# New cordless router...



## rwyoung (Aug 3, 2008)

New (to me) cordless router! :dirol:

A bit rusty and crusty in places but plenty of life left in the ol' Stanley 71-1/2.

Just for grins, tried making a dado "by hand". Worked out just fine, a bit more practice is needed in sawing to a line but the router plane did exactly what it was designed to do. 

And so much quieter than my other router or even the stack-dado set on the table saw.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Rob

That's a fine old router ( dado router) it's nickle plated so take care if you are going to clean it, some had rose wood knobs, they made 6 types of blades for it  plus a side cutter blade 

Fine tool 

Stanley No 71 1/2 Closed Throat Router Plane Type 4 - eBay (item 130303375964 end time Sep-26-09 07:28:54 PDT)

FINE Stanley No.71 1/2 Router Plane - USERS [email protected]@K! - eBay (item 260481794496 end time Oct-04-09 19:29:55 PDT)

STANLEY No 71 1/2 PAT. OCT.29.01 ( ROUTER PLANE ) - eBay (item 230380299544 end time Sep-28-09 16:47:09 PDT)

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Stanley No. 71 1/2 Router Type Study Page


If you watch the Roy Underhill (like I do) show on the PBS you will see him use this tool from time to time , it will hog out the dado in a pass or two,he like to sore the edge of the dado with a sharp knife...it's a very quick way to put them in..


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rwyoung said:


> New (to me) cordless router! :dirol:
> 
> A bit rusty and crusty in places but plenty of life left in the ol' Stanley 71-1/2.
> 
> ...


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

I'm glad you posted this Rob, you don't often get to see those old warriors. "Cordless" is very funny. Router planes were so important to early craftsmen, think of the time savings over trying to chisel out that dado by hand!


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## istracpsboss (Sep 14, 2008)

Seen them but never used one. How did a user maintain a straight line with them?

Cheers

Peter


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## Bob N (Oct 12, 2004)

Hi Rob,

A very nice old Stanley. I have the newer Lee Valley models and have enjoyed them. They sure take the stress level down not having that fast and noisy spinning bit screaming while you work.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

That brings back distant memories Rob. In about 1948 I swapped a small microscope for a very similar tool because it looked interesting. I had some idea of what it was but don't remember having actually trying it out. I eventually swapped it for a Luger pistol, which I also didn't try out!


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## rwyoung (Aug 3, 2008)

BobJ- Yep, slowly working away at the cleaning, I intend to do as little as possible. According to what I have read, the handles on the 71 and 71-1/2 were not Rosewood. They were beech or maple and painted (very late models are plastic). They are painted and have a very large grain structure. I'll be chucking them on the lathe and lightly sanding to get a fresh surface. Making replacements out of Rosewood would be nice but not necessary for a user plane.

This one only has is 1/4" straight chisel blade and that should be replaced, it is somewhat pitted. I believe the ones made by Lee Valley will fit. I've sent them an email to find out.

The router plane itself is not intended to cut the whole dado. Here are the basic steps for a full dado, a stopped dado is a little different:

1) Layout the dado - use the "shelf" as a gauge and mark the side wall locations and thickness. Knifing the line is a good idea. Also mark the depth on the side of the piece.

2) Define the walls. In my case I clamped a straight piece of wood across so to guide the kerf of my dovetail saw would cut on the waste side of the wall. Another way is to stab cut along the line (or if the knife cut was deep enough, skip the stab cuts). Then work down the line with a wide chisel, bevel down and from the waste side take little chips. Forms a sort of "V" but with a straight wall to start guiding the saw.

3) Saw to the line. Easier said than done. 

4) Start cleaning out the dado with chisels. I've read the easy way is to first and carefully clean out the ends so nothing gets split out. Then you can start hogging out the rest pretty coarsely.

5) Now the router plane comes into play. Set the blade down so it just starts cleaning off the high points. Select the widest blade that will fit the dado. And start "scrubbing". The router plane can be pushed or pulled as well as pivoted in a paring motion.

6) Keep working down the blade until the dado is flat and smooth. There is a pointed blade that works well for cleaning into the corners between the side wall and the floor of the dado. That blade is missing from this router. 

7) Done!

This sounds like a lot of steps but it really is no more complicated than jigging up an electric router. Write out all the steps for making a peanutbutter-and-jelly sandwich and you can see how most any task can look complicated when written out.

There are other accessories available such as depth stops and fences for these routers. The fence accessory is interesting because you can use the router to do some of your marking work and take out a little bit of material. But on the whole, these really weren't designed to hog out vast amounts of wood. That sort of work was better done with saws and chisels (and axes).


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## rwyoung (Aug 3, 2008)

Bob said:


> Hi Rob,
> 
> A very nice old Stanley. I have the newer Lee Valley models and have enjoyed them. They sure take the stress level down not having that fast and noisy spinning bit screaming while you work.


My greatest reason for getting this is to be able to clean up after using a router or the stack-dado head. Yes, they can make some pretty clean cuts but I've had a few experiences where it would be nice to just drop the depth another smidge or clean up an area where for whatever reason the bottom just isn't smooth.


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## rwyoung (Aug 3, 2008)

istracpsboss said:


> Seen them but never used one. How did a user maintain a straight line with them?
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Peter


By itself, it isn't made to cut just a straight line. These were designed to follow a kerf or wall. There are also fence accessories available for some of the models. With the fence you could use the router plane to mark out and take down nearly all the depth. But on the whole, these aren't designed to hog out lots of material quickly.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Rob

The old tools are neat but if you want a cordless router use the battery type  they will do a better job ..they are not as loud as the normal routers and don't take much work to just hold them..old tools are just for the old look in your shop but most don't work very well but look great hanging up in the shop as a dust catcher ..unless you have a very strong back..



