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I've only had one router for years, and I have grown weary of moving it back and forth between the makeshift router table clamped to a Workmate and the plunge base. So I snapped up a good deal on a basic Porter-Cable router at the Wood Show this winter, with the intention of building a new router table. Then I decided a router lift would be nice, too. So I just finished (more or less) my new router table, and a router lift. The lift was built from Matthias Wandel's tilting router lift plans (which are really quite good, by the way) available at http://woodgears.ca/routerlift/index.html. The table is based on a design by Rudolf Baumeller, published on Matthias' site (http://woodgears.ca/routertable/rudolf.html).

The frame for the table was made from construction-grade pine (2×4s milled to about 1-7/16" square stock); the sides and back (not visible in the photos) are 5mm underlayment left over from a remodeling project; the drawers are cobbled together from various scraps of plywood (and a bit of OSB here and there) and 5mm underlayment for the bottoms; the table top is cut from a piece of kitchen countertop left over from a kitchen remodeling project many years ago. The router lift and fence are made from 3/4" birch plywood, solid birch and maple scraps left over from various projects. About the only thing I bought new for this project was the bearings and some of the hardware for the router lift.

The router lift works quite well, even though it was my first attempt at making wooden gears (with beveled teeth, even), and I didn't do a great job-a testament to a fine design by Matthias.

I still need to rig up a switch and deal with dust collection, but aside from that, this project is pretty much done, and it cost me only $14 for the router lift plans, a few dollars for some hardware, and a fair amount time in the shop, which was a lot of fun. (Oh, and about $100 for the router :)

-Doug in Kansas

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Very nice work Doug.
 

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Very nice, and a great price! ;-) Are you going to enclose the front of the router, or leave it open?
 

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@SirGareth: I haven't decided whether to close up the front, but I'm thinking about it. Sort of depends on what I end up doing about dust collection-and that might be a while yet, because my current dust collector is a broom and a dustpan :)

-Doug in Kansas
 

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Nice job on the router table and lift! It looks Great! I would love to see a pic whit the drawers open.
 

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Great build, I need to buy some of his plans. I tried the gear too and it obviously takes practice cause mine was horrible. I'd leave that front open as it's a testament to a great build and really shows off a cool project that any buddy is sure to be jealous of.
 

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Nicely done. It's on my build list.
 

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Really cool table! I am thinking about building the same lift, one question for you, where did you get the bearings? I haven't looked to hard yet, but I didn't see them at Lowes.
 

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@timtimc: The bearings Matthias recommends are from inline roller skates-I didn't have an old pair of those lying around. I checked at my local Ace Hardware and they wanted about $12 each, and that wasn't going to happen. I looked online, and found some for a lot less, but then I remembered a skateboard/skate shop that we have in our town, so I stopped by and bought a little tube containing 8 bearings for about $11. The dimensions are 8mm x 22mm x 7mm. These are easy to find on the 'net-check Amazon.
 

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Man I wish I could find a counter top like that. I've got a contractor neighbor and he says they trash every counter top when they replace them. I asked if I could come by and get one before they trash it and he said - nope. The mere suggestion of me getting one was out of the question. And he's a nice neighbor, I don't get it.

Anyway, fantastic table. I've been thinking about that lift myself.
 

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@ColonelTravis: When we replaced our kitchen countertops about 15-20 years ago, I had planned to build a small free-standing cabinet that would match them. I can't really recall whether this was an extra piece or if I actually ordered this piece, but needless to say, that cabinet never got made, but I hung onto the countertop all those years in hopes of using it someday. Now I'm glad I was such a packrat :)

I asked one of the associates at my local Home Depot about the possibility of getting some countertop sink cut-outs, but he said they do that cutting elsewhere, and never had scraps like that available. I'm still thinking maybe I know someone in the remodeling business who might help me find stuff like that from time to time.

-Doug in Kansas
 

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ColonelTravis,
Maybe a Craigslist search in your area for some old counter tops might work.
 

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This is really nice… great job!
 

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Great build! Once I get a router this is going to be a definite build for me.

A good source for counter top is if you have a Habitat for Humanity ReStore near you. They always have 3 foot long pieces at our local one (some still have the Lowe's sticker on them) for $4 per linear foot. I scored a couple nice pieces $12 each, used one for a bathroom vanity top and the other is waiting for a nice project… hmmm… time for a router maybe??

BTW I love Matthias' site, having been schooled in mechanical engineering we always dealt with metal but wood is so much cheaper to fabricate with and you can make some great machines if you put your mind to it!
 

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Nice.
I can recommend the dust router for dust collection. I think there is a positive review of it here on lumberjocks as well….... here it is.
 

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Good job. A router lift is one of those tools where I wonder how I got by without it. I'm glad you build one instead of buying. Much more rewarding that way.
 

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@Jay: Thanks; I also enjoyed seeing your video with your new dual router lift build-very cool. John Heisz's design is also a very good one!

-Doug in Kansas
 

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Douger I'm new to woodworking and to LJ but I have to say that this is a great router table and lift. I visited Matthias website before and seen his wooden gears. My question to you is did you use a bandsaw to cut the gears? I do not have a bandsaw (yet) and wondering what other method to use (jigsaw?) to cut out the gears. Anyways really like the build great job.
 
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