Replies

1. 
   Wingdoctor | Jan 20, 2010 07:26am | #1

   Dennis, I have the Bosch router you are asking about and it is a big, reliable, plunge router. That's part of the adapting to a lift problem. The lifts are designed for non plunge routers. Without the base there is a round motor to attach to the lift mechanism. The 1619 does not have this.

   I have the Woodpecker lift and love it. I use the old standby Porter Cable 7518 router in the lift and it is a real workhorse. The PC / Woodpeck lift combo is in my opinion a very workable combo and the use of a lift really makes using a router table an easy and accurate whay to work. I think that you are going to have to consider buying a new router to use it in a lift.

   Bruce

1. 
   DennisRP | Jan 20, 2010 11:31am | #3

   Bruce;
   I can't explain the
   Bruce;

   I can't explain the sinking feeling I felt in my stomach when you proved what I had been discovering last night. I began accumulating assets for my retirement wood shop and wanted to buy among the best tools and equipment which is the choice of Bosch. The 1619EVS is their most powerful durable router available at the time... so I bought it. If I purchase the PC model, what would be a good application for using the Bosch 1619? It's not a tool to try selling used even though it's never even been switched "on" yet. Thank you for your speedy and very kind help. I appreciate this site my very first experience. Thank you Dennis

2. 
   Taigert | Jan 20, 2010 08:08am | #2

   Dennis,

   As so well stated by Bruce, he hit the nail on the head. I have the Jessem Table with the Excel Lift and the 7518 Porter Cable in the lift. I love my set up from Jessum it has made everything so much easier. The great part about the PC 7518 is that the only job it has is in the router table. The only problrm with all the good router lifts out there is the are all expensive. The way this Jessum is it should last a lifetime, I'll be passing it on to my son someday.

   View Image

   View Image

   Taigert

1. 
   DennisRP | Jan 20, 2010 11:34am | #4

   Hello Taigert;

   You are Bruce have been extremely kind in offering your help and even though it's a bitter reality since I've never used my Bosch 1619EVS router, it makes sense that I need to buy the PC router for the table unit. Do you have good use I can utilize my Bosch router for since selling a brand-new used router in this economy will get pennies for dollars? I appreciate and thank you for your speedy help. Thank you, Dennis

1. 
   RalphBarker | Jan 20, 2010 01:41pm | #6

   FWIW, Dennis, I agree with Bruce and Taigert. I think the tendency, once one starts looking at router tables, is to think the table is the sole use for a router. In truth, however, there are many routing operations that are more convenient and more accurate to do with a hand-held router. Thus, your B³ (Big, Bodacious Bosch) isn't a wasted expenditure.

   As an aside, I opted to go without a lift in my router table. It's easier for me to see the fine markings on a rule used for making adjustments with the router laying on the surface of the table. So, I just use a couple of 1/4-20 bolts, with fender washers attached to the heads, to lift the plate and router out of the table, where I can actually see what I'm doing. The two bolts were also a lot cheaper than a lift. Other opinions vary, of course, and that's what makes the world such an interesting place.

2. 
   DennisRP | Jan 20, 2010 03:12pm | #8

   Taigert;

   In 30minutes I will have my new PC7518 3.25HP router. I still must consider which full featured complete package, Incra or JessEm will best suit cabinet making and furniture making for me. I love how your setup looks but the one I see has a massive looking miter running along a tube above the fence... or at least that's what it looks like. Any recommendations contrasting Incra & JessEm's best packages, and where would be the best pricing to buy the system?

   Thank you again,

   Dennis

1. 
   Wingdoctor | Jan 21, 2010 07:32am | #14

   Dennis, I use the Incra and like it a lot. I like the 1/32" notch adjustment feature and there is the micro adjust for even finer tuning. I have not used the JessEm so I cannot comment on it. If you go with the Incra setup and the Woodpecker lift you can get them both from Woodpecker at http://www.woodpeck.com/ They are a large Incra dealer. The Woodpecker lifts are made near Cleveland, Ohio and the service is great.

   You have a very accomadating dealer to exchange the router for you! That is super service. I'm sure you will do more business with this firm. Let us know what you end up buying and show us some of your projects too.

   Bruce

3. 
   Wingdoctor | Jan 20, 2010 12:42pm | #5

   The Bosch will work for any job that it will not be convenient to run on the router table. If you cut mortises with a router it will be a workhorse, although it is heavy. If you need to profile an edge on a table top that is too large to handle on the router table the Bosch will work great. It can be used to do some template routing using a guide collar.

   In other words, there will be many uses for a large handheld router as the projects come and go, it is just not the proper choice for use with a lift.

   The Bosch seems pretty bullet proof to me so I am sure you have a quality router to use for all the jobs that the router table is not suited. Like my tagline says about men, tools also have limitations. :<) Bruce

4. 
   RonInOttawa | Jan 20, 2010 02:36pm | #7

   I've been using the WoodRat
   I've been using the WoodRat Plunge Bar in my big Freud router. It mounts below the table and fits into the same openings used to attach the router fence. I have no complaints about it.

   http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=52622&cat=1,43000,52709

   It's probably also available from other sources.

