Looking to buy my first router plane. Seen articles about making one from an Allen wrench, but I’d rather help the economy…..mid-range, I guess, have no idea what a good one would cost…thanks..
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Replies
I have a Stanley 72 and a Veritas.
Very nice tool, but truthfully I’ve never like the locking action on then Veritas. Even when fully tightened the cutting iron swivels. I also com to like the depth adjustment it seems like there’s too much backlash I actually like the 72 better on that front.
I’m sure others really like it, but I feel it is somewhat below Veritas standards.
I bought the accessory fence, never have used it. Ever have used the stringing attachments I use a router.
Had to do over I would buy a Lie Nielsen.
The 72’s are getting quite expensive like every other Stanley plane the have collector prices.
Thanks, I’ll start looking...again
I have the Veritas large router plane. The locking mechanism and depth lock are both really solid. The iron's shaft is not round so, turning unexpectedly is not a problem. I notice the medium is also a "keyed" iron so only the small Veritas could have a wandering iron.
A positive lock on the iron's shaft and a depth stop that I can pre-set and work my way toward full depth were on my short list. The Veritas Large ticked both these boxes. There are some interesting smaller ones out there with "keyed" irons if the Large is out of budget.
The large Veritas with a fence and the stringing attachment is also resident in my shed. I've used it to make exactly depthed grooves of various kinds, including those initially defined with the stringing attachment to an exact width for the stringing.
There's no problem with keeping the cutting iron straight and properly depthed, nor in adjusting that depth. There is some backlash in the screw threads of the depth limiter and other adjusters but not much; and backlash is not a problem as long as you understand what it is and how to tighten the screw to locate things where they need to stay.
Very few woodworking tools with screw-thread adjusters lack some amount of backlash, is this not so? When it's just a few degrees rather than 3 full turns of the wheel, it seems unproblematic. Even three full turns would just be a nuisance.
It is a bit of a fiddle to get the Veritas router plane stringing attachment twin knives exactly spaced. The printed table indicating which spacers between the knives provide what cutting width are not that accurate (i.e. to a fraction of a millimetre) so it's sometimes necessary to do a trial slice then to make a small adjustment in the number of the thinnest spacers.
I also think the blades should have rounded cutting tips rather than pointy ones, as the points can dig in too easily.
It would also be useful to have a micro-adjust arrangement on the fence arm rather than having to move it "by eye".
Otherwise it seems a typically well-made and well-designed Veritas tool.
On the other hand, I haven't used any other router plane so I can't compare.
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I've read in various places that one of the mid-size router planes from Veritas is not so good because the blade columns are round rather than faceted, so can rotate in use. I wouldn't buy one for that reason alone.
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I also have the mini Veritas router plane, which is a 1/3rd size replica of the big one. It works very well in shallow-narrow grooves and in teeny indents (such as a Dutch patch). It's only lack, from my point of view, is the single 1/8" blade available for it.
I would like a couple of smaller-width blades (for those stringing grooves). There is a 1/16" wide blade for the full size router but it would be better to have such a small width of cut blade in the mini router as this is easier to use in very narrow grooves.
The big router is a bit of a clumsy beast for such small work and can easily cut rather too much with an over-vigorous thrust at the handles. The mini-router can't be thrust-at vigorously as it's operated with finger tips rather than the palm of the hand.
But I'm rambling-on now. :-)
Lataxe
Or you could go with a 119 year old Stanley 71 1/2!
I made my router plane from a concrete anchor bolt, pear wood, t-nut in a dowel. The nut on the bolt adjusts the depth and screw in the t-nut dowel locks it is place. Most of the time the blade does not wander :). I used a hack saw and a grinder to shape the cutter at the bottom of the bolt. I sharpen before every use. I like the low center on the pear wood body. It's just a low cost experiment that I keep using, and it works. Couldn't find the picture, sorry.
I have the large veritas after reading a tool review from Chris swarze it was a toss up between the veritas and the lie Nielsen I went with chrises advise and bought the veritas and I am glad I did.I do own the small router plane from lie Nielsen which I’m very happy with as well hope this helps cheers.
I have the large Veritas and the small Lie Nielsen as well. I'm extremely happy.
You guys with the Veritas, is there a wavy washer or anything under the locking screw?
No matter how tight I turn it, the iron has some wiggle not enough to really matter until you hit or ride along the edge of a dado.
From day one, I’ve had this feeling something wasn’t quite right. It definitely does not lock down like the 71.
Robert, the issue with a loose iron is possibly due to the spring in the collet being dirty. I've never had this happen to me, some have so I will accept this. I have been using the Veritas from pre-production times (!).
Okay, this is the screw in the collet ..
https://i.postimg.cc/FH60HKRW/Router-spring3-zpsppx7gdt6.jpg
And this is the spring in the screw ...
https://i.postimg.cc/7Ymgj9yy/Router-spring1-zpsyd2ph7rh.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/Jz0b8X1H/Router-spring2-zpsiha9zwvz.jpg
Solution: clean and oil it. Done.
My opinion? Bothe the LN and the Veritas are excellent. The Veritas is the advanced design, with not only extra attachments as Lataxe notes, but a wide selection of blades, which LN do not come close to offering.
Regards from Perth
Derek
http://www.inthewoodshop.com
I did check that, functions normally.
I have to crank it down very, very tightly to prevent the iron from wiggling. You can even see the collar move.
I am relatively strong, not physically impaired in my hands, but I have to tighten it much, much harder than I feel I should have to.
I got my Stanley out just to compare and there is no doubt the iron is much more solid with much less force on the screw.
I'm going to see if I can replace the knurled knob with a thumb screw like the Stanley.
I don't understand why I'm having this issue, I'm not doing anything wrong, its just a matter of tightening a screw!
Contact Lee Valley. They will sort it out for you.
Regards from Perth
Derek
I apologize if I missed this somewhere in the thread . . . have you removed the iron and super cleaned everything? Iron, seat, retainer. Naphtha or alcohol, leaving the surfaces dry, dry, dry and clean.
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