Router plane lateral blade position

[Bruce Mack]

In his thorough article on the large Veritas router plane, Derek Cohen noted that the blade could be used in the lateral position. Does anyone know if this is true for the Lie-Nielsen as well?

I am making a series of white oak/mica table lamps from an article in Popular Woodworking about a year ago. Much of the joinery is half lap joints on thin pieces ranging from 4 - 12" length, 5/8 - 1" width. For safety and uniformity I am gluing as many as four same-length pieces parallel on MDF and flipping the MDF so I can pass the slats over the straight bit on a router table with a couple of push blocks pressing down on the MDF. This works well and feels safe. The width of the laps needs no tweaking, but the bottoms are rougher than I like. I use a small L-N router plane to smooth the bottoms before I separate the slats from the MDF. This works well but is slow, as the oak is obdurate.

I'm thinking that the extra heft of the large router plane would be very helpful. However as most of the laps are at the ends of relatively short strips, I might find that the plane is unbalanced and tips too much with the blade in the fore-aft position. I could use a support piece, but this would involve extra clamping in a small work area and would limit free movement of the plane. Lateral blade positioning might help in this situation. I don't want to substitute a chisel, preferring the depth consistency of the plane. I'd like to stay in the L-N family, quite happy with their tools.

Sorry for the tedious explanation and thank you for your help.

[Bill Houghton]

Why don't you ask them?

Later edit: looking at the L-N router plane, I think you might run into problems setting a shallow depth of cut with it set for lateral work - assuming you can. The cutter runs within a hole in the casting, and if you turn it sideways, the cutter might run into the casting. Still, that's looking at a picture, not holding the plane; L-N should be able to tell you.

If they say "no," you might look at the Lee Valley router plane, on which the cutter is held against the casting, as with the Stanley router plane. Lee Valley's online copy specifically says you can mount the cutter laterally. By the way, the Lee Valley plane, while $9 more expensive than L-N's, comes with two cutters to L-N's one, and additional cutters are way cheaper.

Both places have great customer service, so you should be able to get answers quickly.

[Derek Cohen]

... the blade could be used in the lateral position. Does anyone know if this is true for the Lie-Nielsen as well?

Hi Bruce

Don't base a decision on that. I cannot recall when I used the router plane that way. Options are one thing, typical work methods may be another.

Overall, both LV and LN offer a great tool, and I cannot imagine one would be unhappy with either. My money is on the LV, if only that they have a wider selection of blades. LN effectively only have one blade with all their others (which are built for the small router plane) requiring an adapter to fit.

As with all, given the opportunity, you must try both out. In the end it may come down to how it feels in the hand, which is personal.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Bruce Mack]

Two good ideas. I know both companies have responsive and informed staff. I thought this question so esoteric that I wanted to check with the members of this forum. I'll call. Thank you both.

[Jim Neeley]

Bruce,

As others have said, both are excellant products. IMO, the key difference between them is angle of the knobs. The L-N's are vertical while the LV are angled. One is not inherantly better; as Derek said above, how it feels in the hand is a very personal issue.

Jim in Alaska

[Bruce Mack]

In follow-up, I bought a 3/8 inch Whiteside straight bit for my router to substitute for the 1/4 inch (other brand) I had been using for the small half lap joints. The laps are much cleaner and I need only a pass of a sharp chisel to clean them before glueing. Problem solved for now, until I can think of another reason to own a large router plane:D

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

When I used a router (I've since sold mine - since I stopped building guitars and got into unplugged work, I wasn't using it) I was in love with Whiteside bits. Worth every penny. I wish I still had the local shop that sold them.