Small router plane

[SawDustB]

Hey guys,

I've come to a point in the hand tool cabinet where I really need a router plane to clean up the grooves in the door frames. I've got an old Miller falls router plane, but the blade clamp doesn't work well in it so it won't keep a consistent depth. I was debating selling it and buying the equivalent Veritas, but it's out of stock until August.

I started looking at the small router plane and it seems like it might be a good option.

 

It's relatively inexpensive, and it would serve a different purpose than the one I've got, if I ever get that one figured out. Has anyone got it? Is it a useful tool, or am I just going to wish I'd put the money toward the full size one?

I also looked at the medium, but that's most of the way to the cost of the large one after adding blades to it. The small one is almost the same size at half the cost.

[Tmize]

I have small veratis I got it for cleaning up small hinge mortises. It works great just don’t to much material or the blade twist. The depth stop is sold separately just a reminder(I didn’t read carefully enough)

[SawDustB]

I decided to take another look at the router plane I've got, before picking up the new tool (tempting as it would be). It's a Millers Falls #67, and the issue I've always had with it is the blade wouldn't stay tightly in place. On top of that, I only ever had the 1/2" spear point blade. Upon looking through the house, I realized that I had already picked up a 1/4" router plane blade from Lee Valley a couple of years ago and misplaced it. I was able to correct the issue with the blade tightness and get it working, after quickly stropping the new blade. It worked really well, so there goes my excuse to get a new tool.

 

In case anyone else has the same issue, the problem I had with the router plane is that the blade clamp could be tightened, but as soon as it was used it came loose again. This resulted in me gouging the work piece the few times I tried it, and putting it in the back of a cabinet. What I realized is that the thumbscrew that holds the blade tight is going into a V shaped notch, but there was no taper on the end of the screw. This meant that it was usually only wedged against a single thread when tightened, and any shift of the components knocked it loose. To fix this, I filed a 45 degree chamfer on the end of the screw so it matched up with the surface it tightens against. It's not perfect, so I still have to tighten it a bit more than I'd like, but it now holds. It gives a much larger bearing surface.

[JohnG]

We won't say anything if you decide to "lose" the new blade again, and I didn't see anything about you fixing the depth issue...

[Chet]

Might also help if you can smooth the V notch some also.  It's a cool looking old tool.  Having said that I have the large Veritas and really like it.

[SawDustB]

24 minutes ago, JohnG said:

We won't say anything if you decide to "lose" the new blade again, and I didn't see anything about you fixing the depth issue...

The depth issue was occurring because of the blade collar coming loose. The adjuster on this is approximate, but it relies on the collar being tight to prevent the blade from shifting during use.

19 minutes ago, Chet said:

Might also help if you can smooth the V notch some also.  It's a cool looking old tool.  Having said that I have the large Veritas and really like it.

That's not a bad idea. I may give that a try after I use it on the door pieces, since I don't want to mess up my depth setting. I'd probably already have the Veritas except that I found this one in an antique store a couple years ago. I cleaned the rust off and got it looking decent, but this is the first time I've had much luck using it. The router planes have gone up in price since then, so if I wanted to upgrade I'm pretty sure I'd get more than I paid for it (especially with having it cleaned up).

[JohnG]

10 minutes ago, SawDustB said:

The depth issue was occurring because of the blade collar coming loose. The adjuster on this is approximate, but it relies on the collar being tight to prevent the blade from shifting during use.

It was a *wink wink* didn’t see it, so that you could still have an excuse to buy a new tool. 

[Chestnut]

Man the struggle between the joy of buying a new tool or saving money. That's a rough inner debate for me.

That's awesome that you got it figured out though, I'm assuming the taper that you filed in was more of a cone not a wedge? If you filed a cone on the end of the screw and cleaned it up like chet mentioned I'd be you'd be off to the races. The router plane races.... not sure what those would be like.

[SawDustB]

3 hours ago, Chestnut said:

Man the struggle between the joy of buying a new tool or saving money. That's a rough inner debate for me.

That's awesome that you got it figured out though, I'm assuming the taper that you filed in was more of a cone not a wedge? If you filed a cone on the end of the screw and cleaned it up like chet mentioned I'd be you'd be off to the races. The router plane races.... not sure what those would be like.

Yes, I filed a blunt cone shape into the end of the screw. I still may see if I can smooth it out a bit better, but it works way better than what I started with.

I usually can't bring myself to buy the new tool if I don't strictly need it. I've been trying not to buy tools that aren't what I really want for that reason, because unless it actually breaks I probably won't replace it.