Elevator for a router: several DIY options. Do-it-yourself milling elevator Homemade elevator for a manual milling machine

In search of a worthy answer to the discomfort that arises when working with hand-held milling tools, owners of home carpentry eventually come to the need to purchase a convenient milling table.

VovroKsyu User FORUMHOUSE

I've been thinking about the table for a long time. Especially after manually performing the reservation 22 m of fence.

The purchase option can be expensive; the dimensions of a machine assembled in a production environment do not correspond to the size of a small home workshop. The optimal solution in this case it will be self-assembly milling table.

Those who want to make their own milling machine will be found in the appropriate section of FORUMHOUSE.

How to do milling table

A homemade milling table is the simplest. The main working unit in it is a manual milling machine. Working with hand-held power tools involves moving the working cutter along the surface of a stationary workpiece (which is not always convenient). A milling table for hand tools allows you to change the processing method and mill in a lightweight way: the hand tool is fixed on the work table, and the workpiece is easily fed to the cutter by hand.

A homemade milling table is the simplest wood processing. The main working unit in it is a manual milling machine. Working with hand-held power tools involves moving the working cutter along the surface of a stationary workpiece (which is not always convenient). A milling table for hand tools allows you to change the processing method and mill in a lightweight way: the hand tool is fixed on the work table, and the workpiece is easily fed to the cutter by hand.

A milling table for a manual router consists of basic and additional elements. Additional items are not required, but their use makes it possible to make the master’s heavy work as easy as possible, make the design of the device safer, and make the functionality closer to the capabilities of serial installations.

Universal milling table:main structural elements

The main elements of the milling table are indicated in the figure.

Aib User FORUMHOUSE, Moscow.

I really needed a mobile milling table. I welded the frame, painted and assembled the structure.

The dimensions of the milling table depend on the dimensions of the parts being processed, as well as on the height of the craftsman himself. The length and width should be slightly less than the tabletop, and the height of the bed is 850...900 mm, which corresponds to the most comfortable conditions for working while standing. The homemade legs can be made adjustable, which will allow you to compensate for uneven floors or change the height of the bed.

Tabletop for router

The dimensions of the tabletop depend on the size of the parts being processed.

dauto User FORUMHOUSE

In a home workshop, a small table of 500x500 mm is sufficient.

For processing relatively long parts (for profiling edges on door frames) you will need a tabletop of appropriate sizes. Let's look at the drawing:

For the manufacture of the frame, wood-based materials are most often used, which can effectively dampen vibrations. This could be a countertop made of chipboard, which is used in the manufacture kitchen furniture or a sheet of thick plywood. Here, for example, is a countertop made from chipboard scraps formed after installing a kitchen sink.

Krott64 User FORUMHOUSE

With this piece of tabletop, after some simple modifications, you can do some pretty decent things.

Some people make countertops from metal, others from edged boards, but, as practice shows, chipboard and plywood are always a priority.

Orfo74 User FORUMHOUSE

If I make it, it will be from laminated plywood (I have one like this on my trailer). I have already traveled hundreds of thousands of kilometers under the heat and below zero. Neither salt nor rain spoiled it. And it can still be used, but you need to assemble it either in 2 layers, or make the bottom out of simple plywood.

To make a countertop, you cannot use material that has defects on its surface (knotty boards, etc.).

Mounting plate for hand router

To the mounting plate using threaded connections a hand router is attached. Therefore, its production must be taken with full responsibility. The material from which the plate will be made must be strong enough so that the router does not tear out during operation (the consequences can be imagined). This can be a rectangle made of metal or plywood sheet (but metal is more reliable).

AlekX User FORUMHOUSE

A powerful car has a lot of dope. And if she gets thrown out of the table while working–it won't seem like much.

Dgusepe User FORUMHOUSE

The legs can be made of wood, but it is advisable to make the tabletop from 3 mm metal. For maximum cutter lift.

The length and width of the mounting plate must correspond to the dimensions of the base of the hand router, with which the power tool will be attached to the table.

Longitudinal workpiece stop

The longitudinal stop can be made from a regular sheet of chipboard or from an edged board. The stop must be made movable to ensure the possibility of adjusting the horizontal reach of the cutter. For more precise adjustment, you can attach measuring rulers to the sides of the tabletop.