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## Bob N (Oct 12, 2004)

bobj3 said:


> Hi Rob
> 
> old tools are just for the old look in your shop but most don't work very well but look great hanging up in the shop as a dust catcher
> 
> ...


BJ,

Hey.... those are fighting words :nono::nono::nono:


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## rwyoung (Aug 3, 2008)

bobj3 said:


> Hi Rob
> 
> The old tools are neat but if you want a cordless router use the battery type  they will do a better job ..they are not as loud as the normal routers and don't take much work to just hold them..old tools are just for the old look in your shop but most don't work very well but look great hanging up in the shop as a dust catcher ..unless you have a very strong back..
> 
> ...


The "cordless router" bit was a joke (which I'm sure you already figured out)... I don't need a cordless electric router.

And as for most old tools not working well, I would agree to a point. Only those old tools that were well designed and manufactured in the first place are worth having. Junk is junk is junk no matter what the age. A classic example of a junk plane is the Stanley #193. Another junk plane as a user would be the Millers Falls Buck Rogers planes. Interesting to look at but crap to use.

But for a #3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 with a good casting (some are cracked) and totes (easy to make replacements) it doesn't take much time at all to tune one up and have it working again. And it is nice not to worry about hearing loss or putting out an eye once in a while. 

Those old tools intended for production work, not hobbiests, are pretty good deals and once fettled still work as well and as quickly as the day they were cast. A power planer is faster, sure, but having the ability to plane and joint larger workpieces without the cost of owning a monster power planer, being able to fine tune a joint or make one pass to remove chatter and burn marks is well worth the cost of ownership with the "old" tools. Beats the hell out of sanding!


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## rwyoung (Aug 3, 2008)

Bob said:


> BJ,
> 
> Hey.... those are fighting words :nono::nono::nono:


Ha! I'm more of a hybrid workflow supporter. Not 100% powered (tailed) and not 100% handtool (Neanderthal). Chris Schwarz has some postings in his blog about "coarse, medium and fine". They are musings on theories put forth by others and observations (I've made the same) about why there has been such a variety of tools used in production shops over the years.

You have "coarse" tools for rapidly working pieces to rough shape. They are followed by "medium" tools for final dimensioning and joinery. And lastly the "fine" tools for that just-so fit and finish.

Since I'm not doing this for a living I have great freedom in both method and madness. So sometimes I pick madness over method.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hey

At one time we all had a horse to get to from A TO B but someone said their must be a better way of doing that, so someone did just that, the same thing is true about tools  we sometimes get on a horse to ride a mile or two but not the best way of getting around,
the same thing is true for most tools..

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## Duane867 (Oct 25, 2008)

A company recently started making router planes like that again that are dead on the old Stanley router planes ... Lie-Nielsen I think is the name of the company.




Yup..... here it is....

Lie-Nielsen Toolworks USA | Small Router Plane

Little pricey for such a little tool though.


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

bobj3 said:


> Hi Rob
> 
> The old tools are neat but if you want a cordless router use the battery type  they will do a better job ..they are not as loud as the normal routers and don't take much work to just hold them..old tools are just for the old look in your shop but most don't work very well but look great hanging up in the shop as a dust catcher ..unless you have a very strong back..
> =========


Bob,

Are you "going metric" on us? :haha:


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## rwyoung (Aug 3, 2008)

Duane867 said:


> A company recently started making router planes like that again that are dead on the old Stanley router planes ... Lie-Nielsen I think is the name of the company.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yep, Lie-Nielsen is known for their Stanley clones (but with upgrades). However the link you gave is for the #271 clone. Their #71 is here: http://www.lie-nielsen.com/catalog.php?sku=71 and has a better depth stop (so they say) and fence.

Also Lee Valley (Veritas). They also made a #71 clone for a while but have dropped it from their catalog in favor of the version they designed in-house. They too have a #271 sized version available in addition to improvements in the depth stop and fence assembiles over the #71 designs.

Both Lee Valley and Lie-Nielsen sell replacement cutters however the Lee Valley ones are avaliable as two piece units. This allows you to remove the business end from the shaft for sharpening. They provide a little jig for holding the blade while you stone it. This would make sharpening the V cutter much easier.

Stanley too is still selling the #71 and I believe Anant, Groz and possibly Kunz have their own clones. You can get a bronze version from St. James Tool Company, finished or as a rough casting. He also has #271 sized castings.

I've seen but can't recall the maker of wooden body "old woman's tooth" style router planes. Might be sold through Japan Woodworker or Tools for Working Wood among other places.

Finally, you can roll your own from published plans or just wing-it.

So lots and lots of options for getting "new" versions of this tool are out there at all price and quality ranges.


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

Duane867 said:


> A company recently started making router planes like that again that are dead on the old Stanley router planes ... Lie-Nielsen I think is the name of the company.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Here's the link to Lee Valley (Veritas) #71 "reborn"

Veritas® Router Plane - Lee Valley Tools

$139 or $149 with fence, for cutting dado's.


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## CanuckGal (Nov 26, 2008)

Funny how we have all this incredible technology and extremely powerful "power" tools, and yet there is still a niche for hand tools, old and new.


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## Duane867 (Oct 25, 2008)

There always will be.


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## aivenyy (Feb 23, 2010)

wow, i have got my information.


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