Thanks guys. Yeah, I picked up some cocobola looking laminate from work. Looked cool there but my saw and router lift are both red / black, so it looks pretty odd. I figure I'll just leave it on and put some solid black on the other side. I'm not in a hurry for it.
Btw, I put the router lift directly in the sawstop table extension. It sagged by almost 1/16. I guess the MDF and pine support wasn't enough. It looks great, so I'm excited to do it right. I picked up some red oak to use as supports and 3/4 birch ply.
On a similar note, I used the router cut out template from mast-r-lift for the mast-r-lift 2. The cut out was 1/8 too big. A tad over 1/16 gap all around. Way too much play. They suggest using a 3/4 inch template guide with a 1/2" bit. If you want a tight fit, I'd suggest using a smaller bit. I have a 3/8 bit that I plan on using for this next go around. I might practice on scrap first also.
Also I went just a hair over 1/8" too deep. Then I cut a piece of 1/8" acrylic to put in the inset. This will give the set screws something hard to adjust against. Worked out good, so I'll def. do it again in the final.