Peri
Established Member
I bought some 'precision' Rutland squares - worth checking out for the comedy value www.ukworkshop.co.uk/threads/precision-clamping-squares.124093
Router Table
- Thread starter Farm Labourer
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Farm Labourer
Established Member
ND Riley - I've spent $14.95 and have the plans. Rutlands are offering their router lift c/w motor for £299. That's almost half the price of the Peter Sefton set-up, so I'm in a quandry!! Off now to investigate Mike Jhn's UJK offering!
Mark Karacsonyi
Established Member
I have a router table plan, from FWW. Happy to share if required. *Measurements are in imperial 
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It might be worth looking at the old JessEm you have been offered, they invented the router lift and have always been making the best quality on the market, the old one might still be very good. JessEm used to make lifts for Axminster but Axi now have the UJK made in Asia based on an old JessEm design, the UJK fence is also a lighter weight copy of an old JessEm.
The router lifts that accept the round bodied router are different from the UJK which works with plunge routers, the Prestige is the JessEm "comparable" model. The Canadian made JessEm is cheaper and comes with more insert rings, so worth taking a look at as it's a hidden gem.
I am going to set up a JessEm Prestige pass around possibly tomorrow, so it might be worth taking a look.
Cheers Peter
Farm Labourer
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Thank you Peter. I drool at some of the things (designs and tools) on your website!
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Pass around up and running if anybody wants to test it out.
https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/threads/jessem-router-lift-pass-around.125857/#post-1398167
Cheers Peter
https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/threads/jessem-router-lift-pass-around.125857/#post-1398167
Cheers Peter
It would be nice to see a back to back comparison of the Rutlands offering and the AUK in the Jessem lift. I like the power offered by the Rutlands motor but a remote on/off and speed control is a really good plus point for the AUK, then what about durability as the routers are in the same sort of price bracket but one putting out an extra 600 watts, does this mean they have rung the last ounce of power out of it? I like the fact both the Jessem and Incra lifts work directly on the main screw rather than the bevel gear setup on the Rutlands because it is both more direct and in my opinion more usable when in front of table, you are not reaching to the end of the table if you are looking at the bit and workpiece. I can remember seeing a Jessem table at the North of England woodworking show some years back and that had the handle at the end but it was nice and smooth in operation, anyone tried the Rutlands one as a lift and motor for £300 must make you stop and think, is it simply Asian versus Canadian!!
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An interesting customers review
Useful router motor at a great price. Only one down side - it is not 2400 Watts. The label on the tool and the User Manual state it is 1800 Watts. It is still powerful enough though.
Useful router motor at a great price. Only one down side - it is not 2400 Watts. The label on the tool and the User Manual state it is 1800 Watts. It is still powerful enough though.
Hi
Looks like they are playing with words because although they say " The premium 2400W (3 1/4 hp) router motor generates high levels of torque, powerful enough to tackle the toughest hardwoods and end grain. " in my opinion this implies the motor produces 2400Watts of power that is capable of tackling the toughest hardwoods and end grain when in reality this is the electrical input power of the motor and not the output power which as Peter has pointed out is only 1800 Watts.
Looks like they are playing with words because although they say " The premium 2400W (3 1/4 hp) router motor generates high levels of torque, powerful enough to tackle the toughest hardwoods and end grain. " in my opinion this implies the motor produces 2400Watts of power that is capable of tackling the toughest hardwoods and end grain when in reality this is the electrical input power of the motor and not the output power which as Peter has pointed out is only 1800 Watts.
Lons
Established Member
I have a heavily modified Rutlands table, bought when at a silly price, fixed to my table saw so it folds down when not in use and I threw away the horrible plastic insert to be replaced with an Inca insert, Router Raizer and collet extender all from Peter Sefton and have a DeWalt 625 fitted almost permanently. Works for me.
I considered an all in one but a major downside for me apart from the cost is that if the motor bit fails you're stuffed, where if a router fails it can be replaced easily and at reasonable cost.
I considered an all in one but a major downside for me apart from the cost is that if the motor bit fails you're stuffed, where if a router fails it can be replaced easily and at reasonable cost.
Hi Lons
That is one aspect that puts me off an expensive router motor and lift, router goes wrong and you cannot just fit any router back, but a decent lift and normal router like the 625 is a good option and I have been looking at Peters suggestion of the Jessem Prestige. I would fit my Triton router into it and this would give me the accuracy but leave me with the issue of setting the speed, currently using torch and a mirror! I am contemplating removing the speed mechanism from the Triton and remote mounting it which would be much easier and maybe look at a digital readout for speed.
That is one aspect that puts me off an expensive router motor and lift, router goes wrong and you cannot just fit any router back, but a decent lift and normal router like the 625 is a good option and I have been looking at Peters suggestion of the Jessem Prestige. I would fit my Triton router into it and this would give me the accuracy but leave me with the issue of setting the speed, currently using torch and a mirror! I am contemplating removing the speed mechanism from the Triton and remote mounting it which would be much easier and maybe look at a digital readout for speed.
