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A The JessEm Rout-R-Lift. One full turn of the crank equals 0.05", with increments marked on the plate.

► Mast-R-Lift.

This scale uses conventional woodworking fractions rather than decimal inches.

it's all about

Accuracy

There are a few other things that make some of these lifts more user friendly. Most of them have plate levelers, for instance. They allow you to adjust the plate flush to the surface of your table. A few manufacturers build this feature into their tables instead. The absence of levelers means you'll have to use shims to keep the plate flush.

Accurate Adjustments. Finally, the feature most talked about by the manufacturers is accuracy. While some provide scales in '/«" increments, others boast lift mechanisms accurate to within 0.001". Every company has a different system (see photos above.) On each one, however, one full revolution of the lift screw will raise the router a precise height. While each approach is slightly different, I found all the lifts I sampled to be both accurate and reliable.

Jointech raises the bar for precision measurement with their Smart Lift Digital Router Lift (below). The digital readout takes the guesswork out of bit setups.

How Much Is Enough? Precision comes from your own

attention to detail, persistence, and experience as a craftsman. A router lift can make your work easier, though, by giving you more exact control of the router from a comfortable position above the table. That beats constantly bending over and messing around underneath.

One great advantage of precision measurements is how they can drastically reduce set-up times for your commonly used bits. By taking advantage of the ability to zero out a bit height and return it to that position with dead-on accuracy, you won't have to struggle with finding exact profiles anymore. You can record the height of your bits and eliminate the need for endless test pieces. This feature alone may be worth the price.

► Guaranteed Accurate to 0.001".

The Jointech SmartLift Digital features the Absolute Encoder, from Accurate Technology. The sensor attaches to the carriage, sending precision measurements to the digital display.

ShopNotes No. 87