# Incra PRL-v2 lift



## Gadget01 (Jul 9, 2014)

Greetings-

After much deliberation, I made the "plunge" and ordered an Incra PRL-v2. The fast coarse adjustment, precise fine adjustment, and magnetic insert rings were standout features for me.










I spent most of last weekend rebuilding my workbench/table for it to be mounted to. The opening needed to be enlarged from the Rockler insert plate I have been using with a Craftsman fixed-base unit- not an elegant solution at all and only accurate through trial/error and lots of determination. I completed the bench rebuild and got the lift mounted and ready for business. It's quite lovely, except... it was faulty out of the box. Considering the premium price paid for it ($350 + shipping), I was a bit surprised.

With the carriage "locked" to the thumbwheel for fine adjustment, I can easily push the carriage down all the way to the bottom and just as easily push it back up to the top. The thumbwheel-driven threaded shaft is apparently not engaging any of the static gear teeth in the carriage and does not move the carriage at all with thumbwheel motion.

I shared this story with Mark at Incra via email, and his next-day response said that he was willing to either exchange the entire lift or ship me the parts needed to make the repair myself as he said it was a fairly simple procedure. I accepted option B- no sense in wasting the shipping costs of a full swapout. I'm optimistic about the outcome.

I have an Incra WonderFence and plan on adding their positioner to complete what should be a very capable setup.


----------



## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Keep us up to date on the result, Adam.


----------



## al m (Dec 13, 2012)

I have the same lift.you will enjoy how easy accurate height adjustment is.
Hope you have it up and running soon.
First thing I did after purchase was buy moe magnetic rings,they are very handy


----------



## MikeMa (Jul 27, 2006)

I have the identical lift, and overall very happy with it. For as expensive as their shipping is, I found the way it was packaged inadequate. If it got bounced around more than usual during shipping, there isn't enough padding to fully protect it. I wouldn't be suprised if yours was damaged during the shipping process. Mine came to me mostly okay, except for all small pieces weren't in a bag, just rolling around freely in the box. Of course some of the set screws needed to level the lift were missing.

My interactions with their support, I didn't find all the great. It took multiple emails back and forth before the agreed to send the missing screws, and when the finally did, they shipped them out as slow possible. 

While they did give me the generic "Sorry for you troubles" I found the tone of their emails to be unapologetic and rather terse. In fact, I felt I was burdening them because I expected them to make the situation right.

As much as I like their products, I doubt I will ever order direct from them again, and will think long and hard buying their products from other companies.


----------



## timbertailor (Oct 4, 2009)

Did you get the mag inserts with the vacuum ports?

I saw them demo'ed and it looked like a great dust collection solution.

And welcome to the PRL V2 club. I have the Woodpecker version.


----------



## Gadget01 (Jul 9, 2014)

I've had a good dialogue going with Mark at Incra. He was prepared to ship me a new lift to exchange this one, but for whatever reason I am insistent upon making this one work. Perhaps it's the "inquiring minds want to know" part of me. I did some disassembly and found the spring-loaded brass plunger that is supposed to engage the threads on the lift screw. Perhaps there's a part missing, but the plunger is smooth bore on the inside. It's difficult to determine since the manual has no parts breakdown. This is sort of like your car's rack and pinion steering and the entire rack has no gear teeth so you turn the wheel with no effect on your steering. Mark is having the necessary parts shipped and gave me some store credit for my troubles. Your mileage may vary, but I have zero complaints.

Maybe my lift was assembled on a Monday, right after a 3-day weekend.




timbertailor said:


> Did you get the mag inserts with the vacuum ports?
> 
> I saw them demo'ed and it looked like a great dust collection solution.
> 
> And welcome to the PRL V2 club. I have the Woodpecker version.


The mag inserts are the normally included variety. I may order some later though. I like their downdraft dust collector they have, but I'm pretty sure I can make one for less than $100.


----------



## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

Wow sorry to hear this Adam . I bought the same lift but it won't be used till next spring .
I did try the thumb wheel without the router and it seemed to work , but your making me nervous so I best double check .


