Project by cdaulton | posted 02-05-2014 03:19 AM | 16756 views | 20 times favorited | 25 comments | ![]() |
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I have been wanting a router plane for a while as I continue my journey into madness, I mean hand tool work and the inevitable tool collecting that so often goes with it. Being on a limited budget I thought I would try my hand at making my own. I looked at several designs for wooden planes but I wanted a metal one so I came up with my own.
The plane started as a piece of 1/4” plate steel, I tried a couple of different cutting methods and ended up using a cutoff wheel in my 18v circular saw for the straight cuts and a jig saw with a metal blade for the curved cuts after drilling around my cut out lines as shown in the third picture. Drilling all those holes made cutting the plane out a whole lot easier but left the edges very rough. I cleaned them up with a straight tungsten carbide cutter in my rotary tool (Dremel) that was mounted in a router base. Then I spent several hours flattening the bottom on sandpaper spray glued to a granite cutting board I usually use for my sharpening plane and chisel blades.
Once I had the bottom flat it was time for the adjuster. I used a short piece of 1/2” square stock left over from making my own carbide tipped lathe tools. I cut a piece about 1 1/2” long and welded it to the the base making sure to keep it square. Then I marked the center and drilled and tapped for 1/4” x 20 tpi. A small piece of all thread goes into that. The adjuster mechanism is a 1/4” x 20 tpi nail in threaded insert chucked into my drill press and filed till the nail holes were gone pressed into an aluminum crimp for wire rope that I found at my local Ace hardware. The clamp is a 5/8” ground rod clamp that I sanded smooth and polished a little. The blade is the biggest hex key I could fit in the clamp, 9/16” or so I think.
The handles I turned out of curly Maple I saved from the firewood pile. It came from a huge tree, probably 6 or 8 feet in diameter that was cut near where I used to live in New Jersey. It had lots of dark mineral lines and is really gorgeous. I wish I had saved more of it from the fireplace.
Looking back on it I definitely should have welded the adjuster base on before flattened the bottom because though I was careful to take my time and not let it get too hot it warped and I had to reflatten the bottom. I also would not have made the cut outs so big.
It turned out a lot better than I though it would and it works great. Now I just need to make a box to store it in.
25 comments so far
Wally331
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350 posts in 3078 days
#1 posted 02-05-2014 03:31 AM
Excellent work, You put a lot of creativity, ingenuity, and work into this plane and it definitely shows. Awesome router plane.
lepelerin
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498 posts in 3378 days
#2 posted 02-05-2014 03:42 AM
very cool, well done
Oldtool
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#3 posted 02-05-2014 04:01 AM
Awesome. Excellent build, great work. Now enjoy.
-- "I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The point is to bring them the real facts." - Abraham Lincoln
exelectrician
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#4 posted 02-05-2014 04:30 AM
Very nice … show us more!
-- Love thy neighbour as thyself
Quixote
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206 posts in 4691 days
#5 posted 02-05-2014 04:55 AM
Wow…
-- I don't make sawdust...I produce vast quantities of "Micro Mulch."
a1Jim
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#6 posted 02-05-2014 05:07 AM
very creative and great job.
-- https://www.artisticwoodstudio.com/videos
woodchuckerNJ
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1466 posts in 2687 days
#7 posted 02-05-2014 05:17 AM
very ingenious.
Enjoy using it. I love mine.
-- Jeff NJ
Ken90712
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#8 posted 02-05-2014 12:18 PM
What a fun project…. Great work…..
-- Ken, "Everyday above ground is a good day!"
BigDawg
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52 posts in 4774 days
#9 posted 02-05-2014 12:48 PM
That is, in a word, AWESOME.
-- Shawn DuGay, Wallingford, CT
Don W
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19984 posts in 3621 days
#10 posted 02-05-2014 01:39 PM
Excellent!!
-- http://timetestedtools.net - Collecting is an investment in the past, and the future.
Glen Peterson
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556 posts in 4109 days
#11 posted 02-05-2014 02:31 PM
Very impressive, especially without a laser cutter and machinists tools.
Cheers
-- Glen
HillbillyShooter
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5811 posts in 3345 days
#12 posted 02-05-2014 02:46 PM
Outstanding! Obviously a labor of love that turned out very well.
-- John C. -- "Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples' liberty's teeth." George Washington
489tad
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3993 posts in 4065 days
#13 posted 02-05-2014 03:09 PM
Using a drill, circular saw and jig saw your results are impressive. Well done.
-- Dan, Naperville IL, I.G.N.
ScaleShipWright
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#14 posted 02-05-2014 08:09 PM
Brilliant!
-- God exists... But relax, He's not you!
Ripthorn
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#15 posted 02-05-2014 08:37 PM
I’m going to have to make one of these now. Curse you for giving me more project ideas! :). For the record, I think the cutout proportions are very attractive.
-- Brian T. - Exact science is not an exact science
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