Anybody have one of these?

[pilotlight]

I was thinking about buying one of these:



and was wondering if anyone has one or has any suggestions of something different. I saw one at a woodworking show and was pretty impressed (for the price, $40) but chickened out at the last minute! I'm in the process of building my router table and have been a little indeciisive about some of the options involved! Thanks for all the input.

Jamie

[LarryG]

I have (what appears to be) the same Woodpeckers phenolic plate, except with the aluminum insert rings. Under the weight of my Makita RF1101 -- hardly a heavy router, especially with the fixed base I paired it with to mount it in my table -- it sagged beyond the point of usability within a matter of months.

I like Woodpeckers as a company, and it's possible I just got a lemon, but I seriously doubt I'll ever again buy another phenolic router plate. From now on it's aluminum for me.

[pilotlight]

Thanks Larry! What type of router plate do you have now? I've been looking at the Rockler plate but have been wondering if I should spend an extra $30 or more on a 3/8 in. thick plate. Anybody have any suggestions for reasonably priced aluminium plates? I guess I am looking for a "cost effective" plate rather than a cheapy now and a better one later! Thanks.

Jamie

[HomerJ]

quote:Originally posted by pilotlight

I was thinking about buying one of these:



and was wondering if anyone has one or has any suggestions of something different. I saw one at a woodworking show and was pretty impressed (for the price, $40) but chickened out at the last minute! I'm in the process of building my router table and have been a little indeciisive about some of the options involved! Thanks for all the input.

Jamie

I have the Woodpecker's "all aluminium" version of this. Both the plate and the rings are Alu. I really like it. Overkill??? Maybe. I have an M12V permanently mounted to it, and didn't want to take chances with sagging.

[LarryG]

Jamie, I now have the Rockler/JessEm Mast-R-Lift, bought when Rockler had their infamous "25% Off One Item Of Your Choice" sale late last year. It's a full 1" thick, with the supporting edges machined down to the usual 3/8" that most plates measure. I have a Porter-Cable 7518 hanging off it and like HomerJ I didn't want to take any chances with sagging (and I wanted the convenience of a lift, as well).

In "Woodworking With The Router," authors Hylton & Matlack list phenolic as their #1 choice of plastic plate over acrylic and polycarbonate (they don't mention aluminum), and others here have had good luck with their phenolic plates, so as I said it's possible I just got a lemon. I do know that I checked the plate for flatness when I got it (it was perfect) and a few months later it had sagged a full 1/64th of an inch. That's NBD for edge profiling but if you're using a router to do joinery, it's murder. So based on my own experience, I'd have to say the higher cost of a 3/8" aluminum plate is worth it.

[WoodPirate]

I was in HD and saw a Freud router table discounted from $399 to $315. It was more than I was ready to spend, but I took a look at the table and found the plate bowed so bad that the corners protruded up above the table surface. Junk. Useless.

I think I like the aluminum option, too.

[WayneJ]

Sears sells a steel one thats about 3/16 thick. I have one that I paid about $15 for
Wayne

[ErikS]

A bit off topic but if the phenonlic plate sags you might look into the WoodPecker's plunge lift - it's a tad pricy @ $129 but if you're going to do quite a bit of work with the router in the table it might be worthwhile.

I have one one but haven't mounted it yet - definately a high quality product. I can't see the 3/8" aluminum sagging under any load. The only drawback I can see to the unit is that a full crank = 1/32" of an inch which means lots of cranks for a large up/down movment....but...given the fact that you get a solid Al crank with a nice handle it will go fast (tried it @ a WW show).

[LarryG]

Actually the Woodpeckers PlungeLift is not that pricey if you compare the price of a plate plus a $90 RouterRaizer that many guys use to adjust the height of their table-mounted plunge routers.

I seriously considered a PlungeLift, but never could talk myself into it since I have a slight but definite preference for fixed-base routers for table use. Then amazon.com had their one-day pre-Christmas blowout and Rockler did their sale at the same time, so I got the 7518 and Mast-R-Lift and couldn't be happier.

But for someone who already owns a plunge router, wants to put it in a table, and wants above-table height adjustment, IMO the PlungeLift is THE way to go.

[ErikS]

quote:I seriously considered a PlungeLift, but never could talk myself into it since I have a slight but definite preference for fixed-base routers for table use.

ROTF - That's how I ended up going with a plunge for the table, I saw this price of fixed base lifts & decided "plunge for me"

[pilotlight]

Y'all have very good points -- one of the wonderful things about these forums is to be able to see a bigger picture of others' views! Right now I have a PC 890 as my only router (and for a while down the road). But, I have been thinking about a dedicated router for the table. I have been on Larry's side about preferring a fixed base router for the table, such as the PC 7518, considering the price of one of those and a lift for it males my head spin. I could get 2 or 3 m12v's and PlungeLift's! Maybe by the time I need a dedicated table router things will be different.

But, those of you with WoodPecker's products are satisfied? It looks like quality stuff from what I've seen. What else could I be missing? Thanks again.

Jamie