About this product
Whether you're a hand-tool junkie or a machinery fan, there are always those moments when a joint needs just a little bit of adjustment. It's so hard for a machine (of any kind) to take a "little bit", and many hand-tool methods aren't much better. But the one hand tool that has always been up to the job is a router plane. The Blue Spruce engineering team looked at router plane designs from the late 1800s through today, working toward a design that would be appreciated by both the dedicated hand-tool user and the hand-tool newbie. From the flexibility of three different mounting positions with multiple blade orientations at each, to a backlash-free depth adjustment, we've built quality and ingenuity into every facet of the Blue Spruce Router Plane.
The sole of a router plane references off the face of your board. The blade is parallel to, but well below the sole. While capable of creating a groove, its primary use has historically been adjustment, rather than creation. It's the right tool to clean up or extend the bottom of dadoes, grooves and rabbets. But most router planes have crude depth of cut adjustment. Getting the depth exactly where you want it can be frustrating. On Blue Spruce's new Router Plane, the thumbwheel to adjust depth of cut has a feature that virtually eliminates backlash, getting you to your desired depth of cut quickly and with minimal frustration.
If you look at old router planes, you'll soon notice that in most cases, one was not enough. The sole always seemed to interfere somewhere, so Stanley and its competitors would make another variant that solved one problem at a time. Blue Spruce addressed the problem from the jump by starting with a large (3-1/2" x 8-1/2") sole, then building in three different positions for the blade mechanism. At each position, the blade mechanism can be mounted facing in or facing out. And at cutting depth, the blade can be rotated in the mechanism in 4 different directions. You always have a way to keep the sole flat on your work, get your blade into tight corners and cut with the blade working with the grain instead of against it. The handles mount in the remaining two positions, keeping everything balanced and comfortable.
We machine the base of the Router Plane from a ductile-iron billet. We then apply a black nitride coating that reduces friction and virtually eliminates corrosion. The blade mechanism is machined to a very tight tolerance, which you'll notice the first time you float the blade up and down. We milled countersunk holes in the base so you can attach shop-built fences, but if you prefer a ready-made approach, we offer an optional fence that can attach in three different positions (opposite the blade mechanism). Every feature screams quality and precision, right down to the double-wedge lock that secures the blade without ever marring the shaft. Your Router Plane is supplied with both square and spearpoint blades. Unlike most hand tools you buy, the back of both blades has been lapped perfectly flat and polished to a mirror finish. The back needs no work whatsoever. The bevel has been carefully ground to the correct angle and requires only light honing before use. You'll use the square blade most of the time. Switch to the spearpoint blade to get into hard-to-reach corners.
Like all Blue Spruce products, the Router Plane is precisely machined and carefully inspected in our Strongsville, Ohio, facility (just south of Cleveland).
Click here to download product manual.
Click here to download product manual (accessible).
Description supplied by Blue Spruce Toolworks through its current Shopify listing. Product, performance, and health claims are the seller’s and have not been independently verified by StorkScout.
