Stanley 71 Questions

[Stew Denton]

Hi All,
I have been thinking about a Stanley 71 router plane.

The questions I have include:

1. Do you use the fence much, is it a valuable feature?
2. Is there a type or types you prefer?
3. Like the bench planes, does the quality of the later models fall off like it does in the later bench planes?
4. What feature are highly useful?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance and regards,

Stew

[Jim Koepke]

Stew,

My router plane is a Sargent equivalent. I have used the fence but not that much. So many different uses for a router plane it is next to impossible to determine what will work best for someone else.

Some folks will use a router plane to plow grooves or make rabbets. In those cases a fence would be indispensable. This would be the same if the router plane was used to cut channels for inlay work.

The only router plane I have ever used is mine. I do know at some point the handles on the Stanley model were changed to painted wood and later to plastic.

Here is some good information on the Stanley 71:

http://www.supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan10.htm#num71

It is a very versatile tool. I have added a wooden base to mine and have bought various blades from Lee Valley.

jtk

[James Ziegler]

Make sure taht you get a 1/2" blade. I bought one a couple years ago wiht onle a 1/4" blade. It's narrow for a lot of work I've done (cleaning the bottom of dados, finishing tenons, etc.)

I only have one type, so I can't comment on any others. Same with quality as time goes on.

I don't have the fence for mine, but I haven't missed it so far.

I recently get a straight LV blade for mine, and it fits just fine (although the shank is longer, so I had to flip the adjuster nut). It's cheaper to get new LV blades than to buy vintage on the auction site most of the time.

[lowell holmes]

I don't have a fence for mine either.

However, it would be easy to make one. There are screw holes in the bed of the plane.

OBTW, Lee valley can provide you with missing cutters you may want or need.

I have them for mine.

[Jim Koepke]

although the shank is longer, so I had to flip the adjuster nut

Installing a thin wood base on mine made this no longer necessary.

jtk

[Judson Green]

+1 to what Jim K said.

Its easy to make your own fence once you've got a base on.

And the cutters from LV work just fine.

304992 304993

Mines a 71½

[Stew Denton]

Judson,

Very cool fence.

Stew

[Chuck Hart]

Stew,you didn't mention what you were going to try and do with the 71. I have a 71 1/2 and I use it for dadoes and grooves, cleaning up tenons, and overall small inlay work. The blades from LV go from 1/8 to 3/4 and are very good. Without knowing what you want to use one for it is hard to give better information. You can, as others have said, make or use custom fences. It is indispensable in my shop. You may want to look at other types besides the 71. For a lot of instances a smaller router from LV might be a better call.

[Stew Denton]

Hi Chuck,

Yes, the things you mentioned first, cleaning up dadoes and groves, maybe rabbits, tenons, hinge mortises, etc. Nothing like inlays, or other work of that type.

I will definitely be looking into the LV blades.

Thanks to everyone for the advise. It is much appreciated.

Stew

[Hilton Ralphs]

For some reason I have two 71s and a nice 71-1/2 and all the blades are a different height, some by as much as 1/4". I suppose different manufacturing times.

I'm thinking of getting one of hefty 3/4" blades from Lee Valley and dedicating it to one of the router planes for hogging out waste.

[Chuck Hart]

Stew,

Here is the catalog write up on the blades. I would suggest getting at least the 1/2 inch. The 3/4 seems massive but it is great for hogging out a lot of waste.

http://www.leevalley.com/US/home/OnlineCatalog.aspx?id=3a2db2ad

Chuck