How To Make The World’s Best Router Plane: Episode 1

Posted 22 October 2021

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This episode is Paul’s answer to a worldwide problem of supply and demand and he guarantees that you will not only love making your own, fully adjustable router plane, but also owning one for a lifetime of work.

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81 Comments

      1. @gtrboy77 – the drawings are linked on the introductory video page.

        Looking forward to building this. The current crop of router planes are just too expensive for me. Paul, would Maple be an acceptable wood for this? I have some that is just about ready for use from a found stump. Otherwise I’ll have to go purchase some hardwood.

        1. Paul said he made his first one out of spruce, maple is a big step up from that, but most common hardwoods should be fine.
          The value of your time is way greater than cost of two small pieces of lumber, treat yo’ self 🙂

  5. Absolutely wonderful video. Thank you for your efforts. I love how normal you are in that you too have batteries that expire in the middle of things, accidentally drop a piece of wood, etc. Makes me think of my shop save the “shop tourettes” that I have occasionally. But then you are much younger than I. I am interested in your angled blade plane as I made two vertical blade planes from WoodSmith (as I recall) years ago using Lee Valley blades which are fine blades but some what difficult to stropp. Your 50 degree blades would be quite easily renewed. Looking forward to the second video.

  7. To be able to use the clamp in the vice, one need a long blank top-piece.
    This is the opportunity to make two top-pieces before cutting the blank in two.
    It is handy to have two routers, one of them kept at the final depth. (One might need to paint the metal strap of one of them to avoid confusion if they are completely similar.)

    I don’t yet know what screw bolts and knurled knobs Paul could obtain and use, but, for those interested, the M6 thread has a 1 mm pitch.
    Anyway I will adapt the dimensions to the hardware I will find.

  9. An excellent video , as well as being a superb woodworker Paul you would have made a brilliant engineer had you tried to work with metal.
    Your aptitude for design is first class.
    Can’t wait for episode 2

  11. This is so great !! the video – the concept- the teaching – the consideration about tool selection – the realism – the complexity vs simplicity- the cost consideration – the time put in and engineering for function- the passion- and most of all the end product ! as Paul S said “I just love this” ! Thank you ! Scott Nations

  12. Love this, it’s not only great woodworking but making the tools to do the woodworking. But what appeals to me is making it affordable to the lad down the street who could never afford a branded one of even second hand but makes as good a job if not better, and to make it yourself well it just gets better. Well done Paul.

  14. I have 1/4 and 1/2 inch Lee Valley router plane blades purchased for a home-design project abandoned in frustration. The blade in this design looks larger. Would this plane – with modified dimensions if necessary – work well with these blades, or would they compromise its usefulness?

    Thank you for the project. It’s one I’ve wanted/waited to see. Someone referred to detail drawings. Do hey exist?

    Thanks, Alexander.

  18. If you want the perfect fit for the blade, start by making that. Then you can use it to chisel out its own bedding slot. Leave it a little longer to give yourself some “handle room”. You can even use the rest of the bar (‘cuz you’ll end up buying more than you need) to make yourself a firmer or mortising chisel.

  21. I have been looking for a Stanley 71 for a long time. I found one at a yard sale about 15 years ago for $6.00 US but it didn’t have any cutters. I didn’t know where to get the cutters at the time so I didn’t buy it. Big mistake on my part. I bid on several on E bay but dropped out at $70. I made one with an Allen wrench cutter and it was okay but not quite good enough for my satisfaction. Finally I saved up enough to get one from Lee Valley and I use it a lot. I thought why not get a brand new one if I have to pay that much. I have used the Poor Mans router a few times that worked almost as good as the one I made. Now I will have to make one from Paul’s current plans. Thanks a million for this project Paul! — Jim Allen

  23. This is a fantastic project. I have 3/8′ mortise chisel laying around that is no use to me, may use that, can get 5 inch blade out of it and it is square all around. This looks like it cuts really swell.

