I would like to buy a complete Router table/Lift package. I am remotely located and do not have the luxury to view these products except in a catalog.
Can any one give me some personal feed back, comments, Pros and Cons on either the Bench Dog Router Table/Fence/Cabinet/Pro Lift compared to the Jessems Master-R-Lift, Mast-r-table & Mast-r-fence.
I am in a rut and can not decided on which is the better way to go……..any comments would greatly be appreciated.
Eddie
Replies
Eddie
I have the Jessem Master lift, table, fence, and miter slide. I love it. Very easy to adjust, and the slide is always parallel to the fence. No need to square the fence to the bit or the table. It's the best one I've ever used. Bit changes are made above the table, making it also very easy.
Jeff
I don't own either, but both are highly rated. I will say that I own a number of Bench Dog products and every one is extraordinary. I love their stuff, from the benchtop contracters router table, saw lock, to the feather boards and jigs.
One thing, make sure your router is listed in the supported routers for the lift you decide to go with.
Scott
Eddie: I have JessEm top, fence, miter slide for my router table: all great stuff. Went with PRL from Woodpeckers for the lift also a terrific item in my opinion. KDM
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Eddie,
I've looked closely at the JessEm models, and they are well made machines. If you get one of their entire table packages, it looks like a great set-up. I owned a JessEm Route-R-Slide back a few years ago (it is no longer made) and loved it. Since then I have been a fan of their products.
Not to confuse you further, but you are leaving out one of the top makers of router lift packages -- the Incra. I own the Incra Precision Router Lift (PRL) and it is absolutely amazing. I cannot imagine doing router-table work without it now! It is precise and sturdy. I bought the PRL together in a package with an Incra fence (the 25" LS "Super" system) from Woodpecker.
Here are links to the Woodpecker site:
http://www.woodpeck.com/precisionrouterlift.html
http://www.woodpeck.com/lssupersystem.html
Edited 8/21/2005 8:07 am ET by MatthewSchenker
Thankyou Matthew for the advice, I will look into the Incra set up
Eddie
I saw the... I will look into the Incra set up..I have most of the Incra stuff.. I like it ALOT... BUT the 90 degree think they have for ridin' the fence SUCKS!
You wrote this:
"the 90 degree think they have for ridin' the fence SUCKS!"Well, I wouldn't say it sucks. I use it all the time for box joints, and even did some dovetails on it. But perhaps the JessEM slider is better. Keep in mind, however, that the Incra slider is meant to be used as a jig for dovetails and box joints. When you do that, it's really nice. You don't need a dovetail jig when you have this system. I can rout dovetailed boxes up to about 50" in length.
Edited 8/21/2005 4:42 pm ET by MatthewSchenker
Another vote for the Incra lift ... if my experience checking them all out is what I think it is -- I think I checked out the top-of-the-line from Jess-em, Bench Dog, and Incra -- I was left with the impression that the Incra is the more robust of the all of the lifts. Perhaps there is a lot more to base the decision on besides the system's 'robust-ness', but it seems as though sturdiness is an extremely important quality in a router lift.
FWIW.
-Peter T.
Love my Benchdog cabinet and top: stable, strong, and vibration free, but the heart of any router table is the noisy gizmo inside. Consider saving the $300+ for a quality lift and look at the Milwaukee 5625.
3.5 hp, softstart with steady speed feature, and micro-adjusts from above the table without needing a lift. I mounted the big red machine directly to the underside of the phenolic plate, and simply drop the motor housing out with the quick-release button to change bits.
I thought I would want the "above the table bit change" feature, but find that I am less concerned with speed of changing bits than I am with the ability to quickly dial in exact bit height for matching other work.
I've been running this set-up for a number of months now and couldn't be happier.
Before investing in Incra, take a look at Jointech. IMHO, heavier and better built. Jointech is a smaller company with a smaller advertising budget, but after comparing the two systems side-by-side, the superior engineering and quality construction of the Jointech is clear.
Just an opinion, of course...
STEELHEAD
How do you dial in the height from above the table and get it to match?
Eddie,
The Bench dog is superior.
Well guys, thanks for all the advice. I came to a decision. I went for the Bench Dog, and will have to tell you why.
1. the Bench Dog comes with a full cabinet, lower drawers also, if you pay the extra bucks, but its an available option. The jessem does not. Also, while at the shop, the Bench dog, because the router is enclosed in the cabinet, made the PC7518 purr like a kitten (more or less), as compared to the jessem which is an open metal frame stand.
2. I like the innovative feature of the Bench Dog table, where the router plate is so much closer to the edge. You don't have to lean over as far when you are doing work with pieces that are not wide, ie. rails, styles, molding, etc. However, if there is a need to route wider pieces the Bench Dog is designed to have the fence flipped around and you can then use the other side of the table, where it gives you almost a third more space than the Jessem table.
3. The Bench dog has two tracks on the edge of the table, one for a miter fence, 3/4" x 3.8" and a narrow track for 1/4" bold heads (for feather boards). the jessem has that as well, but on the more expensive table.
