Digital ready Unilift with Wixey readout

[Waldo]

G'day,

Two things have always bugged me about the Triton TRA-001:
• the micro-adjust, I've often spent more time trying to get the height I want with it than it takes me to run the stock through. As the micro-adjust had a mind of its own and might up or drop suddenly by 3 to 5mm; and
• the lever to lock the router to its set height. Sometimes it would drop height midway through routing.

Both for me were a real PITA.

Then one day I spoke with Grahame at PWS about the Unilift with the Wixey digital read out. They cost a pretty penny - $615 for the Unilift and a further $148 for the Wixey read out. It was the answer to my problems and would mean less time stuffing around and more time being productive.

So one day I got them.

The following is my experience.

1. what you get in the box.

2. On first observations this is a very nicely machined bit and rock solid. I'd expect to be able to pass this on to the little bloke one day (if he wants my gear) it's one of those things that is built like a truck.

3. The assembly instructions for fitting the router to the Unilift plate are dead simple to follow. However not everything is laid out and I messed up and mounted the plate wrongly orientated to the router as I was later to find out and spent ages trying to figure out what I'd done wrong. I later figured out when I had the Unilift in the table why I could get full height out of it as the rods where stopping when they hit against the cumbersome handles of the router.

I should have turned the mounting plate 90º clockwise to what I had done.

4. Router mounted the correct way.

1st snag:

There are two sets of instructions for mounting the Wixey to the Unilift; those from Woodpecker and from Professional Woodworking Supplies for retro fitting the Wixey to Unilifts (prior to the Digital ready Unilift). Not doing a retro fit I followed the Woodpecker instructions, until I hit a snag.

The Woodpecker instructions say to mount the elbow bracket which mounts either to the underside of the table or to the underside of the Unilift (for which you will need to tap a thread). The bracket in the W/pecker diagram shows it mounted with its slot facing in towards the Unilift, which I did.

To check things I assembled the Wixey for a test run. The readout was going haywire and it had me stumped. So I gave up for the night. That night, trying to sleep, I worked out the problem. With the elbow bracket mounted as per the W/pecker instructions it was against the green circuit board read out thingy (it's called something ) Grahame's instructions say to mount the bracket out the readout with the slot facing away from the Unilift - problem solved.

The next hurdle I hit was mounting the readout to the Unilift.

There are two spots predrilled to mount the r/out to. All you have to do is tap it to the thread size of your choosing. I had an M5 tap. I first tapped the left post, bit after a bit of messing about I found out it was fruitless. As I couldn't get in under the table and bend my arm in three places to mount the r/out.

So I tapped the right side.

I chose to mount the r/out to the underside of the table, as to mount it to the underside of the Unilift I had to do so at least 10mm in from the edge of the Unilift so that was clear of the lip where the Unilift mounts into the table.

4a and 4b. This was possible but it meant the bracket would be bolted under where the chain runs. I tapped a thread to try this out just to see how this might work. The mounting screw for the bracket just kissed against the chain, but it meant the bracket had to face slot towards the Unilift, opposite to which was written in the instructions from PWS. So I went back to my initial method of mounting.

2nd snag:

Taking into consideration the depth of the PWS table top and position of the pre-drilled hole in the right post the mounting brackets to mount both to the Unilift and underside of the table wouldn't do the job. So with a lot more working out possible solutions I made up some extensions for the brackets.

5. Not pretty, but it works - after all it's meant to do a job nothing else.

6. Everything put together and mounted in the r/table.

7.and 8 A Slot cut into the access door to pass the coax through which attaches to the readout. And mounted to the top edge of the door for easy reading. The readout is very clear and legible, even for those of challenged sight It even reads to 100ths of a mm in increments of 5, eg. 11.95

9. There a two features of the plate I found very handy.

At bottom right there is a lock to lock the router to the preset height when in use. It's unlocked when changing height. Marked on the right side of the plate is a rule which marks 0 showing the centre of the plate, which is very handy, especially if you are going to mount an Incra LS on your router table and also too, for finding the centre of the bit when setting your fence up.

Conclusions.

The Unilift is beautifully built and strong. Operation is smooth and precise with each full revolution being 1.6mm? (correct me if wrong, but going from memory) Pricey? Yes, but for what it does, what it saves me in time and stuffing around with what I have found as shortcomings in the Triton, and for how well it's been thought out in it's simplicity and engineering - it's a beautiful thing.

I haven't done a review to go over ground that you can read for yourself, for that you can read more at http://www.woodworksupplies.com.au/prod44.htm

[Waldo]

Last pic.

[Groggy]

Nice post Waldo, ta.

[Waldo]

Hope it's a help to someone.

[Shedhand]

Hey Waldo, thanks for the info. Will it fit the MOF001 routers? I have 2 so would have to get 2 of those kits.
ANd?...how did you get THAT under the radar..

[Waldo]

Hey Waldo, thanks for the info. Will it fit the MOF001 routers?

If MOF001 is code for the 1/4" then

I have 2 so would have to get 2 of those kits.
ANd?...how did you get THAT under the radar..

By very cunning means.

[Gwhat]

Hi all,
The confusion re the instructions comes from the need to retrofit the Wixey to pre April 2009 UniLIFT's. The current units are digital ready and pre-drilled to take the 4.00mm self threading screws supplied with the read-out. If these are driven correctly there is no need to tap the holes, the screws have a lead-in that facilitates cutting its own thread.

The main issue with Triton specific installations is that the 'L' bracket must be electrically isolated from the green scale by using the supplied Nylon bolt, nut & washer. This bracket is easily positioned so that it clears the chain.

Setting up the UniLIFT is pretty basic however a bit of thought is needed to ensure the router handles don't impede installing and removing the unit and that one of the 2 cranking positions plus the locking point will be accessable in front of the fence. This is covered in the instructions.

