Milling elevator with top control. Elevator for a router: several DIY options. Possible design options for the device

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 hand 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 a router, which ensures precise movement of a hand-held power tool mounted on it in a vertical plane, is 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 furniture designs. 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 training, when working with a manual router, the weight of which can be 5 kg or even more, your hands get tired. 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, technological processing methods 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 these requirements that are fully met by a lift for a router, with the help of which the power tool in use quickly rises and lowers to the required height above the workbench, 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 helps both simplify the 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 provide not only quick withdrawal and installation of the router used, but also prompt replacement 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 performance of 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 consumables, tools and technical devices:

directly the manual router itself, from which it is necessary to remove the handles;
electric drill;
standard car jack (if lifting mechanism the device will be of the jack type);
sheet of metal or textolite;
wooden blocks square section;
aluminum profile;
sheets of plywood and chipboard;
guides made of metal;
threaded rod;
screwdriver set various types and size, wrenches and pliers;
drills of various diameters;
bolts, screws, nuts and washers various sizes;
epoxy glue;
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 a 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 the underside of the support casing, and a manual router is connected through a special metal sole with its top part with the inner surface of the workbench table top. In this case, a through hole is made in the tabletop, through which the working head of the router 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. Please note that the hole in the bottom through which the bottom of the stud will be threaded 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.

“Labels are not important, consumer properties, convenience and reliability are important. At the same time, the most important reliability is the reliability of your supplier.” © (经验丰富的圣人)*

Preface.

One good man said: “My, purely personal opinion, any lift on a milling table is a beautiful, but not necessary, “lotion.” Much more important is the possibility of very quick installation(removing) the router onto the table (from the table). To do this, I only need to unscrew one “lamb.” Perhaps someone enjoys and finds it convenient to carry a router from the table to and from the table. Just as it is probably convenient to inflate a wheel, having the pleasure of removing a wheel from a car is also convenient. But there are other opinions about what a milling lift is and what a convenient milling table is in general.

A milling elevator is not a pretty gadget, but an extremely useful and easy-to-use design, device and tool. Best models milling elevators help to very quickly raise and lower the router in the table, quickly change the cutter and quickly, simply and very accurately set working height cutters. In this case, there is no need to remove the router from the table at all, except for cases when you use one router for all occasions. But the lift has nothing to do with removing and installing the router into the table. Although I can’t help but notice here that having one set of wheels for two cars will probably also seem convenient to someone.

What is a milling table?

A milling table (or table for a router) is a structure consisting of a table base and a tabletop (table surface) with a router installed in it. In this case, the router, in most cases, is located vertically, that is, the collet with the router is facing upward, although there are designs of milling tables with a horizontal position of the router and tables with the ability to tilt the router. Here we look at a milling table with a vertical router in it.

It is quite possible to make a table for a router with your own hands, but it is advisable to know about existing ready-made solutions. Making a router table with your own hands does not mean at all that you have to make a router yourself or rack your brains over how to make a lift for the router yourself. There are both ready-made accessories for the router and ready-made components from which you can assemble your own milling table.

A complete set of accessories that make up a milling table with a vertical router can consist of:

Base milling table
Surfaces of the milling table (so-called tabletops)
Profile with two T-slots for attaching accessories to the router table
Milling elevator
A milling cutter of sufficiently high power suitable for this elevator
Set of collets for router
kit (they close big hole lift plates, leaving a hole for the cutter
A table guide with two movable halves (possibly used as a guide)
(height of the cutter relative to the table surface)
Workpiece clamps in 2 planes
Angle stop
Movable table
Milling table power supply systems

All of the listed elements will be described in detail below in the article.

Router table base

The milling table base can be purchased from us or can be made by the user himself. This is the simplest part of the design allowing for a wide range of personal creativity.

The base of the milling table can be a simple homemade structure, for example, made of plywood, aluminum or steel profiles. We invite you to consider ordering from us a milling table base made using carpentry technology. It will be beautiful table with many drawers, with an integrated tabletop, the table will be able to move on wheels. People who have already seen these tables said that this is not a milling table for a workshop, but an object beautiful furniture. Being confident that it is more pleasant to work in a beautiful environment, and beautiful tools produce more beautiful products, we recommend paying attention to this solution. The design of such a table can be edited based on your wishes, but, in principle, it will be beautiful, well made, mainly from solid wood.

