How to Make the World's Best Router Plane | Paul Sellers | Episode 2 

Thanks for watching! You can get technical drawings here: paulsellers.com/router-plane-drawings/ If you would like a Router Plane kit to work with rather than building from scratch, you can purchase them here: rokesmith.com/product/router-plane-kit/

Whenever I want to add a bit of joy to my day, nothing more needed than a browse through Paul Sellers comment section. Uncommon. 😇

Thank you for all of your support, everyone.

I am an 80 year old engineer and your instruction brings back memories of my valuable shop experience in High School. Much of what you cover was commonly taught 60 years ago but few were able to pursue woodworking as a hobby or career. Regardless, the primary lesson you offer may be that good work requires patience, attention to detail, and repetition. These attributes will always serve us well in other fields.

Paul is a planetary treasure. Many generations around the world are learning woodworking from these videos. Thank you, Paul.

Made one step by step following your drawings and videos. One of my best projects so far……satisfaction wise!!!. Thank you so much Paul for your generosity and gentleness 🙏🏼🙏🏼👌🏼👌🏼

Thank you Paul for giving us the benefit of your skills. I've put off buying a router plane for some years to the cost. I am currently making one of your design and have only the blade to make. I had a thought though - if I were to flip the depth control thumb nut over 180° I wouldn't need to cut two slots in the blade. With the nut flipped over the blade would protrude a similar distance as it would using the upper slot.

Just finished making mine - it works great! Great content - love watching your content sir - I had to make my own handles - couldn’t find any wood handles that were tall enough - had a few walnut scraps laying around

An hour long video that feels like 10 minutes. That's how beautiful it is. A pleasure - and an inspiration - to watch, better than any movies.

Great project. These old eyes appreciate the close-up detail shots. Many presenters on YT seem to miss this point.

#PastoralHomestead recommended your channel and I am thankful for this courtesy. You have a great way of teaching and I hope to learn some more here.

I've been wanting to buy/make a router plane for a few years - but I didn't like the plane hardware offered by the big woodworking chains. The RU-vid videos I watched adapted them successfully but the structures were inelegant. I felt the planes would be difficult to maintain and sharpen. As soon as I saw Mr. Seller's video on his design I went to Amazon and found/ordered the hardware. My last pieces were delivered today. This is the plane I want to build! Thank you Paul for your generous tutelage!

Verdict is in. You're a true magician.

I've been making due with that poor man's router you showed us how to make for a long while now. I've been meaning to find a good metal one but now I think I'll make this instead. Working with tools you've made yourself is something special.

To find the centre of a door knob I put knob in bench vice.I then measure between inside jaws,divide by 2 and get exact centre - mark centre on knob,loosen jaws and rotate knob 90°, mark centre again - and voila-yours for life.

A year ago I didn't know what a routerplane was, a month ago I didn't know if I'd ever own one (those prices!), a week ago I didn't think it could be done, making one myself. Now i'm sourcing parts to make one!

Only comments I have besides "just lovely"... O1 is an oil quenched steel I believe, and quenching in glass scared the boop out of me, but I don't come here for my metal working fix. As always... top notch content. Top notch. :) .. Home made router plane has been on my wish list for some time. Could never get around the, still need $$$ for the blades and kit. This will due just fine! Thanks Paul

Thanks for these two videos Paul; very nice work indeed! I have downloaded the plans with the intention of making my own plane in 2022.

Can we just nominate Paul for UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage?

Paul is the gold standard of teachers. Thank you so much for being a source of knowledge.

Paul, I always find what you have to say important and you use just a limited number of hand tools and jigs, As for ypou rplane, it is beutiful. About a month ago I purchase a router plane from Cowryman which is very much like you plane, right down to the more "mobern" style bland, but since it is made from stainless steel, it is no where as nice to look at. For both the Cowryman router plane and your plane I suggest one very simple addition. Add a second "nylon" anti slip nut to your adjustment screw to act as a maximum depth stop. Thus if you need to make a number of dados to the same depth, the stop makes it easy to get them all the same. Keep up your good work! By the way, we are about the same age and I am new to hand woodworking, so I need someone like you to teach me from your 50 plus years of praticle experiance..

