Router Plane Build Step 1 complete

[Mike Olson]

I have been wanting a Router plane for quite a while but haven't had the time and i didn't want to grind up one of my good Allen wrenches.

I came across a whole box of Allen wrenches at an estate sale for $5
I found 4 of these large Allen wrenches in there so I started with one and cut off the short end to make it 3/4". These suckers are hard, I used up 2 hacksaw blades to cut it off. I figured 1 to practice on, 1 for a flat nosed blade, 1 for a spear point blade, and 1 for a spare. :D

Spent probably 20 minutes in grinding and this is what I got. it's 6" long and the blade end is 1/4" wide. The toughest part was getting the bottom to angle back from the edge so it wouldn't catch.

Hopefully this weekend I can finish step 2 & 3. Make the wooden body and something to secure it in place.

[Derek Gilmer]

I look forward to watching this progress. I might give it a try :)

[john brenton]

Derek Cohen has a little bit about cobbling together an "old womans tooth" router plane on his website.


I have been wanting a Router plane for quite a while but haven't had the time and i didn't want to grind up one of my good Allen wrenches.

Hopefully this weekend I can finish step 2 & 3. Make the wooden body and something to secure it in place.

[Jim Koepke]

The LN video channel on YouTube also has a video on sharpening router blades.

jtk

[Mike Olson]

I got the body cut out and formed to how i want it.

Cut it out with a coping saw. I had to take a couple breaks to let my arm rest.

I then formed it with a bunch of rasps and files that I picked up at a couple estate sales.

I cut out the 2" hole using the hole saw chucked into the brace. That was a lot of work and I didn't make it as straight as I wanted but it just gave the blade a little bit more of an angle.

I'll be working on the holder for it hopefully sometime this week.

Pic's

[john brenton]

The hole saw on the brace? Is that a total beast to drill with?? Did you wax the outside of the bit first?

Drilling with a hole saw with a "Hole Hawg" is a beast as it is...I could only image with the brace. Why not get some bits? Those old greenlee expando bits are pretty cheap.



I got the body cut out and formed to how i want it.

Cut it out with a coping saw. I had to take a couple breaks to let my arm rest.

I then formed it with a bunch of rasps and files that I picked up at a couple estate sales.

I cut out the 2" hole using the hole saw chucked into the brace. That was a lot of work and I didn't make it as straight as I wanted but it just gave the blade a little bit more of an angle.

I'll be working on the holder for it hopefully sometime this week.

Pic's

[Mike Olson]

It's just a generic 10" Stanley brace. i have an expando bit but it only goes up to 1.5"

The 2" hole saw wasn't that hard to use in the brace. I used it over the summer with a 3 or 4" hole saw to put in a new dryer vent. no wax.

[Mike Olson]

I put together what I thought was a hack job to secure the iron into the router plane but it worked quite well. I purchased an eye bolt, washer, and wingnut. I had to spread the eye bolt a little and use a file to groove the inside of the eye to secure the hex key iron and keep it from turning.

I tested it out across the grain and with the grain and it seems to work great. Now i just need to build a few more boxes so I can really put this to work.

[John Powers]

I cut my hole on a drill press, used stanley irons and didn't taper it down in the front but it works great. Blade is held in a square hole drilled and filed into a wing nut bolt from mcmaster and Carr. Still want the lee valley one but dont need it. These things are easy to make and really work. Mines based on an article in popular woodworking I think. Gives plan and what to buy. Your only constraint is the sharpness of your iron.

[Mike Olson]

I finally got a picture of the finished Router Plane and figured i'd post it.

[David Weaver]

If it works it works, no need to worry about how it works.

If it ever gets loose on you in heavy work, you can always add another grooved eye hook to it and it'll never move.

You going to make an offset one with one long handle out of QS material to clean tenons now?

[Jim Koepke]

That looks like a lot of fun to make and use.

Thanks for sharing.

jtk

[John Almberg]

I finally got a picture of the finished Router Plane and figured i'd post it.

I've been trying to buy an old Stanley on eBay for a few weeks, but I'll be darned if I'm going to pay over $100 for a 60 year old plane. I started googling for a home-made solution, and this looks darn clever! Love the eye bolt idea. Ingenious!

[Mike Olson]

When i first built it, i was planning on using it to cut the entire groove. It was pretty slow going. Now I chisel the majority out and use this router plane to make the bottom of the groove smooth and even.

I would also suggest adding a second eye bolt higher up also as the bit can chatter or lean if you try digging in a little too deep. It's on my list of things to do but i'll probably never get around to making that change.

[Tony Shea]

Nice job on the plane Mike. One of the most used tools in my arsenal, couldn't imagine woodworking without one. I do think a longer version as David suggested for cleaning tenons would be incredibly valuable for the job and much easier to balance for that task.

My only suggestion (can't not put my $0.02 in) is that a relief grind on the bottom of the blade should help performance. Instead of the whole bottom of the blade touching the work, only the cutting edge would be there as is the design on all planes. Maybe there is a relief already, hard to tell from the photo's.

[Federico Mena Quintero]

Oooh, this is so cool. As soon as I make my grinder, I'm making one router plane like yours.

Love the lamination that doesn't go all the way to the handles!

[Harlan Barnhart]

Nice Job Mike. I made a similar one. The picture shows a blade I attempted to make from a hayrake tooth but it didn't work out. I think I ground out the temper shaping it, so I ordered one from Lee Valley. If I could do it over, I would forget the fence, I don't find it that useful.

[Derek Cohen]

That is very nice work. Indeed.

I have a couple of possible mods you can consider.

My original OWT looked like this ...

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Planes/Router%20planes/OWT/OldWomansTooth_html_m67360327.jpg

It used a cutter made from a hex key ..

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Planes/Router%20planes/OWT/OldWomansTooth_html_m79df67a0.jpg

Then LV brought out a range of small blades for the Large Router Plane, and I decided to modify the OWT to use these. The hole for the cutter was enlarged and a section of aluminium angle inserted ..

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Planes/Router%20planes/OWT/UpgradingTheOWT_html_m4644fec.jpg

Lastly, I added a depth stop. This is a huge help when using a router plane ...

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Planes/Router%20planes/OWT/UpgradingTheOWT_html_59880358.jpg

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Maurice Ungaro]

I've been trying to buy an old Stanley on eBay for a few weeks, but I'll be darned if I'm going to pay over $100 for a 60 year old plane. I started googling for a home-made solution, and this looks darn clever! Love the eye bolt idea. Ingenious! John, just keep your eyes open. You should be able to get a user #71, or #71 1/2 for $30 to $40. Having said that, this looks fun, and a good way to build a small router as well.