The surface of the milling table (tabletop) can be made of aluminum, steel, cast iron, laminated MDF or reinforced carbolite. There are solutions based on artificial or natural stone. Each of these materials has its own advantages. The best in terms of all its characteristics is glass fiber reinforced carbolite - the material is stable, even, durable, with a smooth surface.

If you buy a ready-made countertop and intend to install a milling lift into it, you need to keep in mind that the milling lift you choose must match the cutout in the countertop.

The advantages of a finished countertop are:

a ready-made solution that allows you to immediately assemble the milling table and start working
high quality workmanship and tabletop materials

If you prefer to make your own countertop, then the simplest option would be an MDF sheet, preferably HDF, 35-40 mm thick, laminated with plastic. The tabletop can also be made of stone or wood. The advantages of a homemade countertop are:

free choice of milling table top size
free choice of it color scheme
free choice of tabletop material

If you prefer self-production tabletops or order this production, then pay attention to the possibility of installation on a tabletop - even if you don’t have one yet, this is not excluded in the future.

IN homemade tabletop, on its upper plane, it will be necessary to make a recess in the shape of the milling elevator plate. We offer our customers a milling table kit to use the template for free to make a sample or make a copy of this template for further independent use.

We recommend and offer ready-made countertops made of laminated MDF or reinforced carbolite in sizes 600 x 800 mm and 700 x 1100 mm (dimensions are approximate, exact dimensions can be found when ordering). These countertops will already have a sample made to exactly match the plate of the milling lifts we offer. These worktops will also already have three profiles installed: two for attaching the guide and one for attaching routing accessories.

T-slot profile

In both cases, you get the opportunity to accurately align two halves of the guide in one plane, the ability to extend one half relative to the other, for example, for jointing. In both cases, you get aluminum profile guides with parallel movement of the guide halves,

When using a positioner, you get the opportunity for absolutely accurate, precision, smooth, repeatable movement and positioning of the guide with significantly greater functionality. You can read more about this solution.

Cutter reach height indicator

If you decide to purchase a milling table for yourself, then initially define the goal as purchasing a complete set for a milling table, then the means and methods - buy everything at once or in stages, starting with the essentials so that you can start working, then purchasing additional additions to obtain full-featured kit. We recommend that you choose this path from the very beginning.

If you decide to purchase a router table kit with our help, we will do the job with pleasure and responsibly. With pleasure - because we are pleased that the “shelf” of users quality instrument arrived.

The purchasing procedure with our help is very simple:

We come to a decision on the necessary kit
We calculate the total price including all expenses
You pay us this amount
We will organize everything necessary for purchase/payment/checking and delivery to Russia
We inform you about the arrival of the goods
If necessary, we send the goods to your city.

Buyers interested in this article also expressed interest in the following information:

*Note.

The original literally says “Clothes and jewelry are nonsense and tinsel, what matters is how much you need the thing (service, advice), how it is useful to you and how long it will serve you. The most important thing is that you chose this thing (or service) after hearing a cry rogue or did you listen to the advice of a sage? Only a sage will advise you what will not cause you troubles and problems.” © (经验丰富的圣人)

Evgeniy Fuks

When using a hand router installed in 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 height-adjustable suspension on the router. And once you were able to make a full-fledged milling table, installing an elevator of your own design is 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 is 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 kit includes rings for the copy sleeves, and 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.

Project from Victor Traveller. The milling table is shown in the first photo, but in this article we will not talk about it, but about its component - the milling elevator - it is mounted under the table top

The elevator material is plywood with a piece of laminated chipboard, a hairpin, several nuts of the appropriate size, and several self-tapping screws.

A small box is assembled from pieces of plywood. A plywood “cube” is mounted in it with a nut pressed into it and cylinders (a piece of wire) protruding from it on both sides.

The driver is made from a piece of laminated chipboard, into the center of which a driving nut and a handle are pressed.

Bottom view of the support mechanism. In it we also see a nut with a washer. Now let's move on to the router itself (Interskol FM 32/1900E). It is fixed on the tabletop as standard (for example, I did it). A kind of rocker arm is attached to the wall. It is fixed to one wall with a pair of corners. The rocker itself is represented by a pair of parallel bars connected to each other by a smooth jumper (a piece of laminated parquet) with recessed screws.

