Most useful blade in a Stanley 71?

[Adriaan Schepel]

Hi everyone.

I bought a 71 router plane through eBay a few months back and it finally arrived today - woo hoo! (In case you're wondering that's 'coz I'm in Australia and the 71 was in the U.S. and it was sent surface mail).

Anyway, I got it cheap and it's in nice order after a little bath in lemon juice. Appears to have had little use. It does have the fence and the depth stop thingy, but it only has one blade (flat edge 1/2" or thereabouts).

So here's my question: seeing as this is a plane I'm only going to use occasionally, should I still splash out and have the three blades in the set? Or is there one particular blade which most of you find useful for most of the tasks you do with this thing?

Cheers,
Adriaan

[Robert Rozaieski]

I only have the straight blade you have in my 71 so it's all I ever use. Considering the number of 71's sold on ebay with only this blade I'm assuming that my findings are fairly common. I have not yet wished I had the other 2 blades, but I have a 271 I use for small stuff. I guess if I didn't have the 271, the narrow blade might be nice to have for small hinge mortises, narrow dados and the like, but I haven't had a need for the pointed blade. I'm not even sure what the pointed blade's intended use is.

[Mike Weaver]

I have a replacement pointed blade from Lee Valley.
The pointed blade is "for final smoothing":
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=52609&cat=1,41182,48945

If I had only one, it would likely be the 1/2" straight.

-Mike

[Dave Anderson NH]

FYI Adriaan, There is a reasonably priced but much faster way to ship to Australia. I sent a 12" bowsaw to an Australian customer about 2 months ago and it cost only $16 US to ship it International Priority Mail. It arrived in Sydney 5 days after shipment. The only downside to IPM is that the US Postal Service does not allow insurance on this class of mail. Being the impatient type of person I am, there's no way I could wait months for something I had ordered. It would ddrive me crazy in anticipation.

[Jake Darvall]

Hello Adriaan,

I think the smallest of the blades is most useful....think its about 1/4" (?)....can use it for most applications I feel.

[Derek Cohen]

I find the V-blade the most useful. It can get into corners, trim fine detail, and cut cross grain (for dadaos) more easily than a straight blade.

The standard one is 1/2" wide. I am thinking of grinding another at 1/4".

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Roy Griggs]

I would agree with Derek on this one, after Making one of the pointy blades it's about all I use in mine...

Here is the cheep and easy way...
http://wdynamic.com/galoots/4images/details.php?image_id=1773
one 3/8" allen wrench and a little file work and you got a new blade.
Don't even have to heat treat if you start with a quality allen wrench. This was my first, I did a little better on the pointy blade but don't have a picture of it...
roy

[Adriaan Schepel]

Thanks, fellas, for your feedback.

Dave - appreciate the heads-up on the postage thing, but I was in no hurry. I must admit those International Priority Mail things are awesome - I have bought a lot of stuff from the States using those. They're cheap and quick. Man, postage is cheap for you guys! This time I was out to save money, and I got the router plane cheap and wanted to keep it that way.

Heck, it was only a 3-month wait for an old toy. I've been waiting 3 1/2 months now for my shipment from Lee Valley to come through. And eventually, it will. As you can see, I'm a patient man! But postage from Canada is so expensive; it was hard to justify the quicker option. When it comes down to a choice between spending more on postage and spending more on woodworking gear, I know which I'd rather - even if it means waiting a bit longer for it.

Thanks for the tips on the blades. Each to his own, huh? I love the innovation of Roy's. I had a quick look in the shed, and in the only reverse instance of Murphy's Law that I will ever experience, I found an old rusty Allen key just the right size - the only spare Allen key I have! So it's fodder for the grinder.

Cheers,
Adriaan