Reply To: Router plane cutting edge isn't parallel with base
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Bear in mind these tools were often roughly cast and sent out the factory with minimal refinement. Most owners were never aware of the need to fettle tools. The chances are you’re doing this for the first time in 100 years and you’ll need to address several issues to get it just right:
1) Flatten the Sole
2) Square the Channels (front and rear) to 90 degrees with sole
3) Check inside Collar for burrs / edge round-overs
4) Check Clamping-Screw for Centre (turn clamp over)
5) Check Irons for square
6) Sharpen Irons
Flatten the sole as you would with any other plane.
Is the Channel holding the Iron square at 90 degrees to the Sole? Some of them aren’t too accurate in their casting/milling. In Mitch’s YouTube video on the Stanley 71, he files his roughly-cast Channel slightly on one side to get his Irons sitting square with the Sole of the Router before sharpening the iron. It’s quite likely your irons aren’t the originals of 1911. Maybe yours were originally used on another Router, or fitted in the Rear Channel. All Channels differ slightly.
Ensure the Collar is as low as possible at the bottom of the Iron without losing a level orientation – avoid clamping any of the flared portion of the housing at the base of the screwed-post. On later designs, Stanley addressed this issue by adding protrusions to castings which limit how low the Collar can travel – on these earlier models we need to ensure the collar sits level and square before tightening.
Check the inside edges of your Collar. Some have burrs or a slightly rounded-inwards edge that hinders mating against the Iron, pulling it askew as it tightens.
Check also the Clamping-Screw for alignment with the CENTRE of the Channel. It may be that yours is pulling to one side as it bites. Turn the Collar over and see if that’s a better alignment. Some are not symmetrical and have a ‘right-way-up’. If there’s slop in the Clamping-Screw thread (and there usually is) make sure it’s holding the iron tight-enough so it doesn’t move at all.
Check the iron for square. Flatten the base so that the post sits vertical when viewed from the front or back. From the side of course it will have a definite rearward slope. I don’t have a belt sander or grinding wheel, I’d clamp the iron to a block and use sandpaper/diamond plates. You could try a honing guide like the Record 161 or Eclipse 36. Awkward I guess, but you’ll only have to do this once.
Angled Blade wonky? I assume you’ve tried tightening the screw, so I’ll suggest a tube of Thread-Lock.
Sharpen/Hone as normal – Paul’s / Mitch’s videos.
While refurbishing my routers, I discovered; none were flat, most Channels aren’t square with the sole, Collars are usually lop-sided (some have a ‘right-way-up’) or had a pronounced burr, Clamping-Screws rarely align with the Channel centre before tightening, Stanley screws fit Record, Record screws don’t fit Stanley… and that’s before addressing the Depth-Gauge, Shoe, Fence, cosmetics, or sharpening issues!
Anyone refurbishing a more-recent Stanley 71 (with black knobs) might want to consider an alternative to black paint. Black Leather Shoe-Dye in Shellac looks and feels much better than a painted finish.
Try these videos on YouTube and let us know how you get on.