Router Plane

With thanks to Nick Gibbs for sending me the metal pieces

Years ago whilst in my mid-twenties I found myself saying to a group of friends, “I came late

to piste skiing”. Believing myself to be somewhat of an off-pister at the time, I was trying to

explain why I wasn’t that sharp at skiing on piste. The laughter lasted all evening and my

wife has never let me forget it. However it really is true to say that I came late to

Woodworking – mid fifties to be exact.

I’d always enjoyed making things with a particular love of those wooden model boat kits

with all the thin strips to make the hull that you need to bend, pin and glue. But as for grown

up Woodworking, well I was more at home with a hammer and nails than a chisel, so it

amazes me that I now find myself writing an article about a Route Plane.

Nick Gibbs from Quercus Magazine kindly sent me the metal parts for the Paul Sellers Plane

after I shared with him the story of how I fell into woodworking during lock-down, so I

quickly watched Paul’s 2 videos. It all seemed straightforward enough until he brought out

the blowtorch and started heating and then shaping the cutting iron. Oh dear I thought to

myself, not sure I’m brave enough to do that.

Anyway, as luck would have it, I was delighted to see that when the kit arrived the cutting

iron was already cut and shaped so I could just concentrate on working on the wood and

assembly.

For those of you who have not seen Paul’s Router kit, here it is, and just search online for his videos. It really is a beautiful piece.

The key is finding a really special piece of wood. I’m lucky enough to have Surrey Timbers

nearby and they stock a massive collection of hardwoods, so it was there that I found an

ideal piece of Wild Mango, which was really rich in colour and grain.

Step 1 – measure and cut the two pieces of wood

Step 2 – cut the hole for the cutting iron

Step 3 – measure and cut the angle for the top rest. This was really the only tricky part, but

thankfully Paul’s tip to fasten a clamp into the vice allowing the clamp to hold the piece of

wood at any angle was genius. I told you that I came late to woodworking – you all probably

learnt that in nursery school!

Step 4 – cut out the recess for the cutting iron

Step 5 – assemble

Step 6 - finish

The only awkward step was getting the angle of the cutting iron exactly aligned to the

adjusting wheel so that wheel would spin smoothly. If its off by just half a fraction, then the

wheel simply wont turn and you are stuck with a Router that you can’t adjust, and a Router

you can’t adjust isn’t much good to anyone other than to clutter my already cluttered

workshop.

I’m really pleased with my first attempt and I’m now looking forward to getting stuck into

my next project so I can take it for a proper test drive.