Stanley No. 71 Router Plane Nut Loosening

[Brad Roller]

Hi All,

I’m on the second of two bookcases that I’m building. I’m using a the router plane to create dados for the shelves to sit into the side panels. The nut that tightens the collar around the iron will not stay tight after a few pushes. I had no issues like this when I used the plane for the first project. Any ideas as to why I can’t get the nut to stay tight? A few Google searches did not prove helpful. I included a picture of the first bookcase just for fun. (Organizing the books by color was not my idea...) I'm using hard maple.

Thank you!

Brad

[Mark Rainey]

Nice bookcase Brad! I had the same problem with my made in England Stanley router plane with black plastic handles ( perhaps about 20 years old, not vintage ). It drove me crazy. I bought the Veritas router plane and it works fine.

[steven c newman]

Check to see IF the thumbscrew isn't bottoming out....could be the thumbscrews pointed end is worn a bit. Either a new screw, or chase the Stanley threads for a new thumbscrew that is a few threads longer.

[Brad Roller]

Thanks for the suggestions. The thumb screw wasn’t bottoming out on the winged end, if that’s what you meant, Steven. I found the router on a junk pile, in its original box, and barely, if not ever used. I got super lucky. Anyway, I filed the end of the screw flat, since it had been ground into a cone shape from all the tightening while in use. This seems to have done the trick! I also sharpened the iron really good to reduce drag as much as possible. It’s working like new again!