Elevator for a router with your own hands, drawings. Do-it-yourself milling elevator Do-it-yourself lifting mechanism for a router

When using a manual router installed in a stationary table, two questions arise:

How to adjust the depth of immersion (extension) of a cutter.
How to quickly change replacement tips.

Unscrewing the tool from the plate every time is too troublesome. In addition, a statically mounted router works in the workpiece only at a fixed depth.

This problem is solved by installing a height-adjustable suspension on the router. And once you were able to make a full-fledged milling table, installing an elevator of your own design is not difficult at all. In addition, a self-made device is developed taking into account all the requirements of the master, even those that are not provided for by the factory device.

Why do you need a lift on the milling table, and is it possible to do without it?

This useful device is called the third hand of the master. Those who have tried a milling cutter with a microlift are finding new applications for it:

Maintaining a power tool is not difficult, as is quickly changing cutters.
You can change the cutter reach height in a matter of seconds, and most importantly – safely.
You can change the immersion depth “dynamically”, simultaneously with the movement of the workpiece on the table. This expands creativity.
Due to the fact that you no longer regularly dismantle the tool for maintenance, the plate and its fasteners are subject to less wear.

Buy or make it yourself?

There is a wide choice of offers on the power tool market. Industrial microlifts look good and work without failures, but their cost is the same as that of a new router. True, the device is quite well equipped. The kit includes rings for the copy sleeves, and a very high quality mounting plate.

Industrial microlift for a router with a set of copy rings

All that remains is to electrify the device - and it can be produced using CNC. There is only one drawback, but it outweighs all the advantages - the price itself. Therefore for periodic home use this is an unaffordable luxury. So our Kulibins make whatever they can. However, there is a lot to learn from them.

Any craftsman who constantly deals with carpentry knows how useful a milling table can be in this matter. It allows you to use a hand router to perform many operations that were previously only possible with stationary woodworking machines.

However, purchasing a factory-made milling table requires considerable financial costs, so making such equipment yourself continues to enjoy steady popularity. This is not particularly difficult for people who frequently do woodworking. There are many options for how to make it.

One of the most complex, but also most useful devices on a router table is the lift. It allows you to accurately mill products without having to adjust the milling depth again each time, and reliably fixes the router in a given position. However, it is quite possible to make a lift for a milling table yourself, with your own hands. Most of its dimensions are determined by the individual contours of the specific model of the router that will be installed in it. The material for its manufacture can be wood or thick plywood, which is the easiest, but if the amount of work ahead is quite serious, then it is better to spend time and effort and make an elevator from metal parts. This will greatly extend its service life and reduce the time required for repairs.

Attaching the elevator to the surface of the milling table

First of all it is taken hand router with a power of 850 W or another sufficiently powerful one. It has in its design a thrust steel plate 3 mm thick, which is attached to it with 4 screws at the working end. It is easily removed, and in its place is placed a wider one of the same thickness, which will be attached to the surface of the milling table itself. This plate must be pre-drilled round hole, the diameter of which corresponds to the largest cutter used, and flare its edges to remove burrs. In it, 4 holes are drilled in the corners for attaching the cutter and 4 of the same in the corners for installation on the table surface. This is done in order to maintain the maximum possible milling depth, because the thickness of the table top is at least 15 mm, which already limits it quite enough.

The lift for the milling table is placed at its left edge and is pressed by a guide ruler along which the wooden workpiece moves. To prevent any interference from its movement, a 3 mm deep recess is made in the surface, corresponding in size to the steel plate to which the router is attached. Its surface lies flush with the surface of the table, and all the heads of the mounting screws are hidden in secret recesses. This will make the movement of wooden blanks along the ruler completely unhindered.

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Assembling the mounting frame for the router

From steel square profile pipe with a cross section of 25 mm and a wall thickness of 2 mm, a welded frame is assembled in the shape of the letter “H”. It can also be made of wood, but it will last a much shorter period of time, since the loads will be quite significant. Two square steel plates with holes in the corners are welded to the upper ends. They rest against a plate fixed on the table on both sides of the hole, for which holes with secret recesses are also drilled into it. A thread is cut into them with a tap, preferably M 4. This allows, if necessary, to remove the elevator frame along with the router without disturbing the plane of the surface of the entire milling table.

