Woodpecker Router Table Lifts

Router Table lifts are becoming more and more popular.  One of the reasons why is the trend of the economy and the appeal of the do it yourself type of projects.  Router Bits and techniques are also helping pave the way towards novice woodworkers building really cool projects.  Take for example the idea of doing a kitchen remodeling project.  Kitchen cabinets are a huge chunk of the budget.  Believe it or not, the cabinets are not that hard to build, you just have to know how to do it.  Raised panel doors are the crown jewel in nice kitchen cabinets.  Using a router table with a router table lift can help you make the raised panel door, thus doing the cabinets yourself. 

The lift allows the router motor to ride up and down the table and you are able to control the increments from the top part of the table. This allows precise movements and greater control.  People are gravitating to the lifts because they see their favorite TV personality (woodworking) using them.  Without a doubt the added control allows you to do a better job in managing larger bits and more complex cuts.

Router Table lifts come in several different brands including Woodpecker’s, Bench Dog, Rockler and others. I am focusing on Woodpeckers router table lifts for the rest of the article since they are not as well known but have amazing quality. I really like the PRL series which is becoming the most popular lift. The three most common are the PRL-V2-350, the PRL-V2-420 and the PRL-V2-414. They are all the same lift but are pre-drilled to fit specific routers. The 350 series fits the very popular Bosch 1617and 1618 series routers, the Porter Cable 690/890 series and the DeWalt 618. These are all in the 1 ¾ to 2 ¼ HP range. The 420 fits the Porter Cable 7518 router which is the larger 3 1/4HP fixed base router and the 414 is for the larger Milwaukee 5625 router.

Woodpecker also has been pretty crafty in making a new size that fits the Bench Dog sized market.  They are 8 1/4" by 11 3/4"  These will fit all the Bench Dog router tables on the market.  If you do a little homework, you  will also find that the size is the same as Rockler.

• micro-adjust thumb wheel, this eliminates the need for a crank and allows you to make small adjustments easily
• spring assist lift wrench, allows you to make bit height changes quickly and easily. This is the heart and soul of moving the router up and down in the unit.
• adjustable reference scale, Tool-less scale adjustments can be set to zero from any bit position then incremented to intervals as small as .002”. One complete revolution equals 1/16” in height change.
• 8 leveling screws
• adjustable side plunger
• Brass starting pin
• 3 twist lock rings, phenolic
• Plate size 9.260" x 11.763" by 3/8” thick.  This size is brand specific which means that it will fit in only a woodpeckers table.  If you build your own table then it will fit no problem since you are designing the size to fit.

The new sidewinder lifts by woodpecker are here.  These have some new features which are great.  The biggest improvement is the sidewinder conversion which allows you to move the router motor up and down via a crank that mounts to the side of the table.  These lifts will eventually replace the PRL series.