped dado.

Mortising - with the modified tenon jig equipped with stop blocks, I can setup and cut reproducible mortises in no time at all. This setup is great for making matching mortises for loose tenon joinery.

Incremental Passes - how often to you take too much off in one pass because you just don't feel like changing the bit height in between passes? With the motorized router lift, the pulse of a button on the table changes the bit height so making incremental passes is really easy.

Cutting Circles - I made a circle jig for the router table. It's the standard pivot type affair, but I can rotate the blank while raising the bit with the foot pedal and cut a circle fast and easy.

*About the device - * 
My current version of the Motorized Router Lift is powered by an 18 volt screw driver (Black and Decker XD1200). I converted AC to DC and added a variable powered transformer to control the speed of the motor. I rarely adjust the speed, but it's nice to have that capability for raising the router at different rates depending on the operation. You could easily skip the AC to DC conversion and just use the battery (connected in a remote location) to power the device. 
The screwdriver is connected to a hollow drive-shaft that take the place of the nut on the router's threaded rod. This drive-shaft turns against the router body to raise and lower the M12V.

*FAQ - *   
*Q. * How do you stop the router at the desired depth?
*A. * I use the router's depth stop.

*Q. * Does the screwdriver motor continue to run when the router has reached max depth?
*A. * Yes, but it has a clutch that slips to prevent burning the motor. It's also easy to tell when the max depth is reached - I can hear that the bit is no longer cutting, and I let off the foot pedal.

*Q. * Do you have an indication of the bit height during the lift operation?
*A. * Yes, I have a digital caliper connected to the router, and a remote readout above the table that shows the relative amount the bit was raised. I can use this in conjunction with the depth stop to know when to let off the foot pedal.

*Q. * Do you need to have the VARIAC for controlling the motor speed of the lift?
*A. * No, if you can find a motor with a suitable RPM, there's really no need for a speed controller.

*Q. * Can I buy a Foot-Activated Motorized Router lift somewhere?
*A. * I am currently working with a company to bring the device to market. Patent is pending. Simple enough to build your own though.

*Resources - *
There's a lot of information on my Web Site about the Motorized Router Lift. I have videos of the lift in action, pictures, and documents describing the components.

Here's a good place to start 
http://www.eaglelakewoodworking.com/index.htm?MotorizedRouterLift/mrl_master.htm

Part 3 of my pool table build showcases the Motorized Router Lift for making mortises:
http://www.eaglelakewoodworking.com/index.htm?PoolTable.htm

Here's a few pics of the device and the results:









































Best Regards,
John W. Nixon
EagleLakeWoodworking[DOT]com


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## reikimaster (Sep 29, 2005)

I think you need 10 posts to be able to post links. This may help temporarily:

http://eaglelakewoodworking.com/MotorizedRouterLift/mrl_master.htm


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## johnwnixon (Aug 6, 2007)

reikimaster said:


> I think you need 10 posts to be able to post links. This may help temporarily:
> 
> http://eaglelakewoodworking.com/MotorizedRouterLift/mrl_master.htm


Thanks reikimaster, I appreciate you translating my crypto-link!


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## Router is still my name (May 3, 2006)

Awesome !


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## reikimaster (Sep 29, 2005)

johnwnixon said:


> Thanks reikimaster, I appreciate you translating my crypto-link!


Heheh.... we're neighbors. Least I could do. 

I live in Sanborn.


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## DougO (Jan 4, 2006)

This looks like one of the better mods to a router table I have seen. Got to give it a try.

thanks for sharing John


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## johnwnixon (Aug 6, 2007)

reikimaster said:


> Heheh.... we're neighbors. Least I could do.
> 
> I live in Sanborn.


Hey Charlie, that's awesome! I'm in Wheatfield, so actually closer than you may have thought. You're welcome to come out to my house some time and check out my shop / projects....there's always something in the works.


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## reikimaster (Sep 29, 2005)

Invitation appreciated and I hope sincere as I may very well take you up on that. I like the furniture style that you seem to favor.


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## Rolf Maxa (Feb 8, 2005)

Welcome to the forum, awesome devise. I'm not to far from you either, I'm in Rochester.


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## johnwnixon (Aug 6, 2007)

reikimaster said:


> Invitation appreciated and I hope sincere as I may very well take you up on that. I like the furniture style that you seem to favor.


Yes, Charlie, I'd love to have you over. There's a few other's in our area that I've met (mostly from the WOOD magazine forum). Do you know any of these guys - Bill Richardson, John Morello or Scott (Gator Guy) Clark?


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## johnwnixon (Aug 6, 2007)

rmaxa said:


> Welcome to the forum, awesome devise. I'm not to far from you either, I'm in Rochester.


Hi Rolf, thanks for the compliment on the lift. I envy your location - you have a Woodcraft retail location. Ya, sure we have a Rockler, but it would be nice to have both. Woodcraft carries Rikon. I have my eye on their 14 inch deluxe bandsaw. It's a ways off before I build up enough in the tool budget to get it.

I think I've crossed passed with you somewhere before. You name sounds familiar. Maybe I just saw your posts in the past.


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## Llewel (Nov 29, 2011)

*Very Cool*

Sounds like a perfect solution to a tedious task. Thanx for the information. I will take a look at your links.


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## ethylplant (Feb 19, 2011)

Here's where that concept is today. Kinda pricey, but well worth it if this is what you need.

I haven't used one yet, but sure would like to try it out!
MLCS PowerLift&#153; Motorized Router Lift


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi

It's a neat concept but you don't need to buy one John will show you how to make one (see link below) on his web page, I made my own for peanuts and it works great, see it in my uploads.


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ethylplant said:


> Here's where that concept is today. Kinda pricey, but well worth it if this is what you need.
> 
> I haven't used one yet, but sure would like to try it out!
> MLCS PowerLift™ Motorized Router Lift


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## Neil Tsubota (Mar 20, 2010)

Could you please check the link for the "variable speed control unit". I can't seem to be able to find this supplier.


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