There are two handles on the sides of the router, directed at an angle to its central axis. They are removed and two screws are screwed into their place, preferably grade M 6. In the side surfaces of the frame, longitudinal holes are cut on the inner and outer surfaces, the width of which is equal to the thickness of the screws. The screws are attached to the pusher through these holes, which allows you to securely fix the router in the frame. To prevent the mount from becoming loose during vibration, the screws are secured with locknuts. A hole is drilled in the crossbar through which the pushing screw will pass. The length of the holes must correspond to the lifting height of the entire elevator. The restriction is necessary to avoid damage to the tool itself during operation.

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Elevator pusher design

A movable frame in the shape of the letter “P” is inserted into the fixed frame in which the tool is fixed, which is an elevator pusher. It is welded from square metal pipe with a diameter of 20 mm, which has the ability to move freely inside a fixed frame. Two holes are drilled at an angle in the sides of the movable frame, through which screws are inserted, passing through the holes in the fixed frame to the tool itself. A hole is drilled in the center of the cross member for the pusher screw.

The elevator push screw itself is a steel pin with threads cut along its entire length. The thread pitch should be 1.5, this allows you to calculate the lift height of the elevator without resorting to measuring instruments. 15 full turns will raise it by 2.5mm. To more securely fasten the push screw above the hole in the movable frame, as well as on the opposite side, it is necessary to weld 2-3 nuts through which the pin will pass. When the elevator is operating, the main load will fall on them, and if the length of the threaded connection is insufficient, the thread may simply break off. One nut will obviously not be enough for this purpose; the pressure resistance should be maximum.

The push pin must pass freely through the crossbar of the fixed elevator frame. It is secured on both sides with a nut and a locknut with a brass washer between them, which allows it to simply rotate around its axis. As a rotation handle, you can take a metal plate 4-5 mm thick with two holes at the ends. A pin passes through one of them, secured with two nuts on both sides, and a vertical handle is attached to the other, which is also secured with a nut and a locknut. A wooden or plastic attachment is placed on the shaft of the handle, which rotates freely around its axis.

The entire system is as collapsible as possible, which radically facilitates its maintenance and repair.

At the same time, maximum use threaded connections makes it possible to replace failed elevator parts without dismantling its entire structure. In addition, the design of the router itself allows it to be detached from the support plate, which is attached to the table surface, by unscrewing only 2 screws.

So the only inconvenience of the whole system is the need to bend under the table to operate the elevator. But this can also be solved if you use an electric drive for this, the switch of which can be placed on the inner surface of the table lid. This design will significantly expand the capabilities of its owner.

Milling elevator, which Victor Traveller uses in his, as I understand it, end table. So to speak, the newest model. The milling cutter uses the same long-suffering interskol FM32.

The most interesting aspect of this lift is the ability to adjust the position of the router without bending over or crawling under the table. This is done with an imbus key directly from the countertop.

The entire block together with the router can be easily dismantled and replaced with a circular saw. Let's take a closer look at the structure of this lift.

The lift itself consists of two U-shaped halves that move relative to each other. One is fixedly fixed relative to the base of the router, the other is movable (it pushes the head of the router up)

They are connected to each other (that is, a bolt with a hexagon head and a pin of the appropriate diameter) using a pair of nuts (main and locking). In this case, the hexagon bolt remains on top, flush with the table surface. By means of a wide nut, rotation is transmitted to the pin, from which, respectively, onto the mortise nut in the lower half of the slide, which, due to rotation, is pulled up.

To get a professional result you need a router table and a lift, router, bit and they don't have to cost a fortune or weigh a ton. My version of the milling table is 25 mm thick plywood, which does not require a cabinet or cabinets below and is attached to the workbench with clamps. The project has an adjustable lift and a stop with a dust collector.

How to make a router table and a lift for a router.

Milling table and elevator, here are the first works on milling table and they consist of preparing a place for the router and two metal rods for the elevator. Notice in the photos that instead of mounting the router on removable plates, I use the two metal guide rods that come standard with the tool. The base of the router is installed in a deep niche; the depth of the niche is equal to 3/4 of the thickness of the base. The grooves for the rods match the size

ASSEMBLY OF MILLER ELEVATOR.

