Router Lift Moving On It's Own

[Ben Darby]

A couple of years ago I bought a Woodpeck PRL 621 Router Lift. It's a long story but I got injured and haven't cut any wood for years. Tonight I pulled out a new lock miter bit and started working on a project. I cut "side A" with no problem (stock flat on the table). I went to cut side "B" (stock vertical) and ran into big trouble. After a lot of trial and a lot of error I noticed that the router lift was moving downward when I ran the stock through. It doesn't move when the router is on (no stock going throug) but the vibration of putting stock through makes the lift drop down as the cut is made. Obviously this is not acceptable. How do I go about fixing this? Did I get a bad router lift? Can it be corrected? How?

[else24]

I was always under the impression that no matter which router thingamajig you used, you still had to set the shaft lock so the router couldn't go up and down. Is the routerlift different?

[CW]

I haven't seen one of these so don't know how it works but, according to the website, it is supposed to have an automatic brake. Sounds like it is not working. Suggest you call the manufacturer.

[Ben Darby]

I have the "Plungelift" model

just has 1 leadscrew. It doesn't have a lock of any kind for the height adjustment. I stayed up late working on this problem and ended up taking the lead screw assembly apart. It's not very impressive but it does get the job done I suppose. I found that I could tighten the adjustment screw to change the amount of friction on it. Friction is the only thing holding the lead screw in place when you route. I can't seem to find a happy medium between being too tight and too loose. I went for more on the tight side to be safe. That makes it hard to adjust long distances

What I'd like to know is if anyone else has this router lift and how it's worked out for you. Any issues?

I think it's really sturdy and well made but would like to see some sort of locking mechanism on the lead screw.

[CW]

The router has a plunge lock, right? Use it.