The design of the locking mechanism, which allows you to secure the longitudinal stop in the required position, is extremely simple. It can consist of two slats with through longitudinal grooves and two threaded fasteners with wings.

Instead of slats, you can use two metal corners, which will last longer and will not deform under the action of clamps.

To prevent dust and chips from interfering with work, it is advisable to equip the longitudinal stop with a dust collector, to which a chip extractor or a small carpenter's vacuum cleaner is connected.

The longitudinal stop can be made double, which significantly expands the functionality of the milling table.

Superkuzen User FORUMHOUSE

The monolithic stop makes it impossible to carry out a lot of operations performed on the milling table, that is, it makes the table of little functionality.

The milling table can serve as a small jointer, if an adjustable difference between the working planes is organized between the two halves of the longitudinal stop. This design allows you to move one half of the stop relative to the other, setting one stop flush with the cutter using thin wooden plates. Adjustment plates are placed under the non-working surface of the stop.

Manual milling machine

From technical characteristics hand tools (power, number of revolutions per minute, etc.) will directly depend on the performance of the milling table. You should choose a router for a milling table based on the expected load. The additional functionality of the machine will be an additional advantage for the master. If you don’t yet have a manual milling cutter, then choose a tool with an adjustable cutter rotation speed and the ability to set the processing depth (plunge-beam milling machines). Very easy to use machines with spindle lock (for easy replacement cutting tool), as well as devices with soft start and quick stop of the spindle.

We looked at the main elements of a milling table, which will allow the owner to perform the simplest milling operations. In order to expand the functionality of the device, make it universal and increase operational safety, it is necessary to ensure the availability of additional accessories. Let's look at the most common of them.

Longitudinal guide for movable milling carriage

Using a longitudinal guide built into the surface of the table top, you can attach a variety of devices to the milling table: an angular stop with a protractor, a perpendicular stop, etc.

The longitudinal guide can have a different design, but most often it is an aluminum C-shaped profile into which bolts and wing nuts are inserted. This design allows you to quickly install what you need on the milling table. this moment device

By the way, using the C-shaped profile, you can also attach a longitudinal adjustable stop to the tabletop.

Vertical clamp

The upper clamp increases safety when working with a homemade router and increases processing accuracy. Its fastening can be implemented using the type of clamps for a movable carriage.

If you are planning to make a milling table with your own hands, a video about setting up a universal carpentry workshop for personal use will help you with this.

Lift for router

The vertical reach of the cutter very often has to be adjusted. To perform this adjustment, a milling lift is provided - an adjustable stop that allows you to maintain the milling machine at a given height and, if necessary, quickly change this height.

Milling elevator It is advisable to use it in conjunction with submersible milling machines. Their design initially has guides for adjusting the reach of the cutter (unlike machines with a fixed motor).

A lift for a homemade router can have different designs.

Car jack lift

You can use an old car jack to create a lifting mechanism.

leon42 User FORUMHOUSE

The elevator can be made from a car jack: there is a shelf under the router, and we attach the jack to the shelf. We turn the jack - the router rises or lowers.

For convenience, the jack handle can be moved out of the side wall of the bed. This will make adjustments much easier.

Threaded rod lift

Blackk User FORUMHOUSE

The angle with the threaded rod is screwed to the protrusion on the router, to which the measuring pin is normally attached. The corner for the threaded rod is threaded. By rotating the pin, we seem to screw into the corner and pull the entire router up along the guides. Accordingly, when rotating backwards, we lower the router.

The mechanism consists of a wooden wedge (item 1), in which a through hole under the screw (item 2). Thanks to metal plates (item 3), attached to the sides of the wedge and having threaded holes, the wedge moves in a horizontal plane, raising or lowering the milling machine. The handle of the lifting mechanism is brought to lateral surface beds. To reduce the load during lifting, the router is equipped with a homemade roller (item 4).

Turning the router table on and off

All necessary equipment for the electrical part of the milling table is already provided in the design of the milling machine. The only thing that can be added to an existing electrical circuit is a remote switch and an emergency shutdown button (after all, no one has yet canceled the safety rules during operation).

You can use a very ordinary switch for the router. As for the possibility of quick shutdown: it can be implemented by installing an emergency button with a locking mechanism on the table (in which the unlocking is carried out by turning).

