JessEm 03003 9-1/4-by-11-3/4-Inch Template for Mast-R-Lift or Mast-R-Plate

Works very well.I dreaded cutting into my new work bench to install my router lift. It turns out I lost a lot of sleep for nothing. Great purchase. Router lift fits well.

It attached easily with double sided tape. It could use the interior plug to help keep the router from tipping. 3/4” plywood scrap worked just fine to keep the router from tilting. Having a small sized piece of scrap made it easy to route a wider ledge than just 1/2”. Worked great on my Corian router table top.

This template made routing an opening for my Kreg router lift extremely easy.It makes a perfect size opening for a 9-1/4" X 11-3/4" router plate and leaves a 1/2" lip all around.Others said this template is sized wrong, but that's just not the case. I even measured it and even made a drawing before using it just to make sure.If you want a slightly larger lip you'll have to use a diffrent size bushing and cutter than what the instructions say.I've attached a photo of my drawing with a bushing a cutter as described in the instructions and drew in diffrent size bushings and cutters for slightly larger lips.I did mark it down 1 star as I think it's way too expensive for what it is, but it beats messing up your table.

Boy is this thing expensive for what it is.I set this up first as I had seen done in videos using double sided tape.I was quite glad that I chose to practice first on scrap, and if you're not a routing pro, I'd suggest the same.You'll need a 3/4 inch template guide bushing for this project.On my practice piece, the tape came loose, and the test piece was pretty much ruined.Of the areas where I had made successful cuts, it seemed to me that the rabbet was pretty narrow at only about a half inch.On my second go, I not only used tape. but I secured the template and the workpiece down with clamps, as well as screwing down wood scraps around the outside edges to make sure nothing was going anywhere this time.It may have been overkill, but the second try came out perfect.I also noticed on my practice piece that there were times the router wanted to tip inwards due to lack of support on the inside of the template for the router, causing irreparable damage to the workpiece.On the second go around, I cut a scrap piece the same thickness as the template and almost the size of the interior of the template, minus 1 inch all the way around.I firmly taped that down.This not only provided even support for the router, but also allowed me to cut the whole inch the same depth as the rest of the rabbet, leaving me a much wider, sturdier inset for the router table.I believe the instructions could have been a bit clearer, and not only should they suggest the center support piece that I made up, but for the price of this thing, they should include it, especially being that the perfect piece is probably created when making this template.Nonetheless, I'm glad I chose to go this route instead of trying to figure and cut the dimensions myself.

I had to build a new top for my router table (the old Norm Abrams design) and I took the opportunity to upgrade my lift to the Jessem Mast-R-Lift. With this template, and the router equipped with the 1/2" straight bit and the 3/4" bushing, the fit was spot on. No gaps, no wiggle. Perfect. I highly recommend this product.