  24. yet another great video paul and so easy to follow. i made your rebate plane a while back and it works perfectly just as you said i used white oak for durability and reduced wear. i made a router plane by another YouTube also a while ago but i’m positive your design is going to be so much more user friendly .where did you purchase the thumb turn nuts from and what is the best way to describe them in a google or ebay search ,as usual can’t wait for part two cheers again paul for such great content ,peter

    1. For those who need a source for the metal- your local hardware store for cold rolled square stock, you can get tool steel from many dealers, MSG or McMaster Carr in the US, eBay, google search and you can get almost anything at a reasonable price. I think that hardening would be an option, see earlier video on making a spokeshave and it will make sense. The additional hardware will be discussed in a later video, but looking like all could be purchased locally, or if you are in the boondocks like I am, once again online. Hopefully this helps.

  28. Great addition to the toolbox! Next we need a plow, or ploughing plane. The prices are astronomical and it should not be a problem for someone as talented as you. Handy to have, price prohibited on a retirement budget. Thanks!

  32. I think it has been said previously, but the increased diligence in cinematography is well worth it. These videos are immaculate and I’m so very glad that Paul and the team have decided to share a piece of themselves with this world. If you don’t know it already you all change lives, you certainly changed mine (for the better)!

  34. I have a question on the part-list for the upstand piece. It is listed as 5 1/2” x 1 3/4”, but in the video Paul says it is 2”. What is the correct dimension, 1 3/4” or 2”?

    I’m looking forward to making this, but then noticed the difference while trying to follow along the video after I had cut the pieces of wood.

    Thank you for sharing this project!

    Best regards,
    Brian

  36. Wow, as a retired”do it when I feel like it” woodworker, I have been making handmade personal tools to get that “Studley Tool Box Collection but to my taste. Paul you have once again added knowledge, reality, and personal taste to a great project. Thank you, Tom O

  38. Just ordered these for the cutter on Aliexpress:

    https://es.aliexpress.com/item/32657449034.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.3cb81e5exSIvKO&algo_pvid=6ff6304b-cc98-4e19-a2db-c82e5988bd90&algo_exp_id=6ff6304b-cc98-4e19-a2db-c82e5988bd90-1&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22sku_id%22%3A%2259801067144%22%7D

    I’m in Mexico, so it’s tricky to get some stuff, but I’ve had good luck with Aliexpress. Just have to patient because shipping can take weeks.

  39. Wonderful as always. Entertainment viewing first and I’m sure I’ll take it into the workshop soon. Have enjoyed watching you use your router plane on a host of projects. Looking forward to building my own. Great production values (two drills and a flat battery! Haha It’s how it happens.) Much appreciated.

  44. Hi Paul im so glad you designed this, because I was so frustrated by the price of these wonderful tools, both new and used.
    I can’t wait to make one. I don’t seem to be able to find episode two, or has this yet to be released.
    Sorry if I’ve missed something, or being impatient.
    Best wishes
    Mike

  48. I think this is a great project. I changed a few elements of the design, however. I opened the front of the big hole to give better visibility of where the blade is cutting. And I extended the bed of the blade into the base piece and used a taller upper piece to give it a little longer support baseline when routing deeper channels. I made it out of a branch that my wife “pruned” from her orange tree– that wood is so incredibly hard, it might as well be metal! But I don’t know if it will still be unsplit in 20 years. I guess I don’t need the second video, since I already finished mine and it works great. Previously I was using your “poor man’s router” (a small chisel pounded through a 45 degree hold in a piece of 2 x 4). The more I used it, the more indispensable it became. However, this baby works much better. I just don’t know why. Maybe the change from 45 to 50 degrees. Thanks again for a great idea.

  49. Lovely project and long expected after several attempts to make my own hand router planes with Allen keys as cutting irons, one of which works quite well.
    However, I could not help getting involved in this brand-new, which resulted in my making two prototypes out of beech, one by 4 laminated 1″-squared as a body and an upstand as advised, and another one out of a bigger block of beech that allowed me for a full block build.
    Anyway, I stopped suddenly as metal parts have come into role, especially the 10 x 10 [mm] O1 tool steel, because of their availability in my region.
    As already expressed, I do believe that your providing an extra kit (i.e., metal hardware) for this project would be highly appreciated.
    All the best!

