After looking through catalogs and saving my pennies, I finally located the perfect plunge router for my router table or so I thought. After mounting it in the table, it became obvious that depth adjustments were difficult because I had to fight both the motor weight and the stiff plunge springs.

Using an automotive scissor jack is the solution that I’ve found. I place the jack below the router on a fixed shelf, mounting a small pad of wood on the top of the jack to protect the router. The only other change is to screw the drop-in insert to the table so that the jack wouldn’t push it out of the hole. Now I can set the depth of cut easily and accurately by turning the jack screw with my fingers. When I have the right depth, I lock the router’s plunge mechanism in that position and get on with routing.

Mark G. Carls, Juneau, Alaska

Fine Woodworking Magazine, August 1993 No. 101

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