I hope that this clarifies things.

Regards


Grahame

[Waldo]

[Shedhand]

Hi all,
The confusion re the instructions comes from the need to retrofit the Wixey to pre April 2009 UniLIFT's. The current units are digital ready and pre-drilled to take the 4.00mm self threading screws supplied with the read-out. If these are driven correctly there is no need to tap the holes, the screws have a lead-in that facilitates cutting its own thread.

The main issue with Triton specific installations is that the 'L' bracket must be electrically isolated from the green scale by using the supplied Nylon bolt, nut & washer. This bracket is easily positioned so that it clears the chain.

Setting up the UniLIFT is pretty basic however a bit of thought is needed to ensure the router handles don't impede installing and removing the unit and that one of the 2 cranking positions plus the locking point will be accessable in front of the fence. This is covered in the instructions.

I hope that this clarifies things.

Regards


Grahame

G'day Grahame, I have two Triton MOF001 routers set up in my shop made router table. They are 1/2" (12mm) units but are lower horsepower than the TR001's but i'm not sure whether the carcases are identical. Will the Uni-lift suit the MOF001 do you know. Also, does the Unilift impede the changing of bits from the top of the tabe (which is the thing I most like about the Triton)

Though the MOF001's are easy to adjust (I put a lot of thought into the positioning of them to allow optimum adjustment simplicity.) I reckon the Unilift would make the jobs i do a lot more precise. I saw one at the Deloraine Mens Shed and was taken by it. Though i've seen them advertised, seeing them in the flesh is an eyeopener (as is the woodrat). Might get one of them too, finances allowing.
Cheers

[Gwhat]

G'day Grahame, I have two Triton MOF001 routers set up in my shop made router table. They are 1/2" (12mm) units but are lower horsepower than the TR001's but i'm not sure whether the carcases are identical. Will the Uni-lift suit the MOF001 do you know. Also, does the Unilift impede the changing of bits from the top of the table (which is the thing I most like about the Triton)

Though the MOF001's are easy to adjust (I put a lot of thought into the positioning of them to allow optimum adjustment simplicity.) I reckon the Unilift would make the jobs i do a lot more precise. I saw one at the Deloraine Mens Shed and was taken by it. Though I've seen them advertised, seeing them in the flesh is an eyeopener (as is the woodrat). Might get one of them too, finances allowing.
Cheers

Shedhand.

Both Triton Routers 'borrowed' their base plate mounting hole position from the Porter Cable routers. Therefore the Tritons fit perfectly.

The issue with bit changes with the TRA001 is that you still have to manually wind the last bit of plunge depth, due the the interlock with the switch. I assume that this is the same for the MOF. When fitting other routers to the UniLIFT they are simply locked down, this can't be done with the Triton, the solution is to use an Xtreme Xtension which is fine with variable speed routers and it gives extra height plus the ability to change bits without locking the shaft of the router.

I hope that this assists?

Regards

Grahame

[Shedhand]

Shedhand.

Both Triton Routers 'borrowed' their base plate mounting hole position from the Porter Cable routers. Therefore the Tritons fit perfectly.

The issue with bit changes with the TRA001 is that you still have to manually wind the last bit of plunge depth, due the the interlock with the switch. I assume that this is the same for the MOF. When fitting other routers to the UniLIFT they are simply locked down, this can't be done with the Triton, the solution is to use an Xtreme Xtension which is fine with variable speed routers and it gives extra height plus the ability to change bits without locking the shaft of the router.

I hope that this assists?

Regards

Grahame

Yes thanks Grahame.
Cheers
Mike

[Shedhand]

I assume the red ring in the lift plate just pops in and out to allow for the spanner access to the bit.

[Waldo]

G'day Shedhand,

Yep, that red ring is one of three insert rings you get with the Unilift.

I just left it in there as it was already in the Unilft as it was boxed and sent that way.

[Gwhat]

G'day Shedhand,

Yep, that red ring is one of three insert rings you get with the Unilift.

I just left it in there as it was already in the Unilft as it was boxed and sent that way.

Waldo's right, the rings are Twist Lock Rings if you can change a light bulb you can change the rings, we also stock 8 piece ring sets from zero to 2 1/8". Some prefer to buy blank phenolic rings and drill them to suit their needs.

Regards

Grahame

[SP_Flip]

I also have a UniLift .. I think I was one of PWS's first few customers on this (I've had mine for 3-4 years now, something like that). It worked great with my TRA001, except that the height adjustment was really stiff. I put up with it for ages, thinking that it was just not well designed for the weight of the router.

About six months ago, some oxygen got to my brain (my wife would suggest I must have stood up) and I realised the problem.

When I mounted the router, I left in the two big silver pan head screw things that Triton use to mount the router to their router table. They LOOKED like they stay below the alloy base even with the plastic base off. Well, they don't - they sit proud of the alloy face by about 1/2mm. That was slightly warping the ring plate that the router mounts to and making it bind on the vertical shafts.

I took them out, and bingo! the lift mechanism is smooth and easy. Oh well, only 2 or 3 years of arm-muscle building..... DOH!

Also, there are a couple of comments above about changing router bits which are confusing. My TRA001 lifts up to the perfect height with the top of the spindle about 7mm above the table, making it easy to remove the bit (though you have to manually wind the router up the last little bit to activate the spindle lock). Of course you have to remove the filler ring if it is one of the small ones is in the table, but that's nothing - you have to change them frequently so they are the right size for your bit.

Wonderful device, that Unilift .. except for the really silly levelling screws. I just wound them all out and installed my own 4 levellers under the table right at the corners. How can anyone sanely level a plate with TWO screws on each corner?

Phil