Replies

1. 
   BG | May 21, 2003 06:36pm | #1

   http://www.sover.net/~nichael/nlc-wood/stanref-type.html

   Biscardi,

   If you click on the above link and go to #71 Router there is a lot of good stuff.  I watch Klaus use the #71....especially liked how he could taper the sliding dovetail.  Seems like a keeper...

2. 
   ChasStanford | May 21, 2003 06:38pm | #2

   He's right.  I have one.  It's one of my favorite tools. 

   Here's a neat trick - you can trim tenon cheeks with it too - simply rest one side of the unit on an offcut the same thickness as your tenon piece, rest the other side on the tenon piece itself.  Lower the cutter to take a thin shaving and trim away... flip the tenon piece and trim the other cheek.

1. 
   Trees2dust | May 23, 2003 12:51am | #5

   Chas,

   Makes perfect sense.  Since I don't have a shoulder plane and I have a bunch of tenons to cut, I will dust off my #71 and give this trick a try.  And I thought it was only good for grooves, rabbets and dados.  Thanks for the tip.

   Rick

1. 
   ChasStanford | May 23, 2003 02:34pm | #6

   When you get to the 'fitting stage' always remember to trim from both sides of the tenon, or you run the risk of introducing twist into the assembly.

1. 
   AlanTurner | May 23, 2003 03:10pm | #7

   I'll be interested to see how this comes out.  I use a rabbet block plane to shave tenons, 1.5" blade, and occassional a shoulder plane for narrower or funny grain (there shouldn't be any) tenons.  I think of the 71 as a rougher sort of plane, but have little experiece with one.

1. 
   Biscardi | May 23, 2003 05:10pm | #8

   Friends,

   Thanks all for your replies. It sounds like a valuable tool that I should practice with.

   Frank

2. 
   ChasStanford | May 23, 2003 11:24pm | #9

   It works fine with a light cut and a sharp iron.  The beauty of the procedure is that it keeps the tenon cheek parallel with the face of the stock - much like nibbling away on the cheeks with a table saw - it helps to eliminate too thick or too thin sections of the cheeks.  Not so with a shoulder plane as it registers against the tenon cheek itself.

   Leave some scraping room on the workpiece as you'll get a little scratching from the bottom of the plane.  No biggie, they always need a little cleanup after glue-up anyway!

3. 
   eddiefromAustralia | May 22, 2003 01:50am | #3

   Frank,

   Ping me off-line if you want a copy of an instruction manual that used to come with them in the 30's. (2.4MB)

   They work well, originally used for cleaning out housing joints/trenches/grooves.

   Cheers,

   eddie

4. 
   bobpowers | May 22, 2003 06:03pm | #4

   I use my #71 quite often to clean out the uneven bottoms left by my nickle-and-dime  dado blades.