The router lift consists of an open frame mounted on one of the mounting blocks. A nut is installed on the frame through which the threaded rod rotates using a round disk (Fig. 5,6). The manufacture of the elevator begins with the manufacture of the frame (positions 3, 4, 5, 6 and 10) (Fig. 4). In order to prevent rotation of the elevator clamping bar (Fig.7)

around the router (position 10) (Fig. 4), four screws are screwed into the upper part of the router and they are aligned with the holes in the elevator pressure strip.

CREATING STOP.

Making the stop is not difficult. Prepare the vertical and horizontal bases (positions 11 and 12) (Fig. 4). Using a drill, jigsaw or router, form slots in the bases (Fig. 9). Make four triangular strips (item 13) (Fig. 4) to stiffen the stop. You are ready to assemble the stop, connect the prepared parts together (Fig. 11). The ends of the auxiliary pads (item 14) (Fig. 4) for the stop, cut at an angle of 45°. Drill through holes for bolts in each trim. Install the pads on the vertical support base and secure with bolts, washers and nuts (item 17) (Fig. 4). And lastly, the dust collector (position 15) (Fig. 4) is needed or not - it’s up to you to decide. Cut it to size, bevel the ends for a tighter fit. Cut a hole in the dust collector bar that matches the diameter of the hose nozzle. Connect the dust collector bar and the stop using the curtain (position 16) (Fig. 4).

AT THE FINAL STAGE.

Many people write that for precision machining, each cutter must use a hole corresponding to the diameter of the cutter. Milling cutter used large diameter, which means it also requires a large hole in the base of the table. If desired, make insert rings different diameters, although these rings are optional and you can work with one large hole drilled in the base of the table (Fig. 4). Basically, in a hole with a diameter of 32 mm. will accommodate cutters of different diameters. I note that during the processing of products without insert rings, no major flaws were noticed that could not be eliminated with the help of sandpaper. At the final stage, carefully sand the parts and apply several layers of durable coating.

A lift for a router, which can be purchased in a serial version or made by hand, is a device that allows you to improve both the quality and accuracy of processing performed with hand-held power tools. The results of the latter strongly depend on how accurately and confidently the user manipulates such a device. In order to minimize the influence of the human factor on the results of processing performed with a manual milling cutter, special devices were developed.

Homemade elevator for a manual router, made of plywood and timber

One of them is a mechanized lifting device for milling power tools, which, in full accordance with its functionality, is called an elevator. As mentioned above, such a device can be purchased in a serial version, but it will not be cheap, so many home craftsmen successfully make it with their own hands.

Why is such a device needed?

A lift for a router, which ensures precise movement of a hand-held power tool mounted on it in a vertical plane, is necessary in many situations. Situations in which the quality and precision of processing of wood products are of no small importance include decorative finishing of furniture panels, making technological grooves and lugs on elements furniture designs. The quality of processing in such cases will not depend on the experience of the master performing it and the firmness of his hands, but only on the accuracy of the device settings and the degree of its stability.

Even a person with good physical fitness gets tired when working with a hand router, the weight of which can be 5 kg or even more. This directly affects the accuracy and quality of work. In addition, the precision of processing that a manual milling machine mounted on an elevator can provide cannot be achieved when manipulating a power tool manually.

To the necessity of inventing such useful device, what is a lift for a router, led to the fact that the variety of types decorative finishing The production of wood products has expanded significantly, technological methods for processing this material have become more complex, and the requirements for the accuracy of its implementation have also increased. All of the above factors require that manual milling electrical equipment combine high mobility of its working body, as well as the accuracy of the movements it makes. It is these requirements that are fully met by a lift for a router, with the help of which the power tool in use quickly rises and lowers to the required height above the workbench, and is also held at a given level for the required amount of time.

The convenience of using a milling elevator also lies in the fact that it is not necessary to install a power tool on such a device each time. This contributes to both simplification production process, and increase its productivity.

On what principle does the lift for a router work?

