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Router planes are great tools for smoothing the
bottoms of hinge mortices, dados and grooves.
Veritas have recently released their second router plane, the “Small”.
This joins the “Large” router plane in the line up.
It is just 3-1/4" wide and 2-1/4" deep. For
scale, here is the Small router plane (left) alongside the Large router
plane (right):
The Veritas Small Router Plane
Image
from
Lee Valley
In comparison with its larger sibling, it is evident that there is the
absence of provision for a fence, and the absence of fine depth
adjustment. This is a small and basic tool, and the question is whether
this limits its usefulness in the workshop?
The Small is derived from the Stanley #271, but differs from it in a
number of important ways. Here are these two planes alongside one another:
The Veritas has a slightly larger footprint.
More obviously, it has a different blade holding design. The Stanley
clamps the blade with a screw. It relies on sufficient down force for
rigidity. Without this, the blade will drop out of the clamp. This is
pretty much an either-or situation. The Veritas clamps the blade with the
aid of a spring-loaded “wavy” washer.
This enables the blade clamp to exert a
variable degree of pressure on the blade. The blade locking knob can be
loosened, and the clamp will continue to apply sufficient pressure on the
blade shaft to hold it in position. Press the blade locking knob inward –
towards the blade – and this will release the blade completely.
The Veritas design has one negative point in
my opinion, this being the absence of provision for the blade to be locked
in position. The Stanley, by comparison, has a groove running the length
of the blade shaft into which the screw fits. This holds the position of
the blade position. While it is a relatively simple matter to correctly
orientate the Veritas, it does require moderate locking tension to prevent
movement. Once this is done I did not experience any such problems.
Adjusting the blade
Unlike the Large router plane, the Small lacks a depth adjuster.
Adjustment is a manual affair.
There are two ways that I might recommend. The first is to loosen the
blade locking knob and raise- or lower the blade with fingers. The other
method is the one I prefer. This involves maintaining moderate-high blade
tension via the clamp, and then use a mallet to tap the blade into
position. The moderate-to-high tension is necessary to assure that the
blade head does not alter position.
The Blade
The Small comes with a single ¼”
wide blade
high-carbon steel blade. I wondered why this
might be so since I anticipate that the Small will be identified by some
users as a tool for inlay work. The addition of smaller sizes, such as
1/8” and 3/16”, might be recommended.
One idea is to buy one or more blades from Veritas and simply grind the
sides until you get the width you need.
Of course it is a relatively easy matter to make custom blades.
Conversion of Allen keys has been a long-standing favorite occupation of
many…
….. Grind the base flat on a disk sander ….
…... Rough out the bevel on a coarse file, then refine it with a finer
file ….
….. or, hollow grind on a belt sander …
….. finish on a diamond stone and green rouge on a MDF lap.
The result here is two
blades, a 1/8” and a 3/16”.
Sharpening
The blade has a
non-removable, fixed head with a 25° bevel.
Veritas recommend that that the blade is honed and lapped on a waterstone.
I would suggest that a diamond stone or an oil
stone are safer mediums. The narrow blades are tricky to freehand and are
likely to cause damage to the soft surface of a waterstone if the user
lacks experience.
Morticing a Hinge
One of the more common uses I have for a
router plane is in creating the mortice for a hinge. Generally, unless the
hinge is small, I use the Large router plane for this task. So I was
curious to discover how the Small would fare in this regard.
Here is the target 3”
hinge.
Step 1.
Clamp the hinge firmly into position.
Step 2. Mark its outline with a
sharp knife.
Step 3. Mark the depth of cut with
a cutting gauge.
Step 4. Increase the depth of the
cut line with a sharp chisel.
Step 5. Chop cuts into the mortice to
facilitate waste removal. Aim to go just short of the desired depth.
Step 6. Chamfer the inside edges of
the mortice. This will prevent damage to the sides.
Step 7. Finally, route out the
waste.
The Small was easy to use in this task. Although
lacking the heft and momentum of its larger sibling, it had more than
sufficient registration for stable planing, and waste was removed without
effort.
Here is the result:
Routing a stopped groove for a dovetailed box
About two years ago we cut down a Paulownia
tree in our garden. I harvested the trunk and promised my wife that I
would build her something in memory of the tree. To my surprise, the
timber turned out to be as light as Balsa wood and with similar properties
– far from the hardwood I imagined it to be. Nevertheless, I aimed to keep
my promise.
The aim here was to build
a basic box, and later dress it up with a base and lid in contrasting
timbers.
The Paulownia wood proved
to be a challenge to work with as, while soft and easy to cut, the fibres
do not sever cleanly and have a tendency to tear.
We begin here with sides
already dimensioned and dovetailed.
Step 1
is the mark one side of the groove with a sharp cutting gauge.
Step 2
is to mark the width of the (1/4”) router blade with a marking knife.
Step 3
is to complete the second line with the cutting gauge, and then knife
these to the desired depth of the groove.
Step 4
is to chisel out the end of the stopped groove. Reverse the chisel and cut
bevel down.
Step 5
is to chisel out the waste from the sides of the groove.
Step 6
now involves planing out the bulk of the waste with the router plane.
Begin at the end of the groove and work backwards. Then finish with
a few runs the full length of the groove.
Blade Orientation
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Closed
throat or inboard orientation. |
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Bullnose or outboard orientation
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While
the closed throat orientation is likely to be used on most occasions, the
bullnose set up is very useful. For example, When I needed to plane near
the edge of the board, in the area of the end clamp, this was only
possible with the removal of the plane’s nose.
The Router Plane to the Rescue
The short, end boards did not require a
stopped groove, and this could therefore be made with a plough plane, a
#043.
To do this, use one of the cut grooves to position the blade/fence of the
plough.
Now plane the short sides. Of course, I don’t have
a picture of this. Nor do I have a picture of the one end for which I
forgot to orientate the grain. Ploughing into the grain is not
recommended. Dilemma – I do not want to reset the fence on the other side
of the plough. Or the fence is too short to do so. Answer – use the router
plane.
The Finished Box
Well it is not finished. It
is just a basic box at this stage. But already my wife has claimed it for
herself and all thoughts of it being used to store tools are dashed!
Final Words
The Veritas Small Router Plane is a welcome
addition to a workshop. It is better made and easier to use than its
Stanley predecessor.
This is an elegantly simple plane. I think that there
is some room for improvement, such as a flat on the front of the blade
shaft and blade clamp to aid in locking its position, but this is a small
niggle. Overall this is a comfortable plane to hold, and its finely
finished sole makes it easy to push or pull. It will not replace the Large
router plane, which has refinements such as a depth adjuster and a fence,
but the Small is quick to set up and use, and its size is preferred for
more intricate work.
The Veritas Small Router Plane and other
Veritas products can be purchased online at Lee Valley (Canada) -
www.leevalley.com or in Australia at Timbecon -
www.timbecon.com.au
Derek Cohen
Perth, September 2007
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