Router Plane Build (Part 1)

This build is proving to be quite a challenge. I've made some progress, but there's still plenty to be done.

Planing the boards flat and true is no longer a major issue for me. At least when the boards are this small. Even so, the part with the threads in it is actually the third iteration. On my first attempt, I made the part exactly to length and was left with no good way to hold it. On the second attempt, I left the part oversize to just screw it down to something.

Having planed the first bevel I tried to make a groove that houses the cutting iron. I got the width right but made the groove at an angle to the front of the part. There was no way to correct this, so I started over yet again. At least the failed parts could be used to fixture the final part for planing.

Drilling perpendicular holes without a drill press is hard. To make it easier, I put together this drill bit conductor.

The conductor is for a tiny drill bit (2.5 mm) because a small through hole can be easily enlarged without the drill bit wandering off.

With this conductor, I was able to accurately drill the holes that are used to hold down the blade. I then tapped some M6 thread right into the wooden body and screwed in the threaded studs. Replacing the metal plate that holds down the blade with a wooden part worked out well. I made the wooden plate slightly convex so it puts the wingnuts in tension.

I did not have such luck with the adjustment screw. I drilled it with the conductor, and it turned out a tiny bit off. I tried to correct it while enlarging the hole and overcorrected. In the end, I enlarged the hole even more (to roughly 7 mm) and glued the threaded rod in using thick five-minute epoxy.

I drilled out the hole in the base board using a 35 mm Forstner bit, the kind that is used to mount hinges on standard MDF doors. This bit would probably be better suited for a drill press because it tends to wander. I mitigated that by drilling a pilot hole for the central point first. It still wandered, but not so much. Fortunately, this hole does not need to be accurate, so I will sand it until it is more or less smooth, straight, and circular.

Making the notch in the blade was not easy either. The metal is too hard to be filed, so I had to grind it away. The notch still needs to be enlarged, but I am almost there. I actually could have made the threaded rod shorter by grinding multiple notches in the blade, but now I am very glad I did not. I can always shorten the rod later, but grinding the notch is a thing I do not want to repeat.

I need to finish shaping the top part. After that, I can glue it to the board and make the first chips to even see if this plane works. Then I'll tune the adjustment mechanism and shape the base board, and maybe add handles.