You KNOW a man is good in the workshop when he still has all his original fingertips.

Fantastic piece of work Peter , I shall now make one like yours following your dimensions and shall always treasure it and think of yourself when I use it , you remind me so much of my Woodwork teacher at school back in 1973 a Mr Clayton who was influential in me becoming a time served Joiner , many thanks to you both 😀

Best woodworking channel by miles! Would be chuffed if you made a guitar!

This is a great design and since I have been unable to find an affordable #71 I might as well make my own. This would be much more satisfying to use since you make it yourself. Looks like the plans page is down at the moment though.

This is something I need to make. Thank you for showing how easy it can be to make.

For some reason I just bought a electric router today from a second hand store. Then this shows up fml. Thanks for the awesome tutorial Mr sellers. Ps when’s the revision for your wood working guide going to be out. I would love to get my hands on a copy!

Watching your videos makes me realize I could write a very thick book about what I don't know. Your knowledge, craftsmanship, patience and general demeanor should be a required course taught in every high school. I really wish I lived next door to you!

absolutely lovely! its on the list for this winter :)

Beautful, so amazing work. Here in Brazil is just impossible to buy a metal router plane. I will definile make one of these for myself, thanks a lot.

He is showing the world how build a router plane and he has 5 hanging on the wall behind him, Bravo Mr Sellers !

“You can toss this on the lathe if you’ve got one” 5 minutes later creates a make shift one out of a cordless drill to sand the handle. I love that he could easily walk over to the drill press or lathe or even (in the first video) use a router plane but doesn’t because a lot of us don’t have it.

Fantastic tutorial and I'll definitely be making one of these ASAP! One thing I would say from my (admittedly distant) previous metallurgy and materials science bachelors degree is that, from what I understand, best practise for hardening the steel would always be to use a process suited to the specific alloy of steel you're using. Some plain high carbon steels will need a water quenching as shown in the video, though I personally wouldn't do it in a glass container as a water quench can occasionally shatter the steel due to the thermal stresses of cooling that fast. Some tool steels and many other steel alloys on the other hand would be better off quenched in hot oil, ideally using a specialist quenching oil, although vegetable oil can also work in a pinch. Oil has about half the specific heat capacity of water and can be heated well above 100C before boiling, so the steel will cool a little slower if it's quenched in a pre-heated pan of oil. These tool steels are in part designed for this process rather than water so if that's what you're using then it's much better to use this process instead. Just make sure you do it outside and have proper safety precautions for dealing with burning oil. It'll always burn a little so a fire blanket and a suitable fire extinguisher for burning liquid fires are a must! I'd also highly recommend a tempering process after hardening to relieve some residual internal stresses from hardening, and to improve the steel's toughness to reduce the possibility of breakage if the iron is dropped on the ground or the like. For a lot of steels, this can actually be done below 250C (480F) and so could be done in a domestic oven or toaster oven, though others may need hotter temperatures so your alloy choice is important. If your alloy is suitable, you'd do this by heating the steel up slowly from cold in the oven (preferably soon after it's completely cooled following quenching), holding at the recommended temperature and timing for your alloy, and then turning the oven off and leaving the steel in it to cool slowly. Multiple cycles of this may be also required depending on the steel. A specialist heat treating oven would do a much better job if you could get access to one, but unless you're friends with a bladesmith that's pretty unlikely, and I think an oven treatment should be good enough for a DIY project in most cases. Also, if you quenched with oil, be sure to wash and scrub the steel *very* thoroughly in soapy water once cooled and grind off *all* the scale from hardening *before* you put it in the oven as this scale will contain absorbed oil that will smoke like crazy in a hot oven! Definitely not going to endear you to your loved ones by filling the house with oil smoke! The exact temperatures and timings for this are very dependent on the alloy of steel you use too, and doing it wrong can in some cases actually make the steel *more* brittle or significantly reduce its wear resistance and ability to hold an edge, so it's always best to check what's required for the alloy you're going to use before you buy to make sure it'll work. Most steel alloys should have datasheets available that will show graphs of hardening and tempering temperatures against toughness and hardness that should point you on the right track. There are also a lot of resources online from knife makers and bladesmiths that I'm sure would be useful to anyone attempting this process too. 👍

Hi Paul,my curiosity got the better of me.Why did you drill/bore hold down steel bar for cutter,off centre?

