I will admit that I’ve got a few hand planes, but one area that I’ve stayed relatively focused and limited is router planes. I’ve certainly got a few, but most of them are pretty narrow in variety at this point. My favorite router planes have been my vintage Preston style clone, and my Walke-Moore (a modern Preston style plane). I was pretty excited to see another one hitting the market with Blue Spruce/Woodpecker.
Things that I Liked
I really like the precision and smoothness of the blade depth adjustment. The blade lock is a well thought out design that allows the blade depth to be adjusted without stuttering or catching like some other designs I’ve tried.
The finish on the handles and the polish on the blade were both excellent. Following in the reputation of Blue Spruce, the iron was polished and sharpened magnificently, and truly was ready to go out of the box.
I also really like the design, but that’s to be expected given my propensity to prefer Preston Style planes. It’s one of the most versatile router plane designs.
Things I Think Could be Improved
While I do think the overall quality is very good, there were a few rough edges. Edges on the metal bases of the knobs were pretty sharp in some areas, so be careful not to cut yourself when re-configuring things.
The depth stop collar I felt could have been a little better finished as well. I’m not sure if it was specific to my plane, but the bur on the inside that needed to be filed down was a little off putting. In addition to that bur (which is easy enough to remedy), I’m also not sure the screw they included is long enough. I have to really tighten mine down hard to get it to stay on the flats where it’s supposed to be. I’ll probably be picking up a new screw to see if it remedies that.
I also did not like the fence. I think it’s too big and clumsy, but that might just be that it doesn’t fit in to my workflow.
Overall, I think it’s a great plane. It does end up at the high end of the current router plane landscape at $270 for the plane (at the time of review). The Walke-Moore planes sold for $300 when they were in production, so I don’t think the price point is bad at all. It does price itself higher than Lie-Nielsen, who was the more expensive between it and Veritas, but I feel this plane is worth it. The versatility of the Preston style is so hard to beat, for a $30 premium (at time of review), it’s definitely worth it to me.
Thanks for checking it out, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the plane, and if you have any additional points about the plane, whether in design or in use!
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