Acquired several old Stanley H39A routers

[Jack Vines]

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A local laminate countertop shop went TU and sold everything. I picked up sixteen routers, including six of these Stanley H39As. They'd modified them by removing the handles to enable them to be used one-handed more easily.


The owner had been using some of them for thirty years and said they are the longest-lived small router ever built. Does anyone know the start/end of production? A couple I got are new enough to have a grey powdercoated finish instead of the polished aluminum, but basically same machine.


A couple of those I got have cracked domes and missing the spindle lock. They still whizz fine, just awkward to change bits. A search didn't turn up any parts sources. Those on the internet advertising parts for Stanley routers mostly were for the newer models.


jack vines


PS - in doing some research, the more recent acronym is "the R2D2 router" - supposedly the original Star Wars robot was modeled after one of these.

[Dave Zellers]

I picked up sixteen routers ...[/QUOTE]


You can never have too many routers. I have an old Porter Cable but nothing that old.

Using that router one handed is not something I'd be likely to do. Maybe with a very small bit in it.

Men used to be more manly than they are today.

And they had the scars to prove it!

[Art Mann]

Doing laminate trimming, one hand is all you want. Two hands is clumsy.

[Todd Davidson]

"PS - in doing some research, the more recent acronym is "the R2D2 router" - supposedly the original Star Wars robot was modeled after one of these"

Hmmm..... I always thought R2D2 was modeled after these Craftsman routers - in part why I've amassed a collection of 18 of them over the last 30 years..... :eek:).....

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[John McClanahan]

Thanks, guys! I don't feel so guilty about my collection of routers now.

I have one of those Stanley routers. It is probably the smoothest running of my dozen or so routers.


John

[Jack Vines]

Interesting that I was able to buy these working routers for less than the cost of the missing non-critical parts. Thus far I haven't found a listing for the Stanley replacement parts needed, but in the collection are a pair of Black & Decker Commercial routers. One internet parts source lists replacement handles for $7.50 each, so $15 plus shipping or $20 to put new knobs on a router which only cost $20 used.

jack vines

[Mike Schuch]

Growing up my father had an H39A router and that is what I learned woodworking with. Now I have 4 of them in various configurations. I like the planer base, works great as a precision rabbit fence. They are old and I have never come across spare parts for them. I have several new routers but I usually grab one of my old Stanley routers first. They are a very convenient size to use hand held.

[Lee Schierer]

One of the first things I would do with any of those routers that I intended to use would be to replace the power cord with a new 3 wire cord. 30 year old wiring is prone to cracking and shorting. Many of those old tools only had 2 wire cords and plugs. They were not insulated like modern tools and case is metal and any internal fault in the wiring can make the body live.

[Matt Day]

I know routers are like clamps, you can never have to many. But i guess I didn't know that collecting vintage routers was a hobby. Cool old tools.

I remember my Dad's 3hp router didn't have soft start of course; I think he was almost as afraid of the thing as i was!

[Jack Vines]

I know routers are like clamps, you can never have to many. !

That's what I'd have thought also. However, as with most vintage power tools/machines, it seems the market for used has gone away. Most young guys just aren't doing woodworking. Thirty years ago, if I'd advertised a brand name router for dirt-cheap, I'd have two guys on my front porch at 0700 arguing over who got there first. I put two commercial routers; one Skil and one Black & Decker on the local list. Zero response to this point.

Same with larger machines; I did a well-advertised garage sale to clean out the overflow. There was a Delta lathe, DP, band saw, three Craftsman table saws and a RAS. At what I thought were fair prices, there was no local sale. On Sunday afternoon, a visiting African bought the lot. "We've got plenty trees and plenty women. This will put them to work."

jack vines

[Bill McNiel]

I still have, and use, a Stanley "Bullet Head" (H39A) that I purchased in 1973. It has mortised more door hinges than I care to count or think about. It was my first router and easily the longest lasting among the 7 I currently own. A great tool to say the least.

[jack duren]

We used them a lot when I started in a commercial cabinet shop in 1983. Many became parts as the locking mechanism was plastic and stripped. Good routers but used plastic instead of metal. If I remember correctly they all had a 1/4 collet
.

[Jack Vines]

I'll have to take one apart to check on which plastic part is in the locking mechanism. FWIW, in the cabinet shop from whence came these, when the locking button broke, they put in a laminate trimming bit and then only changed it when it got dull.

All the externals are cast aluminum. At some point in the production, Stanley went from polished bare finish to powder-coated blue-gray. Otherwise, they look the same.

And yes, most older routers were 1/4" collet. Using a router as a shaper and the larger profile 1/2"-shank bits are of relatively recent production, by old guy standards.

jack vines

[Ray Frederick]

I have one of these and use it for all my hardware machining, hinges, etc.. I also have the tilting shaper base plate for it and the dovetail jig.

One thing I am missing is a good cutter for using with the planer attachment, mine is worn beyond sharpening , I'd love to use it as intended for door beveling but no one seems to manufacture or sell NOS cutters for it and most of the eBay routers are missing the cutter or it is likely nicked/worn.

[thurman hill]

Ok, I know it's an old thread but I'm desperate. I just bought an H63 door kit, and it includes an H39 router. I'm missing the collet nut and collet. Jack, do you (or anyone else here), have a collet and nut for the H38 router that you'd be willing to part with? I've checked with a lot on online parts people, but no luck.

[Frederick Skelly]

Welcome Thurman!
Jack hasn't been on the site in 3 years. But with luck, someone else can help you out.
Fred