----------



## Gadget01 (Jul 9, 2014)

RainMan1 said:


> Wow sorry to hear this Adam . I bought the same lift but it won't be used till next spring .
> I did try the thumb wheel without the router and it seemed to work , but your making me nervous so I best double check .


With the lift wrench set aside, just give the carriage a slight push (up or down) and see if it will move. Mine didn't need much- maybe 5 lbs of pressure to get carriage movement. If you turn the thumbwheel and see the carriage moving accordingly and it won't otherwise move unless you engage the lift wrench, it should be good to go. Mine didn't move at all with the thumbwheel. At first I thought... man, it must be crazy precise... moving only 0.001" per 50 revolutions. Then I watched this review on Youtube and saw how it's supposed to work. Another video found in a search for "PRL v2" shows the same malfunction, so my lift was not the 1st to exhibit this misbehavior.

I'm not badmouthing Incra or Woodpeckers. So far, I have been treated as well as anyone would reasonably expect. They have not offered to restock my fridge with my seasonal beverage of choice, but perhaps that goes beyond reasonable. I'm sure this lift will work as it should as soon as I receive the replacement parts... hopefully soon.

As we all know, routers can be dangerous and will dado your phalanges just as easily as MDF. Unexpected downward vertical carriage movement probably wouldn't pose much of a risk in most cases but it still drives the point of making sure things operate as they should, new or old.


----------



## Gadget01 (Jul 9, 2014)

I'm quite pleased to report that Incra and Woodpeckers came through. The replacement lift nut arrived today. Within a few minutes, I had the lift reassembled and it ops-checks good.


----------



## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

Wow Adam , so they had no threads in that part? 
Good work on the table , I see you installed a miter slot to , nice


----------



## Gadget01 (Jul 9, 2014)

RainMan1 said:


> Wow Adam , so they had no threads in that part?
> Good work on the table , I see you installed a miter slot too, nice


Thank you. The cutout for the lift's insert didn't quite follow the curves the way I like, but oh well. You are correct- no threads. I'm guessing that cutting the threads into that piece is one of the last steps to machine and for whatever reason, they thought they'd conduct a social experiment to see how it would play out. No biggie... I had lots of other chores to do last weekend.

I did a couple of test passes with a dovetail and slot cutting bit. So nice!

The lift screw on this thing is begging to be coupled to a stepper motor and a variable speed control handle 

Next step is to install some parallel T-tracks and build a downdraft dust collector cabinet. Incra wants $100 for their Cleansweep cabinet. I'm sure it's nice, but it's just a 5-sided box with a collector port on the bottom. I just watched their promotional video on the system. Looks like the Cleansweep rings are a good bit more effective. Would be nice if they offer it as an option to choose over the standard rings when purchasing the lift.


----------



## timbertailor (Oct 4, 2009)

Gadget01 said:


> ............................... I just watched their promotional video on the system. Looks like the Cleansweep rings are a good bit more effective. Would be nice if they offer it as an option to choose over the standard rings when purchasing the lift.


Is that how that works? I was also intrigued by the demo although your rings will not work with my lift. But, the concept of cutting slots in the insert plates may be an option worth trying.

Glad it worked out and thanks for the update. You are going to love your new lift.


----------



## Gadget01 (Jul 9, 2014)

I put the lift to use this weekend and did some flush-trim and roundover work on a speaker enclosure and it's an absolute pleasure to use compared to what I was using before, which consisted of a fixed router base mounted to an insert plate.

Once you're used to the weight of the router sprung by the lift wrench, you can get the bit set really close to what you want. One thing I learned worth passing forward with this lift:

After using the wrench to adjust the height, dial the fine adjustment thumbwheel to fully seat the threads. I found the thumbwheel scrolling along by itself with the router running. After a little manual adjusting, you can feel the bump as the threads in the lift nut fully mesh with the lift screw. No more drifting. I had already set the brake set screw and wondered what was going on... mystery solved.


----------



## Gadget01 (Jul 9, 2014)

Took the plunge and got the LS25 positioner- what a treat! I did a jointing sample with the WonderFence. The leadscrew adjustment makes it a breeze to dial in the fence position. I needed the positioner/fence to be somewhat easy to remove so I mounted the positioner base on a 1/2" birch ply panel which fastens to the T tracks.


