Using hand router installed in a stationary table, two questions arise:
- How to adjust the depth of immersion (extension) of a cutter.
- How to quickly change replacement tips.
Unscrewing the tool from the plate every time is too troublesome. In addition, a statically mounted router works in the workpiece only at a fixed depth.
This problem is solved by installing a suspension with adjustable height. And once you were able to make a full-fledged milling table, install an elevator own design It's not difficult at all. In addition, a self-made device is developed taking into account all the requirements of the master, even those that are not provided for by the factory device.
Why do you need a lift on the milling table, and is it possible to do without it?
This useful device called the third hand of the master. Those who have tried a milling cutter with a microlift are finding new applications for it:
- Maintaining a power tool is not difficult, as is quickly changing cutters.
- You can change the cutter reach height in a matter of seconds, and most importantly – safely.
- You can change the immersion depth “dynamically”, simultaneously with the movement of the workpiece on the table. This expands creativity.
- Due to the fact that you no longer regularly dismantle the tool for maintenance, the plate and its fasteners are subject to less wear.
Buy or make it yourself?
There is a wide choice of offers on the power tool market. Industrial microlifts look good and work without failures, but their cost is the same as that of a new router. True, the device is quite well equipped. The set includes rings for copy sleeves, and a very high quality mounting plate.
Industrial microlift for a router with a set of copy rings
All that remains is to electrify the device - and it can be produced using CNC. There is only one drawback, but it outweighs all the advantages - the price itself. Therefore, for periodic home use this is an unaffordable luxury. So our Kulibins make whatever they can. However, there is a lot to learn from them.
The milling lift that Victor Traveller uses in his, as I understand it, extreme table. So to speak, newest model. The milling cutter uses the same long-suffering interskol FM32.
The most interesting aspect of this lift is the ability to adjust the position of the router without bending over or crawling under the table. This is done with an imbus key directly from the countertop.
The entire block together with the router can be easily dismantled and replaced with a circular saw. Let's take a closer look at the structure of this lift. 
The lift itself consists of two U-shaped halves that move relative to each other. One is fixedly fixed relative to the base of the router, the other is movable (it pushes the head of the router up) 
They are connected to each other (that is, a bolt with a hexagon head and a pin of the appropriate diameter) using a pair of nuts (main and locking). In this case, the hexagon bolt remains on top, flush with the table surface. By means of a wide nut, rotation is transmitted to the pin, from which, respectively, onto the mortise nut in the lower half of the slide, which, due to rotation, is pulled up. 
Any craftsman will say that the quality of the final product depends not only on the faithfulness of the hand, but also on the accuracy of the tool.
The elevator is designed to raise and lower the working cutter.
A hand router is especially vulnerable in this sense. To ensure clearly oriented fixation of the working element in relation to the workpiece being processed, different variants stationary devices with movable cutters. But factory milling tables are not cheap. Therefore, many private craftsmen prefer to make a lift for the router with their own hands.
Why does a router need a lift?
A device for raising and lowering the working cutting head (mill) on a woodworking machine is not some nice optional gadget, but a completely necessary element. Moreover, on the milling table it is the main element. For example, the production of decorative finishes that are so popular today depends on the accuracy of its settings and the degree of stability. furniture panels or various technological grooves and lugs on wooden products.
When using a manual milling cutter without the appropriate stationary device, the worker’s hands quickly get tired. And this is quite understandable, since the weight of not the heaviest of these devices reaches 5 kg. But another problem associated with operating this unit manually is even more serious. No matter how steady the performer’s hand is, it cannot compare with the accuracy of a router mounted on a special table.
The availability of a wide range of manufactured objects, types of decorative finishes and technological treatments of wood products has led to the need to ensure mobility cutting element. So, to the upside-down router, the idea of a special elevator was added, which is capable of quickly raising or lowering the milling head, as well as holding it above the table surface at a given level.
Moreover, thanks to this device, there is no need to remove and then reinstall the manual router on the table each time. There is probably no need to say how much this speeds up and simplifies the production process.
Return to contents
Elevator for a router: operating principle and technical requirements
The lift for the router is convenient to use because the working cutting part moves without direct contact with the power tool by a person. To set the device in motion, either a crank, a lever, or another method is used. This technology allows not only to smoothly and accurately set the dimensions of cut grooves and other relief notches on wood blanks, but also to quickly and easily change cutters.