Table assembly

We have listed the main and auxiliary elements of the milling table. Each master can determine the order of assembling the device for himself. The only point to pay attention to is the manufacture and installation of the mounting plate.

After a plate of a suitable size is cut from a steel (or plywood) sheet, it is necessary to drill holes in it for attaching the milling machine, a hole for the cutter (its diameter must correspond to the diameter of the hole in the base of the router) and mounting holes (for attaching the plate to the tabletop) .

What tools should you have in your carpentry or furniture workshop? And a video about the design of a homemade milling table and the features of power carpentry tools will help you find answers to questions regarding equipment that is extremely rarely used in a small home workshop.

Raising or lowering a router mounted on a table often requires three hands. It's not easy to hold all the parts while trying to fine-tune the cutter's reach. Such a “third hand” can be the adjustment device shown in the figure, which allows you to make the necessary height changes with exceptional accuracy.

First, cut out a disk from a workpiece 18 mm thick on which the router will rest. Using a Forstner drill with a diameter of 20 mm, drill a 1-3 mm deep recess in the center of the disk, and then make a through hole with a diameter of 10 mm in its center. Paste into drilled hole threaded rod M1 0 and secure it with two nuts and washers, as shown in the figure. The length of the pin should ensure the vertical stroke of the router installed in the table is about 50 mm. Then attach a wooden adjustment wheel just above the middle of the stud using a nut and washer and a flange nut. Glue the flange nut to the stud using epoxy glue.

Finally, install the plywood bottom into the table, positioning it about 75mm from the bottom ends of the legs, insert the flange nut into it and screw the bottom end of the stud into it. Now, when the flywheel rotates, the entire structure will rise or fall relative to the flange nut fixed in the bottom. If you use a standard M10 stud with a thread pitch of 1.5 mm, when turning the wheel one turn, the amount of movement of the router will be 1.5 mm, half a turn - 0.75 mm, etc.

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 the help of which you can implement all the functions inherent 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 in the lower part of the table on the 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.

When using a manual router installed in a stationary table, two questions arise:

1. How to adjust the depth of immersion (extension) of a cutter.
2. 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 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 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.

Using a router table, you can perform professional woodworking. Connections, end profiling, door and window frames, baseboards, frames for photographs and paintings are placed on the table neatly and conveniently. A factory-made table can cost a pretty penny if its quality is dubious. Why not make it yourself? Moreover, the design is not at all complicated; further drawings will be analyzed in detail.

Main parts of the milling table

homemade router table

There are many options for milling tables. As a rule, craftsmen create unique drawings to suit their needs. But the basic design is the same regardless of the size of the machine. Here is a table 90 x 48 x 30 cm, the table top and supports are made of plywood No. 27, the legs of the workbench are welded from angle steel.

The main elements of a table for a manual router, the quality and design of which will determine the ease of use and functionality.

First you need to decide on the type of future machine:

If you plan to work on location, a small drawing will do. portable design. For constant work in the workshop, a reliable and powerful stationary table will be convenient. It can be installed on wheels and moved around the room. And for a small workshop, the modular option is good; it is an extension of the tabletop of the sawing machine or its rotary version.

Cover material

The most practical tabletops are made of chipboard covered with thin plastic or MDF with a melamine layer. This material is very easy to cut with a jigsaw, and it will last a long time.

Pressed countertops are not suitable for working in damp rooms or outdoors! To prevent them from swelling, all edges will have to be carefully processed and sealed.

Very good homemade countertops from plastic sheets. They are smooth, even, and easy to process. This machine can be used in any conditions.

Metal countertops are more difficult to make and are heavy. And aluminum sheets must be additionally clad - covered with a layer that prevents contamination of parts.

Groove for stop

Typically, a milling table is used for processing longitudinal edges. To be able to process the transverse ends when creating homemade machine it is necessary to provide a movable stop that moves in the groove. The built-in groove is also used for attaching clamping devices.

Fixing the router

There are two options for attaching a manual router to the table:

• directly to the bottom surface of the tabletop;
• to the removable mounting platform.

When making a milling table with your own hands, they often use the first method, as it is simpler. But the mounting plate equipment has several advantages in operation:

• frees up to 1 cm of the processing depth of the part;
• The router is easier to remove to replace cutters.

