Interesting new router plane

Ryan Mooney

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
8,104
Location
The Gorge Area, Oregon
Stumbled across these fellows making a new router plane:
http://www.walkemooretools.com/shop/router-plane-model-2500/

Well not really entirely new, its a partial copy of the Preston 2500p
http://www.hyperkitten.com/tools/routers/preston/
with a few features changed, primarily they appear to be only offering one fence and dropped the throat closing device.

The price actually looks somewhat reasonable compared to trying to acquire a Preston as they're going for ~300-500+ depending on condition (they appear to be relatively rare which I'm sure drives the price up).

He has a few entries in his blog talking about the design and why you might want such a thing.
http://www.walkemooretools.com/wmt-router-plane-blade-positions/
http://www.walkemooretools.com/wmt-router-plane-securing-the-blade/
http://www.walkemooretools.com/wmt-2500-router-plane-the-knobs/
http://www.walkemooretools.com/wmt-2500-router-plane-size-material/

Its kind of interesting, I admit that I haven't felt the lack of features from my old #71 but this design does have some intriguing and I though it was a fun design anyway.
 
Ryan, I got to use one at the LN open house while back. Very well made and true piece of art. Not much it can't do. Really thinking about getting one later this year.
 
Since we're discussing such things (or at least I am.. :rofl:).

It appears that the Sargent model 73 mini router also allowed moving the blade to the end for bullnose or flush work.
http://www.leevalley.com/us/newsletters/Woodworking/1815/collection.htm

The side comment there about "This design is a variation of the often-found owner-made patternmakers' routers produced in pattern and foundry shops" was interesting. It makes me wonder how many of such things survived and if so where...
 
I dunno about this tool. First up its not a tool that i see get much use. Then when i consider I picked up my Stanley at $20 and consider what this goes for as well as the fact that one can made a router plane from wood easily and then buy a LV blade for it if one does not want the homemade version using a allen key as a blade, the frugal side of me kinda balks at the price. To top it off i think when someone reproduces an old tool they should be marking it very visibly as a reproduction. Just my 5 cents.
 
Thanks Steve,

basically covers what I'd seen more or less but also nice to see them in someones hands to get the size and everything.

I dunno about this tool. First up its not a tool that i see get much use. Then when i consider I picked up my Stanley at $20 and consider what this goes for as well as the fact that one can made a router plane from wood easily and then buy a LV blade for it if one does not want the homemade version using a allen key as a blade, the frugal side of me kinda balks at the price.

I hear you on the frugal side, although I do love me some tools :D

I actually use my router plane a lot more than I thought I would. It would be especially interesting if the LV blades fit in it because I already have a set of those in various sizes (and yes having multiple sizes has also been useful). I've been finding a bunch of unexpected places where a stopped groove would be nice, or where I'm making a groove in a piece to small to easily hold for the grooving plane.

The more stable base and the different cutter orientation make this an arguably superior tool to the Stanley for a number of uses.. Whether or not its sufficiently superior for those use cases to warrant the purchase price is of course subject to debate.

To top it off i think when someone reproduces an old tool they should be marking it very visibly as a reproduction. Just my 5 cents.

They pretty much are, they named it after the original (minus the P because they left off some features of the P) and have done a pretty thorough job of explaining what features they're carrying forward and what features they aren't. I don't think there's any confusion that its a Preston clone. The original also hasn't been made in almost 80 years either, so how long does that theory need to hold?
 
Top