Figure 1. A support base, which is a box made of plywood or chipboard, is attached to the bottom of the milling table.
Schematically, without detailing the design of a particular elevator, the principle of its operation is as follows. On the lower plane of the tabletop, a support plate made of metal or textolite of appropriate dimensions is mounted, to which two parallel racks are attached. The mobile carriage moves freely up and down along them. A manual router is attached to the carriage. Forward movement transmitted to the carriage and the entire elevator from the pushing device.
When starting to manufacture this device, you should take into account the requirements for milling elevators.
First of all, the entire structure of such a device must be sufficiently rigid, which is extremely necessary not only for the accuracy of processing materials and the absence of errors in calculations, but also for the safety of the operator.
The lifting system should be designed to ensure quick withdrawal and installation of milling power tools and replacement milling heads. It is also worth designing a mechanism with a relatively small lift stroke (usually moving the router within 50 mm is sufficient to perform most milling operations). Finally, when manufacturing the device, it is necessary to ensure that the milling cutter is rigidly fixed in a given position during operation.
Return to contents
Materials and tools for the production of the lift
- manual router (without handles);
- electric drill;
- standard autojack (for a lift structure based on a jack);
- square wooden blocks;
- metal plate (textolite);
- plywood sheets and chipboard;
- aluminum profile;
- set of metal guides;
- threaded rod;
- a set of flat and Phillips screwdrivers;
- wrenches;
- pliers;
- drill;
- epoxy adhesive;
- nuts, bolts, washers;
- measuring tape (ruler, square).
Return to contents
Do-it-yourself lift for a router: examples of products
Home craftsmen who regularly do milling wooden surfaces, have developed a lot of milling elevators of different sizes, weights and functional features. However, it is almost impossible to describe them all, so we will focus on two examples based on the most commonly used operating principles.
The first option is a milling elevator using a car jack. Its action is based on the fact that the milling operator, by twisting the collar (pumping with a lever) on the jack, raises or lowers the tip of the milling cutter with the cutting head.
Schematically, the process of making a lift for a manual router with your own hands (Fig. 1) looks like this. An additional base-support is attached to the bottom of the milling table top, which is a kind of box, in the manufacture of which fragments of 15 mm plywood or chipboard are used.
Figure 2. Elevator device for the router
Two long fragments located parallel to each other, by means of metal corners and screws are attached with their ends to the lower surface of the tabletop. From below, a horizontal base is rigidly attached between them, to which the supporting heel of the jack will subsequently be screwed. The dimensions of the specified box are determined in such a way that, as a result, a manual milling cutter and a car jack selected in advance will fit inside it.
Then the manual router with its working (front) side is attached to the inner surface of the tabletop through a special metal sole using bolts. This mount is made in such a way that the router can move freely up and down.
With its lower (rear) part, the router rests on a metal (or textolite) support plate of the carriage, which moves up and down along two side metal racks. The guide posts are installed in place of the previously removed router handles. For more reliable stability of the unit during operation, it is recommended to install thrust springs on the racks.
The second version of the milling elevator is based on the use of a support disk, an axial threaded rod and a flywheel disk (Fig. 2).
To create this design, you first need to cut out wooden circle, which will subsequently rest against the hand router from below. It will be produced using a blank 18-20 mm thick. Center the disc using furniture drill Forstner with a diameter of 20 mm is counterbored (partially drilled) to a depth of 12 mm. After this, a through central hole is drilled, the diameter of which is 10 mm.
When the support disk preparation is complete, a threaded rod of the same diameter as the hole is inserted into its central hole and secured with a pair of nuts and washers. It is worth noting that the stud should have a length that will provide the router with a free play of at least 50 mm.
After this, the flywheel disk is attached to the stud using a flange and an ordinary nut with a washer. Moreover, it should be located slightly above the middle of the axial stud.
From below, the pin will rest on a plywood bottom, which should be mounted between the table legs at a height of 75-80 mm from the floor. A flange nut built into the plywood will serve as a retainer for the lower end of the stud. With respect to this nut, subsequently, when the flywheel rotates in one direction or another, the pin will move up or down, moving the hand router.
