| | |  | Search by Manufacturer | Home » » Bench Dog 40-016 ProLift Max Router Top-Adjustment System | | | | | | | Description: | | If you’re tired of crawling under your router table to make adjustments, then you’re going to love the Bench Dog 40-016 ProLift Max Router System. This cleverly designed device allows you to make all height adjustments and bit changes from above, while standing comfortably at the router table. The system is particularly useful when working with large, heavy fixed-base routers.The 40-016 has a precision-crafted cast-iron housing and durable bronze bushings that glide up and down on dual hardened-steel columns. The insert plate has three bit-hole sizes (2-inch, 2.6-inch, and 3.7-inch) for accommodating most router bits. A crank-style wrench is included for quickly raising and lowering the router from above. All these exclusive features and heavy-duty construction don’t come cheap, but the Bench Dog 40-016 ProLift Max Router System is ruggedly built and designed to last a lifetime, even in a professional woodworking shop. Note that an adapter is required—and sold separately—for mounting routers measuring less than 4.2-inches in diameter. -- Joseph Truini | | | Features: | |
• Router top-adjustment system for even the largest fixed base routers
• Three integral bit hole sizes (2-inch, 2.6-inch, and 3.7-inch)
• Blanched ground steel insert plate with electroless nickel surface; cast aluminum housing
• Speed wrench included; adapter to accommodate motors with diameter less than 4.2-inches separate
• 8-1/4 by 11-3/4 by 3/8-inches; limited 2-year warranty
| | | Product Details: | | | Package Length:
| 28.3 inches | | Package Width:
| 14.5 inches | | Package Height:
| 9.9 inches | | Package Weight:
| 28.2 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 22 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 22 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
45 of 45 found the following review helpful:
Precision, heavy duty.Dec 11, 2002
By Michael Turner
This router lift is a heavy duty, precision mechanism. It is possible to adjust your bit height to within .001". The 8 threads per inch adjusting screw means it it is much faster to raise the bit than the competition. The lift holds the router motor directly, so you can raise it high enough to change the bit from the top. I estimate that this lift cuts 2/3 from my set-up time.
Some nit-picking: An insert that fits Porter-Cable type guide bushings is extra cost.
I recommend that you get a remote on-off switch for safety's sake, since, like all table routers, the controls on the router are awkward to access.
34 of 34 found the following review helpful:
THE BESTApr 10, 2005
By P. Cirincione
I installed mine in the promax cast iron table with a Porter Cable 7518 router,with this combo you can't go wrong. first of all, the product description is incorrect about two things, one the top is steel on the newest model not cast iron (but who cares the plating and machineing are beautiful) and two it weighs 22lbs not 12lbs(34lbs with pc7518 installed). it's solid and smooth. We got a woodpecker PRL at work and there is no comparison, the benchdog is a much more heafty and solid a tool. It's just a beautiful piece, the pictures don't do it justice. The best part is that it uses a real acme lead screw for height adjustment with thick solid threads which will probably never wear out, some might argue that a finer 60deg screw is more accurate, just go take a look at what they use in a bridgport milling machine(and every other close tolerence machine tool for that matter). One big point is that the bench dog lift is maybe the only lift that can put the porter cable 7518 body through the hole in the plate so that the back of the collet is above the table(check out my pictures). The woodpecker PRL can't nor can the jessems, both require an offset wrench or you need to pull the lift from the table. If you look closely at the pictures of these other lifts you will notice that in the above the table bit changing shots they put in a pc690 router which looks similar but is much smaller than it's big brother the 7518 and if you down load the PDF manuals they pretty much tell you. Both the Jessem and woodpecker lifts are beautiful machines, I have used them both, but the prolift stands apart. The heft, accuracy, and superb quality of the bench dog prolift make it worth every penny (and the wait). also it is made in the USA, big points in my book.
30 of 30 found the following review helpful:
Taming the MonsterAug 31, 2004
By Marc Ruby™
"The Noh Hare™"
I actually made the decision to purchase this router insert for a logical reason. I wanted to use the Porter-Cable 7518 router (more about that in another review), and that router is a pain to work with in with a standard insert. The ProLift is designed to work with a 7518 right out of the box, and solves the big problem of using a 3-1/4 horsepower router in a table - secure and accurate settings.
The first thing you notice taking the ProLift out of the box is that is a solid 12 pound piece of cast iron, chrome steel and bronze. Actually setting the router up is quite simple, other than wrestling with all the weight. Three different bit inserts need to be leveled, and then all that remains is setting the ProLift into it's final resting place.
Turning on the router reveals that the ProLift is in complete control of the 7518's power. Vibration levels are minimal and height adjustment is almost fun. This is an ideal combination, even if it is an expensive one, resulting in a table that is capable of an extensive variety of tasks.
[Part IV of 'How to Build a Really Expensive Router Table']
12 of 12 found the following review helpful:
Best Router Lift Manufactured !!!Dec 27, 2004
By Mark Lewellen
"starznmoon"
After a great deal of research and review on all of the various router lift products on the market, I decided on the Bench Dog ProLift Max. By far I believe that this is the most solid built and most reliable model available. The quality and construction of this lift are excellent and its engineering and performance are certainly worth every penny. The nickel finish on the top plate and insert rings are a nice touch and provide a frictionless surface for your material. The setup and installation are very straight forward and effortless. I choose to install this product with Bench Dog's cast iron table top in a free standing cabinet of my own design with the Porter Cable 7518 router motor. This combination has provided me with one of the stoutest most heavy-duty router tables imaginable. The weight and heft of the cast iron top and the solid steel plate provide a routing surface free of chatter and vibration.
The lift mecahnism is very smooth and accurate and comes with a crank handle, 14mm socket and a calibrated ring that allows you to keep track of your up/down adjustments of the bit height to with extreme accuracy. It is so nice to be able to change the bit at the top of the table instead of having to remove the plate and motor assembly or doing it from underneath the table !!! Not to mention that the lift provides the maximum bit height to large profile router bits which standard plates can not accomodate. This is a very nice piece of equipment and I highly recomend it to any woodworker who demands the best from his/her tools !!!
I also looked at the Jessem Lifts and although they make very quality products, I feel that the Pro Lift's threaded steel rod will be much more reliable in the long run than the rubber belt on the Jessem lift. I think that the nickel plated steel is a much better and more durable surface than the plastic or aluminum plates found on other brands.
12 of 12 found the following review helpful:
Best of the BestSep 11, 2003
I installed PL1002 in the Bench Dog Router Table and its so nice to have a set up that is as rock solid as you can get. Sure its a little expensive but you get what you pay for. If you want the best, get the PL1002 along with the Bench Dog Router Table, you can not go wrong.
See all 22 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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