What a router plane does
A router plane is a hand plane with a wide, flat base and a narrow blade that projects below it on a post. It is not a powered router, although the machine borrowed its name: the hand tool takes shavings, not chips, and its job is finishing a recess to depth rather than cutting one from scratch.
Its base rests on the surface of the work either side of the recess (see the plate above). The blade projects below the base by a set amount, so wherever the plane goes, the blade cuts to that depth below the surface and no deeper. A chisel levels a recess by eye and feel; a router plane levels it by reference to the surface, so a housing comes out the same depth from end to end, and the second housing matches the first.
What it is used for
- Housings (dados) and grooves. Levelling the bottom after the walls are sawn and the waste chopped out. Veritas lists stopped and through dadoes and grooves among its uses.
- Tenon cheeks. With the base on the shoulder side, the blade takes each cheek to the same depth, so a tenon comes out an even thickness.
- Hinge and hardware recesses. Lie-Nielsen lists hinge gains and door locks; Veritas, hardware recesses.
- Inlay. Both makers list inlay, where the recess must match the inlay’s thickness exactly.
Blades
A router-plane blade is an L-shaped cutter: a post that clamps into the plane, and a short foot at the bottom whose front edge cuts. The foot lies almost parallel to the bottom of the recess. Lie-Nielsen has you hone its underside — the face toward the work — until a burr forms, and then remove the burr from the bevel on top; beyond that, keep the edge sharp as described in the sharpening guide.
| Blade | Shape | Job |
|---|---|---|
| Lie-Nielsen 3/8 in square tip | Straight edge, square corners | The standard blade supplied with its large router plane |
| Lie-Nielsen 1/4 in point, 75° | Pointed | Getting into acute corners, such as butterfly inlays |
| Lie-Nielsen 3/8 in point, 100° | Pointed | Rough stock removal on large recessed surfaces |
| Veritas 1/2 in straight | Straight edge | Supplied with its large router plane, for general levelling |
| Veritas 1/2 in spear-point | Pointed | Supplied alongside the straight blade |
| Veritas narrow straight blades | Straight edge, in metric and imperial widths | Narrow grooves and recesses |
Shapes and uses are each maker’s own description. Veritas also lets its blade be repositioned for bullnose work, cutting right up to an end.
Setting the depth from the joint
The router plane’s advantage is that its depth can be set once, from the joint, and every cut then stops there. Lie-Nielsen’s method uses the depth stop: set the finished depth first, lock the stop, then work down to it.
Setting the router plane’s final depth
Mark the depth on the work
Gauge the finished depth on the edges of the board, or measure it from the mating part — the thickness of a shelf for its housing, or of an inlay for its recess.
Set the blade to the finished depth
With the base on the surface, lower the blade until its edge sits exactly at the gauge line at the end of the recess.
Lock the depth stop
Bring the stop down against its seat and lock it, as Lie-Nielsen instructs. The finished depth is now stored.
Raise the blade for the first cut
Back the blade off so the first pass takes a comfortable shaving.
Work down in passes
Take a pass, lower the blade a little, and repeat. Veritas’s adjuster feeds 1/32 in per turn, which makes small steps easy to count.
Finish at the stop
When the adjuster reaches the stop, take light passes over the whole recess until the blade no longer cuts anywhere. The bottom is now at the finished depth throughout.
Workholding and grain
Clamp the work flat, so both hands are on the plane’s knobs and the base stays on the surface. Across the grain, as in a housing, work in from each edge toward the middle: a cut run off the far edge can break out the fibres there. Along the grain, as in a groove, cut in the direction in which the fibres run down, just as with a bench plane. On a narrow edge or at the end of a stopped groove, Lie-Nielsen’s closed-throat version supports the base in front of the blade.
Limitations, and when a chisel will do
- It finishes; it does not rough out. Saw the walls and chop out most of the waste first. The router plane then takes the last, level shavings.
- The base must bridge the recess. A recess wider than the base, or one with nothing to rest on beside it, needs another approach.
- Depth is limited. Veritas gives 1 in as its large router plane’s maximum.
- A chisel may be enough. A single shallow recess can be pared flat with a chisel, working to a gauge line. The router plane earns its place when depth must be exact, when several recesses must match, or when the recess is too wide to pare flat reliably.
The router plane is one of several specialty planes; the others are introduced in the hand plane guide.
Sources
Blade shapes, uses and adjustment details are the makers’ published specifications for their own router planes. The depth-setting sequence follows Lie-Nielsen’s instructions; the rest of the technique is established bench practice.
- 1.
Large Router Plane — Closed Throat. Lie-Nielsen Toolworks.
Used for: Uses (mortises, tenons, hinge gains, inlay, door locks); a 3/8 in square-tip A2 blade; the depth-stop method of setting the finished depth first; honing the bottom of the blade, then removing the burr from the bevel; closed-throat support for board edges and stopped grooves; 8-1/4 × 3-1/2 in base.
- 2.
Large Router Plane Blade — 1/4" Point, 75°. Lie-Nielsen Toolworks.
Used for: A pointed blade for acute corners, such as butterfly inlays.
- 3.
Large Router Plane Blade — 3/8" Point, 100°. Lie-Nielsen Toolworks.
Used for: A pointed blade for rough stock removal on large recessed surfaces.
- 4.
Veritas Large Router Plane. Veritas Tools Inc..
Used for: 1/2 in straight and spear-point cutters supplied; optional straight blades in metric and imperial widths; a fine feed of 1/32 in per turn; a locking depth stop; up to 1 in of depth; stopped and through dadoes, grooves, inlay and hardware recesses; a blade that repositions for bullnose work.
About this guide
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