Using the elevator options described above, as well as other elevator options, you can begin almost serial production of wood products decorated with various relief cutouts.
A lift for a router, which can be purchased in a serial version or made by hand, is a device that allows you to improve both the quality and accuracy of processing performed with hand-held power tools. The results of the latter strongly depend on how accurately and confidently the user manipulates such a device. In order to minimize the influence of the human factor on the results of processing performed with a manual milling cutter, special devices were developed.
Homemade elevator for a manual router, made of plywood and timber
One of them is mechanized lifting device for milling power tools, which, in full accordance with its functionality, is called an elevator. As mentioned above, such a device can be purchased in a serial version, but it will not be cheap, so many home craftsmen successfully make it with their own hands.
Why is such a device needed?
A lift for the router, which ensures precise movement of the machine mounted on it. hand power tools in the vertical plane, necessary in many situations. Situations in which the quality and precision of processing of wood products are of no small importance include decorative finishing of furniture panels, making technological grooves and lugs on elements of furniture structures. The quality of processing in such cases will not depend on the experience of the master performing it and the firmness of his hands, but only on the accuracy of the device settings and the degree of its stability.
Even a person with good physical fitness gets tired when working with a hand router, the weight of which can be 5 kg or even more. This directly affects the accuracy and quality of work. In addition, the precision of processing that a manual milling machine mounted on an elevator can provide cannot be achieved when manipulating a power tool manually.
To the necessity of inventing such useful device, what is a lift for a router, led to the fact that the variety of types decorative finishing wood products have expanded significantly, processing techniques have become more complex of this material, and the requirements for the accuracy of its implementation have also increased. All of the above factors require that manual milling electrical equipment combine high mobility of its working body, as well as the accuracy of the movements it makes. It is precisely these requirements that are fully met by a router lift, with the help of which the power tool used is quickly raised and lowered to required height above the desktop, and is also held at a given level for the required amount of time.
The convenience of using a milling elevator also lies in the fact that it is not necessary to install a power tool on such a device each time. This contributes to both simplification production process, and increase its productivity.
On what principle does the lift for a router work?
In order to raise or lower a manual router using a router lift, you can use a crank, lever, or any other lifting mechanism of a suitable design. Such functionality, which the lift for the router has, is ensured by:
- quick and accurate setting of the dimensions of grooves and other relief elements cut out on the surface wooden blank;
- Possibility of quickly replacing tools in the milling cutter chuck.
To summarize the options design the most used models of milling elevators, then the principle of operation of such a device can be described as follows:
- A support plate for the router, which is made of a sheet of metal or textolite, is mounted on a work table or workbench.
- Two racks arranged in parallel are fixed to the support plate.
- The manual router itself is mounted on a special carriage, which has the ability to move freely up and down along the racks installed on the support plate.
- The carriage with the milling power tool installed on it and the entire elevator move to the required distance due to the fact that they are acted upon by a special pushing device.
Let's consider the basic requirements that should be followed when planning to upgrade the router with your own hands using a lift.
- The frame for placing the router and all other structural elements of such a device must have high rigidity. Compliance with this requirement will not only improve processing accuracy, but also make the user’s work safer.
- The lifting system with which such a device is equipped must be designed in such a way that it can ensure not only the quick removal and installation of the router used, but also the prompt replacement of the milling heads on it.
- The working stroke of the milling elevator should not be made too large; it is quite enough if the working head of the power tool moves within 50 mm. This is quite enough for high-quality execution most technological operations.
- When developing drawings, it should be ensured that the working head of the power tool used can be rigidly fixed in a given spatial position.
What is needed to make a milling elevator
In order to make your own milling lift, you must prepare the following kit Supplies, tools and technical devices:
- directly the manual router itself, from which it is necessary to remove the handles;
- electric drill;
- standard car jack (if the lifting mechanism of the device is of the jack type);
- sheet of metal or textolite;
- wooden blocks of square section;
- aluminum profile;
- sheets of plywood and chipboard;
- guides made of metal;
- threaded rod;
- Screwdriver Set various types and size, spanners and pliers;
- drills of various diameters;
- bolts, screws, nuts and washers of various sizes;
- epoxy adhesive;
- square, ruler, measuring tape.
