Oh no, another homemade router plane!

[Colaboy]

Hi.

I'm waiting for the Axminster router plane to come back into stock.

So I thought i'd make a router plane to put me on for a while.

It's just a prototype on a bit of MDF and there are no handles yet but, i'm pretty happy with the results so far.

 

[AndyT]

That looks simple but effective.
Could you say a bit more about the tools and materials you used? With eBay prices of old routers so high, I think there might be quite a few woodworkers who are ready to be persuaded that basic metalwork is really quite accessible, especially when it leads to a useful result.

 

[StraightOffTheArk]

I like the slightly Heath Robinson look you have there - would it benefit from a vee groove to squeeze the iron into? It would eliminate it potentially being twisted. I'm looking forward to the next installment!

Carl

PS Hopefully it will work out so well that you won't need to spend any money at Axminster (well, not on a router anyway!).

 

[custard]

It's just a prototype on a bit of MDF

Very ingenious! But I wouldn't use MDF for the final version, or if I did I'd want to beef it up with some strips of hardwood, maybe like this,

The geometry of a router plane cutter means it tries to dive deeper into the workpiece, MDF has very little resistance to bending where as a stiffer base material will deliver more consistent and accurate results. If you use a router plane for jobs like cutting hinge mortices or the final dimensioning of tenons then you'll appreciate that extra precision.

 

[Colaboy]

Thanks for the feedback gang, much appreciated.

The only tools used were as follows:

Hacksaw
File
Vice
Drill
5mm Drill Bit
M6 Tap

Materials:
25mm x 2mm Steel Flat Bar (150mm)
25mm x 25mm Box Section (42mm)
M6 Threaded Bar (110mm)
2 x Brass Knobs https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/M6-Brass...var=511500597171&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
3 x M6 Washers
Epoxy Glue

I just cut the centre out of the bottom of the box section, leaving the outside walls to fit to the base.
Then I just bent the cutter holder in a vice.
Drill a hole in the end and thread it with an M6 tap. If you don't have a tap, you can just epoxy an M6 nut to the outside.
Epoxy some M6 threaded rod into one of the brass knobs.
Epoxy some into a piece of wood fitted into the box section.
Epoxy 3 washers to the other brass knob and it's done.

It took about forty five minutes so a nice little project.

 

[Colaboy]

To answer a few questions:

Straight Off The Ark - I did initially intend to groove the box section but, as long as the 90° at the front is perfect there is no movement of the cutter whatsoever.

Custard - It will be bonded into a nice piece of hardwood with some nice handles. I didn't want to waste good wood on a proof of concept.

Thanks for the feedback gang.

 

[Colaboy]

Whilst I'm taking up people's valuable time, here's a small one I made the day before using the Axminster small blade.
This one is much easier as it just requires a round hole for the blade.
A threaded insert at the back to take the securing bolt and that's it.