Another view from the front. Pay attention to the recess between the “legs” of the rocker arm (under the lower nut of the elevator box).

We lift the rocker arm (together with the head of the router) and place a lift under its legs, placing them on the protrusions of the “cube”. In this case, the width of the legs corresponds to the gap between the inner surface of the box and the outer surface of the cube.

That is, when the gate rotates, the cube does not rotate, but rises through rotation, raising the “yoke”.

The advantage of this elevator is that it is moved beyond the plane of the router itself, closer to the user. (another closer photo)

I'm thinking about making one myself.

1 Why do you need a lift on the milling table, and is it possible to do without it?
2 Should I buy it or make it myself?
3 There are quite primitive designs lever type
4 Using the screw adjuster
5 Option with car jack
6 Option from an advanced master

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.

Why do you need a lift on the milling table, and is it possible to do without it?

This useful device is 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?

Industrial microlift for a router with a set of copy rings

All that remains is to electrify the device - and you can get a CNC machine. There is only one drawback, but it outweighs all the advantages - the price itself. Therefore, for occasional home use this is an unaffordable luxury. So our Kulibins make whatever they can. However, there is a lot to learn from them.

There are quite primitive lever-type designs

Homemade design lift with lever mechanism

This technique even allows the use of a “foot” drive. It is not suitable for precise reach settings, but with the help of a similar mechanism you can raise the router in one motion working position, and it’s just as easy to lower it for changing attachments or servicing. This elevator has a fairly long stroke; it does not allow for adjustable milling. Materials for production are literally lying underfoot, the cost tends to zero.

Using a Screw Adjuster

Another example of a homemade elevator for a router

The design is more advanced and allows relatively precise adjustment of the reach. However, using such a microlift is inconvenient; to rotate the handle, you need to crawl under the table, and then make a control measurement of the height of the cutter. But the reliability is high, and production does not require expensive materials. Such an elevator can be made “by eye” without using drawings.

The following flywheel design not only makes it possible to precisely adjust the reach in small increments within 50 mm, but is also quite convenient.

Lifting design with flywheel

It will take more time to make, but the result is worth it. The flywheel allows you to adjust the height of the cutter while simultaneously visually controlling it work surface. In principle, it is already possible to dynamically change the cutter offset.

The main advantage is the still low cost of components for manufacturing, with increased functionality. Instead of a flywheel, you can install a gear and a motor with a gearbox. But this will require additional costs.

Option with car jack

Quite expensive, since at a minimum you need to purchase a jack. Diamond-shaped designs are ideal.

Using a screw jack as a lift for a router is also possible

This microlift lift is reliable, and thanks to the handle located parallel to the tabletop, it is convenient and quite accurate. Positioning the mount is quite simple. It is enough to install a strong shelf parallel to the tabletop.
An electric drive option is available.

Then, in general, you can install foot pedal, and release both hands. And if you add a programmer to all this, here you have it. homemade router with CNC.
However, this goes beyond the concept of an economy class device.

Option from an advanced master

Since the possibilities of a craftsman are limitless, you can come across completely unexpected designs. This microlift is made using the very same router for which it is intended.

Original design hand made elevator

The design involves not only precise adjustment of the reach, but also changing the angle of inclination of the router axis. With this potential, you can significantly expand your woodworking tasks.
The drive of the worm gear of the stud – the height regulator – was originally designed.

Gears (gears) are made using the dovetail tenon method. This allows the gears to be moved outside the mechanism, eliminating the need for lubrication, and making adjustment smooth.
Material used – moisture resistant plywood 20-25 mm thick. The microlift is executed with such high quality - that I would like to suggest that the author organize industrial production.
Of course, such a design requires a preliminary drawing.

Assembly drawing in 3D for microlift

Moreover, it was made using a three-dimensional modeling program. Making such a device is painstaking work. But the financial side of the issue is the cost of a sheet of plywood and a screw stud. When performing custom work, this design will quickly pay for itself.

The verdict on this topic is as follows: when using a homemade milling table, you cannot do without a microlift. Other designs, such as a quick-release plate for a router or a hinged table cover, are only suitable for servicing power tools. And for precise positioning of the cutter above the table, you need a microlift.