Possible design options for the device
Today, home craftsmen have developed many designs of milling elevators, but the most popular and, accordingly, worthy of attention are two options for manufacturing such a device:
- a lift for a hand router, driven by a car jack;
- device, structural elements which consists of a support disk, a threaded rod and a flywheel disk.
Option one. Elevator from a jack
The operating principle of a jack milling elevator is based on the fact that the working head of a manual router mounted on a support plate is raised and lowered by controlling the jack built into the structure.
A do-it-yourself jacking router is made as follows:
- A box made of 15 mm plywood or chipboard is attached to the bottom of the desktop, which will simultaneously serve as a support device and protective casing for the entire device.
- In the inner part of such a box, the dimensions of which should be pre-calculated, both a jack and a hand router connected to its moving part are placed. The jack, when placed in the box, is screwed with its sole to bottom side casing-support, and the manual router through a special metal sole is connected by its upper part to the inner surface of the workbench tabletop. At the same time, in the tabletop it is carried out through hole, through which the working head of the milling cutter with the tool fixed in it should freely pass.
- A sheet of textolite or metal of the appropriate size is used as a support plate for installing the router, which, under the influence of force from the jack, moves in the vertical direction along two fixed racks.
Option two. Threaded rod lift
The manufacturing diagram of the device using a support disk, a threaded rod and a flywheel is as follows:
- A circle is cut out of a board 18–20 mm thick, which will act as a support platform for a hand router.
- A hole with a diameter of 10 mm is drilled in the central part of the support disk, into which a threaded rod of the same diameter is inserted. The length of the pin that connects to support platform using two nuts and washers, must be selected in such a way as to provide the router with a working stroke of at least 50 mm.
- The lower part of the pin, passed through the plywood bottom, fixed between the legs of the work table, is connected to the disc flywheel. Keep in mind that the hole in the bottom through which the bottom of the stud will pass must have a flange nut built into it. It will ensure the operation of the lifting mechanism.
Using milling elevators in conjunction with mechanisms that will additionally provide lateral movement of power tools, you can make an even more functional device that will turn your hand-held equipment into a full-fledged 3D milling machine.
Option three. Chain drive elevator
Making this milling elevator will take much more time, but as a result you will get a clearly working system for raising and lowering the tool.
Everyone who has a manual router sooner or later comes up with the idea of making a table for it in order to turn it into a full-fledged stationary machine, with which you can implement all the functions contained in it. I too once had this thought. I will not dwell on the details of making the table; there is plenty of information on this topic on the Internet for every taste and budget. I would like to bring to your attention my version of a lift for raising and lowering the router relative to the table surface. The design is as low-cost as possible, you don’t need to buy anything, everything you need for manufacturing is available in every home workshop.
So, what do we need:
- wooden slats capable of supporting the weight of the router
-bolt with a diameter of 10-12 mm
Metal rod with a diameter of 5-7mm and a length of 100-120mm
-any kind of hinge (door hinge) according to the size of the slats
- old hand drill
The tools you will need are a tap, a die, an angle grinder, a screwdriver, self-tapping screws, drills, etc.
First we will make a nut. Let's cut off the part from the bolt that doesn't have threads, and make the length to match the width of the rail. In the middle of this workpiece, on the side surface, we drill a hole slightly smaller in diameter than the size of the rod (taking into account the subsequent cutting of threads on the rod and in the hole).
We cut a thread along the entire length of the rod, and make a corresponding thread in the body of the workpiece cut off from the bolt. As a result, we got a homemade guide screw pair.
After this, we drill a hole in the rail for our homemade nut (the nut should move freely in the hole, but not dangle in it). Perpendicular to this hole, we drill another one, along the diameter of the rod (a little more is possible). At the other end of the rail we attach a suitable loop (hinge).
Now we insert our nut into the rail, screw a threaded rod into it, clamp the rod into the drill chuck, and fix the drill at the bottom of the table front side. We fix the other end of the rail with a hinge on the opposite side. As a result of all manipulations, a structure should be obtained that moves the router vertically when the drill handle is rotated. I don’t indicate any sizes, because... all this is fastened, as they say, “in place - as asked”
As illustrations, I provide photographs of how I did this. The dimensions can be any, I want to believe, the design principle is clear.
Thank you for your attention.
