Router Plane

Added 3 November 2020

It seems to be difficult to buy a router plane at the moment from the two big manufacturers, Lie Nielsen and Veritas, presumably supply has been affected by Covid-19. And when they are available, they are rather expensive, so, I decided to make one.

The final design uses Veritas cutters, and the handles are angled at 20 degrees, again similar to the Veritas router. There is just one tool clamp/depth adjust screw which bears on the tool, like the Lie Nielsen, and not the thread like the Veritas (poor design I think). The Veritas cutters lock into a vee shape which I think is likely to be more secure than the Lie Nielsen. I know this is trivial, but I do not like the adjusters on the Lie Nielsen tool that make the router look asymmetrical.

My design drawing shows a cut-out in the base so the tool can be rotated through 180 degrees thus enabling the plane to be used in the opposite direction. I decided that the cut-out could reduce the stiffness of the base for dubious benefit, so it was left out. I have never used one of these tools before and in my view this feature would be of limited use. If I discover it’s crucial, then it’s an easy modification.

The base (150mm wide) and handle mounts are made from aluminium alloy and all the toolholder parts from mild steel. I did locate a source of cast iron that would have been ideal for the base, but it is expensive and so I used aluminium and we’ll see how it goes. There are a number of through-holes in the router which have brass screw-in blanking plugs for purely decorative purposes. I made the handles from Cherry, just like the Veritas tool, from a large block that had been sitting in my workshop for 8 or 9 years.

April 2022 I've had this tool for a couple of years and use it rarely, but when needed it does the job. I'm delighted with it, it works beautifully.