----------



## timbertailor (Oct 4, 2009)

You have a right to be proud. You have acquired one of the finest router table lifts and fences money can buy. They are well made, accurate, and should serve you well for years to come.

It is a real treat to have the Incra fence and lift at your disposal. Your router table is HUGE! 

Congratulations on your new acquisition. It looks good.

P.S. I did notice that your router plate is really close to the front edge. It could be a problem if you try to use a coping sled with it. I would have suggested moving it back a few more inches from the edge.


----------



## Gadget01 (Jul 9, 2014)

timbertailor said:


> I did notice that your router plate is really close to the front edge. It could be a problem if you try to use a coping sled with it. I would have suggested moving it back a few more inches from the edge.


I agree- I think I'm going to flip the bench top over and redo all the surface details and a new lift cutout on the opposite end set further away from the edge.

How far from the edge would you recommend as ideal for a coping sled?


----------



## greenacres2 (Dec 23, 2011)

How about, when coping or working very long pieces, removing the positioner and just setting a fence on the short end? That would give you a great amount of table for stock support. And a lot easier.

Or--leaving the existing insert where it is and adding a second mounting location somewhere else on the table? Perhaps the other end but farther in--you could probably use the exitsting t-tracks that way. 

Just some thoughts. 

earl


----------



## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

Adam I didn't realize you installed those slots to move the fence , very clever


----------



## timbertailor (Oct 4, 2009)

Gadget01 said:


> I agree- I think I'm going to flip the bench top over and redo all the surface details and a new lift cutout on the opposite end set further away from the edge.
> 
> How far from the edge would you recommend as ideal for a coping sled?


My router bit is 13 inches from the front lip, if that gives you a good reference.


----------



## plunger (Jun 21, 2013)

Per Carbide Processors, the PRL-V2 is going to be discontinued? Perhaps a _V3_ coming?

Woodpeckers PRL-V2 Router Lift w/ Incra MagnaLock Rings, Incra INCRA PRL-V2 Lift


----------



## timbertailor (Oct 4, 2009)

plunger said:


> Per Carbide Processors, the PRL-V2 is going to be discontinued? Perhaps a _V3_ coming?
> 
> Woodpeckers PRL-V2 Router Lift w/ Incra MagnaLock Rings, Incra INCRA PRL-V2 Lift


CP may stop caring\selling it, but I doubt WP is going to stop producing it, for themselves or Incra.


----------



## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

timbertailor said:


> CP may stop caring\selling it, but I doubt WP is going to stop producing it, for themselves or Incra.


I hope your right Brad . I haven't even used the dang thing yet


----------



## mbrun (Jan 12, 2020)

And here we are 6 years later. Woodpeckers is still making the PRL V2. I think we are at a 10+ run on this one now.

http://www.incrementaltools.com/category_s/174.htm

https://www.woodpeck.com/routing/router-lifts-plates/prl-v2-precision-router-lift.html

Don’t know about you, but I like to seeing quality products remain in manufacturer’s product lines for decades. They usually work out the kinks in the early years and generally you are left with a product that has real longevity. And further, it generally means good parts availability and service support for many years thereafter. Then, if the tool becomes one of your favorites, and it finally wears out, you can replace with new one of the same if you wish.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Gadget01 said:


> Took the plunge and got the LS25 positioner- what a treat! I did a jointing sample with the WonderFence. The leadscrew adjustment makes it a breeze to dial in the fence position. I needed the positioner/fence to be somewhat easy to remove so I mounted the positioner base on a 1/2" birch ply panel which fastens to the T tracks.


how much of a foot print does that have???


----------



## PhilBa (Sep 25, 2014)

another resurrection!

The LS25 takes up a fair amount of space. Especially when you push it out of the way to do free hand table routing (like trimming or template work). The arm hangs off the end of the table. It also requires a larger table to allow the full 25" movement. 

It's only like $30 more than the 17" LS17 and I think a lot of people go "heck get the bigger one, it's not that much more". If I had to do it over, I'd get the LS17 though keep the same size cabinet. In the 7 years I've had it, I don't think I ever needed more than 17. Maybe I need to go the full 17 years...


----------

