Cowryman router plane?

[Mark Gibney]

Came across this router plane for sale online, $50, free shipping. It's branded a Cowryman router plane.

Anyone have any experience of it? - I have a router plane so I'm not in need of one, but curious about this one, the iron is quite different from the L shape I'm used to.

373221

[Jim Koepke]

It would likely work, but it doesn't look like one could find a lot of blades for it.

Searching for a little information found this:

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They could have gone a ways to make the base have different positions for the blade. It appears as if the frog (blade holder) is held in place by screws.

One of the great abilities of many other router planes is the ability to find blades for them. My Sargent router plane can use blades made by Veritas. Veritas has at least a dozen router plane blades available if you count the metric blades and the ones made for inlay work.

One thing not mentioned on any of the information for the Cowryman routers is a country of origin. To some people that doesn't matter, to some it does.

jtk

[David Bassett]

My first thought was why bother? Then I checked the LV prices and... there's at least one reason.

Model comes standard with 8mm blade. 3mm & 6mm are available, if you search hard enough. (Finding Cowryman tools isn't easy, they seem to buy and sell a *lot* of "fashion" items. I notice they also sell a hook knife.) The blades reminded me of combo plane irons, but they've got a 90-degree rotation and clearly won't interchange.

I've decided someone (else!) should buy one and write a review! :)

[lowell holmes]

An old saying:

Buy an expensive tool and cry when you pay for it.
Buy a cheap tool and cry each time you use it.

[steven c newman]

The price of a tool is NEVER a guarantee of quality.....PT Barnum would be happy...

[Bill Houghton]

Building on the concept of one of the original router plane designs - maybe the original - commonly and insultingly* known as the "old woman's tooth":
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It would have one advantage, actually, in that you could rout shorter mortises/sinkings/holes than is possible with the style of router plane more commonly seen nowadays. This is one of my two objections to the Lee Valley hinge mortise plane - the use of a cutting iron from their full-size router limits the length of the hinge (or other hardware) for which the plane is usable.

So, hats off to someone who's trying something a little different. I'm not going to invest limited tool money in trying one, but the reviews on Amazon (granted, not always the most reliable reviews) were very positive. And, assuming there's not more than one "cowryman" company, they make a surprisingly diverse range of tools. I have no idea where they are - I wasn't able to find any online presence.

*But then, a timber braced to serve as the point from which pressure could be applied, for instance in boring holes, was officially known in the early 20th century as an "old man," Implying that old men are good for nothing but standing around, is pretty insulting, too, so at least the age-based insults were evenly distributed. Oh well. This old man is going out to work on the project of the month, making a turnaround next to our driveway, so we can get out on the street driving forward, which will help when the street fills up with cars from the tax place two doors down.

[Derek Cohen]

It would have one advantage, actually, in that you could rout shorter mortises/sinkings/holes than is possible with the style of router plane more commonly seen nowadays. This is one of my two objections to the Lee Valley hinge mortise plane - the use of a cutting iron from their full-size router limits the length of the hinge (or other hardware) for which the plane is usable.

Bill, you can use the Veritas or Stanley (and others). I made a custom router blade (using the shank of a hex key) for this purpose ...

https://s19.postimg.org/m21nuoz03/Scraper_blade_for_the_router_plane_html_57233799.j pg

https://s19.postimg.org/nh38jesdf/Scraper_blade_for_the_router_plane_html_7b636d07.j pg

I cannot say like the look of the Cowryman. It probably does the job, but it looks crude alongside a true OWT.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Don Dorn]

Last thing I want is to hijack the topic which is they type of router plane. However, a friend bought a LV large router plane because he liked mine so much. He's a bit older and just told me he doesn't like it. When asked why, he said he can't tighten the clamp enough to make the blade solid.

Being curious, I tried it and he is right, it took an inordinate amount of strength on the knob to stabilize the blade. I know that LV would make it right, but can't determine if it's the clamp or the knob to tighten the clamp.

[Jim Koepke]

Without seeing it the diagnosis is difficult. Maybe you can get together with your router plane and see if comparing the parts exposes the culprit.

jtk

[Derek Cohen]

Don, I suspect that the problem is a stuck piston.

This is the adjustment mechanism ...

https://s19.postimg.org/vppirjg77/Router-spring3_zpsppx7gdt6.jpg

If you remove the lock screw ...

https://s19.postimg.org/vcy4lcq7n/Router-spring2_zpsiha9zwvz.jpg

... it is possible that the piston is stuck (under the spring).

Twist it and it should release. Lubricate it and all will be well.

The issue here is that the piston does not release fully, and then it is too short to become a stop for pressure.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Don Dorn]

A feature I was unaware of. Thank you for the suggestion as well as the great photo's. I'll advise shortly as I'm stopping at his shop tonight.