In order to raise or lower a manual router using a router lift, you can use a crank, lever or any other lifting mechanism suitable design. Such functionality, which the lift for the router has, is ensured by:

quick and accurate setting of the dimensions of grooves and other relief elements cut out on the surface wooden blank;
Possibility of quickly replacing tools in the milling cutter chuck.

To summarize the options design the most used models of milling elevators, then the principle of operation of such a device can be described as follows:

A support plate for the router, which is made of a sheet of metal or textolite, is mounted on a work table or workbench.
Two racks arranged in parallel are fixed to the support plate.
The manual router itself is mounted on a special carriage, which has the ability to move freely up and down along the racks installed on the support plate.
The carriage with the milling power tool installed on it and the entire elevator move to the required distance due to the fact that they are acted upon by a special pushing device.

Let's consider the basic requirements that should be followed when planning to upgrade the router with your own hands using a lift.

The frame for placing the router and all other structural elements of such a device must have high rigidity. Compliance with this requirement will not only improve processing accuracy, but also make the user’s work safer.
The lifting system with which such a device is equipped must be designed in such a way that it can ensure not only quick removal and installation of the router used, but also prompt replacement milling heads on it.
The working stroke of the milling elevator should not be made too large; it is quite enough if the working head of the power tool moves within 50 mm. This is quite enough for high-quality execution most technological operations.
When developing drawings, it should be ensured that the working head of the power tool used can be rigidly fixed in a given spatial position.

What is needed to make a milling elevator

In order to make your own milling lift, you must prepare the following kit consumables, tools and technical devices:

directly the manual router itself, from which it is necessary to remove the handles;
electric drill;
standard car jack (if the lifting mechanism of the device is of the jack type);
sheet of metal or textolite;
wooden blocks square section;
aluminum profile;
sheets of plywood and chipboard;
guides made of metal;
threaded rod;
screwdriver set various types and size, wrenches and pliers;
drills of various diameters;
bolts, screws, nuts and washers of various sizes;
epoxy glue;
square, ruler, measuring tape.

Possible design options for the device

Today, home craftsmen have developed many designs of milling elevators, but the most popular and, accordingly, worthy of attention are two options for manufacturing such a device:

a lift for a hand router, driven by a car jack;
device, structural elements which consists of a support disk, a threaded rod and a flywheel disk.

Option one. Elevator from a jack

The operating principle of a jack milling elevator is based on the fact that the working head of a manual router mounted on a support plate is raised and lowered by controlling the jack built into the structure.

A do-it-yourself jacking router is made as follows:

A box made of 15 mm plywood or chipboard is attached to the bottom of the desktop, which will simultaneously serve as a support device and protective casing for the entire device.
In the inner part of such a box, the dimensions of which should be pre-calculated, both a jack and a hand router connected to its moving part are placed. The jack, when placed in the box, is screwed with its sole to the underside of the support casing, and a manual router is connected through a special metal sole with its top part With inner surface workbench table tops. At the same time, in the tabletop it is carried out through hole, through which the working head of the milling cutter with the tool fixed in it should freely pass.
A sheet of textolite or metal of the appropriate size is used as a support plate for installing the router, which, under the influence of force from the jack, moves in the vertical direction along two fixed racks.

Option two. Threaded rod lift

The manufacturing diagram of the device using a support disk, a threaded rod and a flywheel is as follows:

A circle is cut out of a board 18–20 mm thick, which will act as a support platform for a hand router.
A hole with a diameter of 10 mm is drilled in the central part of the support disk, into which a threaded rod of the same diameter is inserted. The length of the pin, which is connected to the support platform using two nuts and washers, must be selected in such a way as to provide the router with a working stroke of at least 50 mm.
The lower part of the pin, passed through the plywood bottom, fixed between the legs of the work table, is connected to the disc flywheel. It should be borne in mind that the hole in the bottom through which bottom part studs, a flange nut must be built-in. It will ensure the operation of the lifting mechanism.

Using milling elevators in conjunction with mechanisms that will additionally provide lateral movement of power tools, you can make an even more functional device that will turn your hand-held equipment into a full-fledged 3D milling machine.