  50. We don’t yet know how the business end of the cutter is to be ground. But the loss of visibility if seated at 45 degrees or lower could be dealt with by elongating the hole. i.e. make it an oval.

  51. Have watched second episode, will do again. Great videos. For those interested, I found 10x10x200 mm 01 bars on Amazon at reasonable price. For Paul, I understood you to quench the heated steel for hardening with water. All things on this topic I find warn against this and insist one should use oil.

    I’m perplexed. Please help. I’d rather be safe than sorry…
    Bob Abney

    1. Officially, it’s an oil hardening steel. But the part is small, so water will work just fine. On larger parts the metal may not cool fast enough to harden properly. To test for hardness, run a file along the corner of the tool steel. It should “skate” and not bite in.

  53. The earlier post relating to the width of the upstand has not been answered. If you start with a width of 44m it will be less when you cut off the back face but the drawing shows a final dimension of 44mm. Should the cut list have specified a 51mm width?
    Thanks.

    1. As with many of our projects Paul has come up with a design which is scaleable. Paul has experimented with different sizes of router plane using his design. While Paul may talk about them in a blog post we do not plan to release drawings, cut list or metal parts for these other sizes. I understand you may just want a few measurements but we feel that to avoid inaccuracies and confusion we would need to give a full technical drawing and hardware list.

  57. I’m still waiting for my 5/4 beech to arrive but I’m really looking forward to starting on this router project.

    Is there any update on the availability of the “metal parts kit”?

    I apologize if it’s already posted above and I missed it.

    Bill in Bozeman, Montana

  59. I just received my metal parts kit. The kit was well packaged and all in order. It was opened by customs (as expected) and the small bag of parts was cut open, but all the parts were there. I have the wood sized and was waiting for the cutter to size the cutter slot.

    I look forward to completing and using.

    Jae, California USA

      1. We have limited stock of blades and so we have been emailing people in the order that they filled out a form on Paul’s blog showed interest in the kit. Once we are able to fulfil those orders and have more regular supply of blades we will post about this more widely and publicly.

  60. Hi,
    I noticed in the video that after cutting the 50 degree front face of the up-stand that Paul measured the 90 degree line for the back face at the point where the front face meets the top. However, Paul’s drawing shows a 1/4″ flat on the the top of the up-stand before the 90 degree line drops down, in effect making the finished up-stand wider by 1/4″ from front to back than how Paul made it. Clearly the way Paul makes it in the video work fine, but was it an intended change to how the drawing shows it? i.e. should the drawing be corrected?

    Super router plane by the way – I’ve made two now.

    Thank you.

  61. On page 2 of the plan, the bevel on the blade is up, but in all other drawings, it’s clear that the bevel should be down. Also, the drawing specifies that that there should be a 1/4” wide platform on the top of the piece that the blade rests on, but Paul does not include this on his piece. He starts the back angle at the peak of the front angle. If you do that, the back piece will end I up being a bit narrower than specified in the plan. Finally, in the US, be sure to get 3/8” 01 steel, not high speed steel. Then modify the plan accordingly to accommodate the 3/8” square blade as opposed to the 10mm square blade. One last thing. The screw/bolt for the vertical adjuster is supposed to be 8mm from the bottom of the blade recess, but I found that at this distance, it would not engage in the blade notch deeply enough. I think 6mm from the blade recess is better. If you’ve already made this hole, you can deepen the blade recess and then plane the front side of the top piece so the blade just barely protrudes from the blade recess. A great project, but it took me some trial and error to get it right.

  64. Paul, I must be missing something in your video (No. 1) as I finish chiseling the groove for the blade, but when I try to figure out how to make the angle for the second cut to final shape/size, I remove all but about 1/2 inch of the chiseled groove. Using the small square to mark a second angle seems to be the stumbling block for me. Has anyone else run into this problem? BTW, the hardware package is quite well done…!

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