Farm Labourer
Established Member
OKAY - here's what I've done:
In parallel to this thread, I asked my mentor Roger Berwick (Dodge) to whose workshop I'm not a stranger - about his router table. I was invited over on Wednesday and we talked about his set-up and what he'd do if he were me - obviously he's been to my hobby work-shop, too.
The bits were ordered on Wed and by Friday (yesterday) had all arrived. I was busy with cattle so only today have I managed to get it all up and running.
I bought the Rutlands table lift with motor for £299 - I was a little disappointed that the 2.4kW motor is in fact 1.8kW output as that just seems deceitful and I will write to them and express that. I must say that I was impressed with the build quality but the instructions were poor but I muddled through!
I also ordered the UJK Professional fence from Axi and a set of the Jess-Em wheeled guides from Rutlands. The micro-adjuster kit was out of stock but I will keep an eye out for that.
I had recently installed a fresh off-cut of melamine covered chipboard kitchen worktop to my old router table, so I re-used this and bolted it all up. The fence kit came with no instructions but a couple of helpful pics from Dodge's 'phone made it all perfectly understandable.
The result: I'm absolutely delighted with this set up. Much more accurate and powerful than my previous iteration. I like the adjustability of the height setting and will lock-tite in the grub screws as mentioned by a previous contributor. The micro-adjuster will be very useful but probably isn't totally essential.
I've made test cuts with some cutters that I've never had any success with before as they were probably too large for my puny 1300W Bosch and I'm genuinely pleased with end-result. I love the Jess-Em wheels - they hold-down and apply a force that tracks the workpiece into the fence.
Were I to win the lottery - I might improve the table-top but as of now for much less than £540 I've transformed my routing capability. I'd love to have some of Peter Sefton's kit but frankly I don't need it and it's way out of my price-range.
Thank you all for your input - much appreciated.
FL
In parallel to this thread, I asked my mentor Roger Berwick (Dodge) to whose workshop I'm not a stranger - about his router table. I was invited over on Wednesday and we talked about his set-up and what he'd do if he were me - obviously he's been to my hobby work-shop, too.
The bits were ordered on Wed and by Friday (yesterday) had all arrived. I was busy with cattle so only today have I managed to get it all up and running.
I bought the Rutlands table lift with motor for £299 - I was a little disappointed that the 2.4kW motor is in fact 1.8kW output as that just seems deceitful and I will write to them and express that. I must say that I was impressed with the build quality but the instructions were poor but I muddled through!
I also ordered the UJK Professional fence from Axi and a set of the Jess-Em wheeled guides from Rutlands. The micro-adjuster kit was out of stock but I will keep an eye out for that.
I had recently installed a fresh off-cut of melamine covered chipboard kitchen worktop to my old router table, so I re-used this and bolted it all up. The fence kit came with no instructions but a couple of helpful pics from Dodge's 'phone made it all perfectly understandable.
The result: I'm absolutely delighted with this set up. Much more accurate and powerful than my previous iteration. I like the adjustability of the height setting and will lock-tite in the grub screws as mentioned by a previous contributor. The micro-adjuster will be very useful but probably isn't totally essential.
I've made test cuts with some cutters that I've never had any success with before as they were probably too large for my puny 1300W Bosch and I'm genuinely pleased with end-result. I love the Jess-Em wheels - they hold-down and apply a force that tracks the workpiece into the fence.
Were I to win the lottery - I might improve the table-top but as of now for much less than £540 I've transformed my routing capability. I'd love to have some of Peter Sefton's kit but frankly I don't need it and it's way out of my price-range.
Thank you all for your input - much appreciated.
FL
Last edited:
Ollie78
Established Member
All the comparisons of motors vs routers etc is just making me want to do my concept design of using a water cooled VFD controlled spindle like I have on my cnc machine. There is zero runout it is very powerful quiet and contollable, they are easily available in standard sizes and pretty cheap really.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/VEVOR-Spin...ter+cooled+spindle&qid=1603577648&sr=8-5&th=1Pretty sure this would be better than most routers as they are designed to run for long periods, I use antifreeze as coolant.
Bolt it to one of these under the table with a stepper or servo motor or even just a nicely geared handle .
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Linear-Mot...ocphy=1006886&hvtargid=pla-898777493988&psc=1
I realise this one has round guide rails but the idea is there.
Ollie
https://www.amazon.co.uk/VEVOR-Spin...ter+cooled+spindle&qid=1603577648&sr=8-5&th=1Pretty sure this would be better than most routers as they are designed to run for long periods, I use antifreeze as coolant.
Bolt it to one of these under the table with a stepper or servo motor or even just a nicely geared handle .
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Linear-Mot...ocphy=1006886&hvtargid=pla-898777493988&psc=1
I realise this one has round guide rails but the idea is there.
Ollie