   Regards,

   Ron

5. 
   BruceS | Jan 20, 2010 03:52pm | #9

   Buyer Beware !!!!! New JessEm stuff comes from China. Every thing, especially the fence, have gone way down hill. Out of a shipment of 8 mast-r-lifts only ONE would have been acceptable to me.

   Go for a Wood Pecker, still USA made in Cleveland OH. and Well made at that. There is a learning curve on the Quick height adjustment, but that's a good thing.

1. 
   davidah | Jan 21, 2010 05:11pm | #18

   Bruce S is correct. I saw a Jessem Mite-R-Excel about three years ago and it was so expensive it a took a while to save enough to buy one. What I saw was a exquisitely engineered and superbly manufactured piece of equipment I checked out the ads regularly and salivated each and every time. Then came the day I was able to order one. I cannot express the disappointment I felt on receiving it. The design had been changed to save manufacturing costs and the machining was below par, The ads still showed the old design and were very misleading. The point about this post is that you need to be very vareful about what previous owners have to say about a product if they have owned it for more that a year or two. Another example I have is that I own a Jointech Smart fence and clincher combination; it competes with the the Incra After using it for several years with outstanding results I recommended it to a friend who purchased one last June or July. He told me that he could not set it up and so I volunteered to help. What I found were a number of pieces so out of alignment that it was impossible to set it up properly. We did fudge it a bit with huge amounts of shimming but we could not get satisfactory results. He called Jointech and they promised to send him a new one that had been set up at the factory. He has called them regularly since last August and to date, despite having had conversations with the owner,and repeated promises, nothing has happened. The moral of this story is that because a piece of equipment is good today some MBA's may have got involved to increase profits and have successfuly ruined a beautiful American product. The problem is that they neither understand the value of customer satisfaction nor of quality.

   I wish you the best of luck in your final choice and happy woodworking

6. 
   bones | Jan 20, 2010 03:58pm | #10

   I'll give my opinion, but its
   I'll give my opinion, but its dated. I looked at the Incra and Jessum about 5 years ago when I made my router table. I weighed the pro's and cons' and ultimately decided on the LS120 mated with the woodpecker PRL and PC7518 router lift. The table was made from Norm's NYW plans with some mods. It has served me extremely well. In the end I wanted the lift with a chain instead of a belt and the finer adjustment. If I had it to do over, I'd do it the same way.

7. 
   FYemWuk5LV | Jan 20, 2010 08:25pm | #11

   DennisRP,

   I have a JessEm router table with a PC router, purchased as a package. I think it is hard to bit the PC router ruggedness. As far as the lift is concerned, it works very well although I have not compared it with Incra because I never owned one, but what I like about JessEm lift is the crank which makes it very easy to adjust the hight of the router. But the most important feature which attracted me to the JessEm table is the Must-R-Slide which not only makes unnecessary a miter gauge, but slides very smooth and allows you to use a sacrificial fence. It provides much better support and accuracy than a regular miter gauge when routing the end of stock. For adjusting the fence, I adapted an Incra 16 LS positioner and attached it to the JessEm fence. Attaching an Incra positioner to the JessEm fence is very easy and requires a little more hardware than just a few screws. In this way, I tried to use the best features of both worlds, JessEm and Incra. There is one issue with the JessEm table, though. Because it is made of phenolic, wood slides very easy on it, but because the router is quite heavy, the table tends to cup in the middle. I attached two iron bars under the table with adjustable screws to support the table close to the router and that solved the problem.

   Aurel Ionica

8. 
   fxston | Jan 20, 2010 11:47pm | #12

   I have the JessEm excel table with the PC router and all additions to the table. It is accurate, stable, and safe. I did mount an aluminum angle piece on the table and mounted a quick bar switch to stop the router motor, if needed. Mounted the table legs on the best rollers with brakes.

1. 
   kairamartinii | Jan 10, 2019 01:08am | #19

   Updating your information about the Jessica Table, now it has got many new specifications as I just bought this last year only with the suggestion from my friend. As compared to my previous table Rebel 2000, this Jessica many viable options. For instance, it can be adjusted into my home easily as my pet needs more space. With sturdy table and quick fence, it can be easily adjusted into the home. It has a black coating which makes the table little fancy. 

   Thanks!

9. 
   jointerman | Jan 21, 2010 12:28am | #13

   Just to switch it up a little. Have you looked at the Kreg router table system? It's got a nice looking fence, it locks down with a T-square (Biesemeyer style) system. I was hoping to get one of those soon but got detoured into a new planer.

10. 
    wotnow | Jan 21, 2010 08:20am | #15

    Dennis

    I sympathize with your problem.Check out the Woodpecker website http://www.woodpeck.com/unilift.html. I have recently purchased the unilift and it would cater for your Bosch.

    wot

1. 
   Wingdoctor | Jan 21, 2010 10:39am | #16

   Dennis's Bosch 1619 is not on
   Dennis's Bosch 1619 is not on the list.

   Bruce

1. 
   wotnow | Jan 21, 2010 10:50am | #17

   Hi Bruce

   A belated Happy New Year.

   There is an undrilled mounting plate that can be purchased to do with as you will. This is the one that I purchased.

   Regards

   wot (Bruce)