4. the bench dog cabinet has an option for wheels (which I got) so you can move the cabinet around. I like this idea, that way you can move the cabinet away from the wall when you go to use. There are lock downs as well to keep the table stable when not using the wheels.
5. the fences on both were awesome, the jessem was really nice, and even has the ability to add an awesome miter fence, called a mite-r-slide. However, the winning feature on the bench dog was the simplicity of the two bars you insert on the back of the far fence when you are jointing. two different slots to push the fence out for different amounts of material to remove. The jessem uses shims, and I suppose that makes them even, but the bench dog fence also has a feature to add a shut off switch for the motor, which is nice. I got that as well.
6. the router lift on the Bench Dog: the Prolift, was bar none, BOMB PROOF. it is built like a Sherman Tank. I grabbed it while is was under the table, shook hard, and could not get it to move a fraction of an inch. The jessem was a thing of beauty, and was a sheer joy to look at the machining that went into it. But because the Prolift has no belts and is DIRECT DRIVE, has a bullet proof STEEL top, and was built like a tank, it further cemented my decision to go with the Bench dog.
7. Lastly, the bench dog makes a portable contractors table, the table and fence are just a miniature version of the full size version, however, the hole for the router plate is the exact size of the Prolift and it will fit. therefore, when I am out on a job, I can just grab the contractor table, pull the prolift out of the full size cabinet, and off I go.
All in all, if I bought the Jessem, it would not have bothered me at all. It really was a quality unit, a very quality unit. In todays market, the lifts and tables are so close in quality that it was a hard choice, but I went with the little things that increased the score with the Bench Dog.
Eddie
I have the Bench Dog Pro Lift, you made the right decision. The height adjustment is the best feature of the Pro Lift. The height adjustment scale can be set to zero in a flash. The height adjustment system is very well designed, fast and accurate. Also, the lead screw is a 8 TPI Acme thread that will last forever.
Life is what happens to you when you're making other plans .
Jerry
Did you ever buy the ProGuard for your Bench Dog Router table, and how do you like it.
Eddie
I do not have the ProGuard.
Life is what happens to you when you're making other plans .
In the back of my head I kept updating a list of routers, tables and lift kits. I bought a nice Rockler table by itself because I needed one and couldn't afford to buy everything at once (I had a so-so router). After that I kept wondering which router and lift kit to buy. I ended up buying the PC 890 with fixed / plunge bases. The router description said it could do above-the-table bit changes but I ignored that information until I mounted it and raised the collet through the plate. I had plenty of room to get a wrench on the collet and the spindle-lock automatically engaged when the collet was at the correct height. You can also get a $30 handle to do above-the-table bit height changes. Viola! I didn't need a lift kit anymore!
Lift kits certainly have their advantages, but for what I wanted I didn't need one anymore and I saved alot of money by not buying one.
I have a Master Lift and am very happy with it. It is extremly accurate and repeatable. I believe that the Benchdog is a better unit and it has a price that reflects it. I'd say it is the same as the difference between a Delta Unisaw and a Powermatic 66. Both are made good enough for light production work, but the Bench dog is a little heavier duty.
Mike
I use the Veritas router table with a PC 7518 router- a combination that I like a lot. It is very accurate, and the coined steel table will never sag. The add ons (hold downs etc) are well designed and well made.Glaucon
If you don't think too good, then don't think too much...
Before you decide check out the PRL. It is sharp. Wook peckers will sell the whole set up, but I got the lift and built my own table. If you join their E-mail club, you get discounts and from time to time the PRL has one.
http://forums.taunton.com/tp-knots/messages?msg=25259.2
Isn't the Wood Pecker and the Bench Dog the same unit? I forget now, but it seems like that was the case.
Mike
Woodpecker and Bench Dog are the names of two different manufactures. Each make their own router lift. Bench Dog makes the "Prolift" and Woodpecker makes the "Precision Router Lift". Both lifts can raise the router bit from above the table as well as it can bring the collet nuts above the table for changing bits. In terms of bit height adjustment, the Prolift is direct drive and the PRL is chain driven. They both are a perfect fit for the PC 7518. Adapters can be purchased for both units to fit other router. I can only speak for the Proift, and it is built like a Sherman Tank!
Hey mudman sorry for the delay in responding. I was traveling on business. The Bench dog and PRL are different. The bench dog is heavy duty as is the PRL, but they are made by different people. The Jessis good as well, but I in my opinion, the design of the PRL is slightly better. I have other woodpecker stuff and it is all of excellent quality.
Ah ha. I just remember that the Bench Dog (I think that it was the one) had a cousin under a different name. But that was in a compairison in FWW 2 or 3 years ago.
Mike
Eddie,
If you want the deluxe package, just get a shaper. Much more robust, more cutter options, because you can reverse shaper cutters and use router bits, and I bet you will actually spend very nearly the same money on either.
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