Therefore, we recommend that you tinker a little longer and equip the mounting plate. It must be flush with the surface of the countertop, otherwise the workpiece will touch the protrusions. Even more convenience is provided by a lift for the cutter, the design of which will be discussed in detail below.

Longitudinal stop

It serves as a guide for the part, so it must be level. You can make a stop with a T-slot into which clamping devices and other devices are inserted to make work easier.

Homemade table

The most primitive drawing homemade table for a router - this is an MDF tabletop, in which a hole is made for the router to pass through and a guide ruler is attached - an evenly planed board. This tabletop can be placed between two workbenches or installed on its own legs. Its advantages are the simplest and quickly manufactured design. Such a device is unlikely to allow you to carry out serious woodworking. Let's consider more functional options, including a rotary one.

Small router table

neat and small table

A tabletop model for a hand router, which you can make yourself in a few evenings. Lightweight construction and mobile, fits on a shelf, takes up little space, and its drawings are simple.

• The working surface and side racks are made of thick laminated plywood No. 15. The size of the table top is 40 x 60 cm, the height without the corner stop is 35 cm, the height of the stop is 10 cm. Three grooves are selected in the surface of the work table for installing rails. Various auxiliary devices are installed here and moved along the tabletop.
• To make the structure stable, the legs are made of chipboard or MDF No. 22. The legs are placed with a slight indentation, leaving a little space for attaching templates and clamps using clamps.
• To cover the mechanism, a front panel made of plywood or chipboard is installed below.
• The side stop has grooves along which it moves. Locked in the right place using bolts and wing nuts. The emphasis can be dismantled and any convenient device can be installed in the free space.
• A pipe is connected to the stop to remove chips that are released in abundance during operation. The chip drains of the router and the table are connected through plastic corrugations from the sewer siphons by a splitter for the water supply. A hose from the household vacuum cleaner. It turns out very efficient system removal of chips, they practically do not fly around the room.
• Since the machine is designed for a manual milling machine, a special on/off switch is not required.
• The stop consists of two parts, which are moved closer or further depending on the diameter of the working body. A wing nut is provided to secure the sash. The good thing about the proposed model is that the tool can be easily removed from the frame to replace the cutters.
• The mounting platform for the router is made of textolite or plexiglass. The plastic platform from the router kit is first dismantled. The recesses for the mounting area are selected with a router, and the hole is cut with a jigsaw. When the hole is ready, the plexiglass is adjusted to its size and shape. It should fit tightly and without protrusions into the window.

You can make several mounting platforms of the same size with holes for different cutter diameters.

This option is convenient for little ones hand tools. If a stationary table is being made for a large router, insert rings for different cutter diameters are attached to one mounting platform.

To ensure that the workpiece moves smoothly, motion stoppers are installed on the side stop. Clamps are also attached to the side stop, which hold the part near the cutter during operation. Additional convenience create a slide along which the workpiece moves at a right angle. And to make the work safe, pushers are manufactured.

The table is ready for use; its drawback is the lack of adjustment of the processing depth. This is done manually by pressing on the tool. Get into it the first time desired depth impossible. Therefore, we recommend equipping the table with a lift.

You need to make a hole in the frame into which an adjusting bolt with a wing nut is inserted. The depth of milling is smoothly changed by twisting the lamb.

Some craftsmen adapt old car jacks for a lift for a powerful router. The device is attached under the router; a hole is made in the side wall to bring the jack handle out. The jack handle can be bent at the desired angle; when rotated, the router smoothly moves up and down in 2 mm increments.

Another model of a homemade milling table for a router in the video:

Examples of milling table designs and their drawings

Design 1

Design 2 with drawings

Lifting mechanism for hand router

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Accessories for hand router

Lift for a router made from a clamp

If you regularly use a router mounted on a router table, you know how difficult it is to adjust and adjust the height of the bit in the router. There are milling elevators for lifting the router, but they are usually quite expensive. So I created a simple homemade router lift using readily available materials. This lift saves a ton of time and I find that all adjustments with a router are much easier to make effortlessly using a lift mounted under the router table.

To make the elevator I took steel pipe 3/4 in diameter? (nipple length will depend on the size of your router) then made a miter coupler and a second 3/4 nipple? connected to a flange (nipple length will also depend on the size of your router table) as shown in the drawing below.

