Router Plane
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- This topic has 16 replies, 11 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 12 months ago by George Fulford.
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12 September 2014 at 4:12 pm #81046
Opinions on Preston 2500P or Preston 1399P vs Stanley 71 1/2?
I’m in the US.
EBay wise the Preston’s are $200-300 and a Stanley 71 1/2 I can probably get for $75 or less.
12 September 2014 at 9:45 pm #81670I Would love a Preston but they are more for collectors although still usable.
I have Stanley 71 1/2 works fine but in the future I will buy a Veritas router look a very nice bit of kit.12 September 2014 at 11:17 pm #81799Not sure on more for collectors. It’s what Paul uses in the videos when he’s not using his poor man’s versions. He seems to really like the rectangular size. Just don’t know I can spring $200 on one.
12 September 2014 at 11:55 pm #81807Most of pauls videos he uses Veritas router plane.
Yes the length of Preston dose make it appealing handy for larger housings/ dados and bigger tenons.Yes he does use the Veritas quite a bit and with the better blade adjustment mechanism on the Veritas (or LN) and the ability to put a larger baseplate (plywood) on the Veritas (or any of them really), there is really very little need to go chasing Preston router plane prices. You can even use a baseplate to close the mouth up on an open mouthed router plane too (which are more widely available than closed mouth versions). Some of the modern adaptions of planes have improved the control or quality so much that I find that there is very little need to chase collector planes at all, other than for a collection. You also have better access to spare parts – for many of the older planes invariably have missing parts.
13 September 2014 at 2:36 am #81967I must have come off matter-of-fact earlier. Sorry. I’m not dismissing the Veritas being used; I just noticed he uses the rectangular ones a lot too. Maybe in the older videos; I don’t know. I was just watching the carrying tote one, episode 1, and that is the one he uses there. Thanks for all the info. The Veritas is not cheap but I have looked at it and read Paul’s 2012 review of it on the blog. However for 1/3-1/2 the price I can get an old Stanley 71 1/2 with a 1/2″ and 1/4″ blade which for me for now would be sufficient. Thoughts? Being able to get a different base plate would be great; I hadn’t realized that was possible. But if I can just screw on some plywood on an old Stanley that could get me where I want to be as well. How hard are the Stanley blades vs Veritas for sharpening? Thanks for reading.
13 September 2014 at 3:34 am #81981I have the Stanley and it has served me very well. The blades are a little awkward to sharpen but not difficult. The only thing lacking on the Stanley version is the depth stop. It would be nice to have one, but I have not really that big a deal. A lot of furniture was built with the Stanley version for several decades, so it’ll get the job done.
I also have a Stanley along with its original 1/2″ irons, and also a 1/4″ veritas iron.
I have mixed feelings about it. I like it and all, but its sole is not flat. Actually, its a ways off from being anywhere near flat. And the iron was cast incorrectly, its geometry is way off causing the cutting edge to be out of parallel with the sole. I had to file the shank of the iron a lot to fix that. I did some research and it seems that at least the sole issue is not uncommon.
I think some people might say that a flat sole is not necessary, but I don’t know, I think that it IS necessary, especially for housing dadoes.
You can lap the sole flat I suppose, but that hurts its value since the sole is nickel plated. In retrospect I wish I had bought a veritas. I still might.
13 September 2014 at 4:38 pm #83245I have the Stanley 71 along with the Veritas blades and it does everything I want.
Steve
30 September 2014 at 2:21 am #118701I have a 71 1/2 stanley as well. I also put a wood base on mine. Seams to cut better and has less drag that way. If I had money to spend I would like to try the veritas with its depth stop.
30 September 2014 at 3:10 am #118703I’ve got the Veritas. When I first started looking for planes, I spent a fair bit of time looking on Ebay. By the time I paid for shipping I was well on my way to buying something from Veritas. And with buying from Lee Valley, I knew what I was getting and that I could return anything I didn’t like, no questions asked. Plus the Lee Valley store was a block from where I worked, so convenience was a factor.
30 September 2014 at 5:04 am #118708I, too, am in the market for a router plane. I’m not a big fan of Ebay, so I’m trying to stay away from it, but I have looked at all the Stanley models that are there. But to be honest, I’m leaning heavily to the full-size Veritas with the fence. Was looking at the smaller ones, but not sure how well they will fit my big hands. Has anyone tried the smaller versions of the Veritas router plane?
George, if you are referring to what veritas calls the “small router plane” which is the little one you see Paul use occasionally then yes I have it. If this is going to be your first router then I would go with the full size one. The little one is a great plane for doing small things like hinge mortices etc. I would not want to do a bookshelf full of dadoes with it tho.
I would get the fence and the 1/4 inch blade. They both come in handy.
30 September 2014 at 4:27 pm #118720Thanks, Dave. I’m definitely getting a smaller blade, though I was thinking of the 1/8th blade because I do a lot of detail work with jewelry/keepsake boxes as well as larger stuff like laptop desks and toy/blanket chests. Would it be a wise investment to go ahead and get the sharpening jig or is that something that can be done by hand with a little ingenuity?
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