Then I did wooden base to support the router. I drilled a 3/4 hole in the base. This hole allows the base to slide smoothly over the nipple. The clamp is screwed to the base and serves as an adjustment mechanism. I then installed the router lift under the router table (see photo).

To get maximum adjustment, be sure to set the router lift to its lowest position. The curved handle of the clamp makes it easy to adjust the router and move up and down the steel nipple. This makes it easy to adjust the router to any position you need.

Lift for a router from a spark plug key

A router lift is an extremely important and useful device. It's fast and convenient way adjust the cutting height of the cutter. Correct installation cutting depth will not only create cutting accuracy, but will also simplify the adjustment of product joints.

I made the lift for the router from a regular spark plug wrench for a car and a nut of a suitable size. The nut must match the external size of the spark plug wrench, and inner diameter nuts - according to the size of the bolt used.

Using nylon or other soft material, drive the nut into the bottom of the key. Handle on back side I made a spark plug wrench for ease of adjustment. A nylon retaining ring between the nut and the base of the router will help prevent spontaneous free rotation during operation.

This router lift can be used on various hand routers such as Hitachi, Festos, Mafells, Dewalt, as well as small Bosch models.

An essential requirement is that you need to consider the location of the bolt on the base of the hand router, its length and easy access during operation.

Note: The easiest way is to use a nut with a nylon insert inside the key.

Make a lift for the router yourself, or buy a ready-made one? Let's answer this question.

When using a manual router installed in a stationary table, two questions arise:

1. How to adjust the depth of immersion (extension) of a cutter.
2. 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 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 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 elevator design with a 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 manufacturing 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 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 monitoring it above the working 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 a foot pedal and free both hands. And if you add a programmer to all this, you have a homemade CNC router.
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 elevator design made by hand

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 tenon method " dovetail" This allows the gears to be moved outside the mechanism, eliminating the need for lubrication, and making adjustment smooth.
The material used is 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 a microlift

Moreover, it was made using a three-dimensional modeling program. Making such a device is painstaking work. And here financial side question - 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.

Elevator for a router: several DIY options

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 impact human factor Based 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 a router, which ensures precise movement of a hand-held power tool mounted on it in 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. 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.

For most routers, standard adjustment when installing the tool in the table becomes simply inconvenient

The need to invent such a useful device as a lift for a router was led by 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 these requirements that are fully met by a lift for a router, with the help of which the power tool used is quickly raised and lowered to the required height above the workbench, and 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 suitable design. This functionality, which the router lift has, provides:

• quick and accurate setting of the dimensions of grooves and other relief elements cut on the surface of a wooden workpiece;
• Possibility of quickly replacing tools in the milling cutter chuck.

If we summarize the design options for the most used models of milling elevators, we can describe the operating principle of such a device as follows:

1. A support plate for the router, which is made of a sheet of metal or textolite, is mounted on a work table or workbench.
2. Two racks arranged in parallel are fixed to the support plate.
3. 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.
4. 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.

Use in construction metal parts will significantly increase the accuracy of the homemade milling elevator

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 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 quick removal and installation of the router used, but also prompt replacement milling heads On him.
• 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.

The simplest milling lift can be made from a jack or a tubular clamp

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:

1. directly the manual router itself, from which it is necessary to remove the handles;
2. electric drill;
3. standard car jack (if lifting mechanism the device will be of the jack type);
4. sheet of metal or textolite;
5. wooden blocks of square section;
6. aluminum profile;
7. sheets of plywood and chipboard;
8. guides made of metal;
9. threaded rod;
10. Screwdriver Set various types and size, spanners and pliers;
11. drills of various diameters;
12. bolts, screws, nuts and washers of various sizes;
13. epoxy adhesive;
14. square, ruler, measuring tape.

In general, only the motor and stands can be used from the router, especially if the tool does not have high accuracy of movement along the telescopic guides

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.

Milling table with jack lift

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 supporting device and a 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 through a special metal sole is connected with its upper part to the inner surface of the workbench tabletop. 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, which is connected to the 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.

Elevator diagram for a router using a threaded rod

Option for a homemade elevator with a threaded rod

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.

Chain Drive Milling Elevator

PCB sprocket Mounting plate Chain drive
Chain tensioner Standard switch pusher Power button lever

Design this option milling elevator is discussed in detail in the video review below.