Superb ! Can't get enough of your videos . Made a start on my router plane. ( just need some m6 spring- weshers ( I'm a Yorkshireman -can you tell?)) And I then have everything for the actual build. Just one query Paul. Which Shellac do you use? I'm used to spray, airbrush and brushpaints, but when looking online, there are both sanding sealer and french polish versions in shellac. Can I assume it is the french polish one for finishing the plane? Very best regards. Gaz

I was so inspired I built one. It is beautiful and it actually works. Wow. Paul, thank you for not only sharing your expertise but making videos that actually cover everything in patient and complete detail. As I built, I would rewatch them (many times..). Everytime I hit a point where I though "now what" I looked again. And every question was answered. I wish there was a place we could share pictures of what we made, if nothing else as a huge THANK YOU to you! There would be one from me.

I wish Paul Sellers was my 3rd Grandfather 😊

SILENCE in the house!!! Paul is teaching! Love this...the tool, the teaching, and the time!

Hey Paul, would you have any plans on what to change if you were to put in a replacement cutter like Rockler sells? That cutter would have to go in vertically so it would change things up a bit. Thanks.

25:07 Oh.. oh.. this time Sir Paul has forgotten to grease the tip.

I just wanted to say you are truly a master craftsman. This was a very impressive build! Thank you for sharing

Pure pleasure. Suddenly, after getting addicted to your videos, i began abandoning my power tools for real hand working and old school craftsmanship. I started paying respect for my high quality hand tools while I enjoy making stuff with them. Thank you so much for that mr paul.

Weird that the music is the same as Mathologer uses. I am used to watching his hard core maths animations to this sound track.

Hi Paul Great video thank you. Didn’t quite understand the use of the magnet when heat treating, could you explain please. Thanks

What is the cost of the hardware kit and shipping to Canada? Didn't see that anywhere. I said no when I got the plans but??? Thanks Paul. I too have been looking at Router Planes but the cost.....

Love the handmade tool videos! Gauges, router plane, awls, and I can’t wait for the next one! I can finally stop my eBay alerts for router planes!

Thanks for being the favorite grandfather of half a million people, Mr. Sellers.

As always excellent work Paul. It was such a great treat to come home and be able to see that this video was available I was waiting for it I'm about to get my internet cancel because I'm moving and I really wanted to watch this thank you so much!

Dear Paul, i would like to have some updates on the metal parts kit so that i can finish mine router plane.I haven't heard any more about it. Best regards and a very MERRY CHRISTMAS

Thank you so much for this Paul. I had so much enjoyment following your two videos. Your design blueprint was essential to replicate your creation. The router works like a charm!! Thanks again for your generosity.

I got my kit in the mail today. ( Maryland, USA) I'm very happy. Much respect for Paul's wisdom and pretty special integrity to sell the parts yet also tell people how and what to buy separately. Thanks again Paul

This may have already been asked but I didn't see it. When drilling the knobs out why not use the predrilled holes on the bottom as a guide for where the center is? If you used a bit smaller than the metal in the base then the predrilled hole would act like a pilot to keep it square.

Just one small tip from a metalwork tradesman. When you place your hot metal in the water to quench, you need to move it around so he water temp remains even.

That's gorgeous Paul. Well done, and greetings from Johannesburg

Paul: I just finished you Router Plane Kit. I did have to jump between the PDF drawing and the two RU-vid videos in figuring out a few dimensions and techniques. I took a bit of license with it. I used vintage porcelain door knobs for handles, pure esthetic reasons. And I angled the central hole to 35° then installed a rear filler and inlet and bedded the iron with rifle bedding compound. I also finished in a crazy burgundy color. Lots of fun.

Great demonstration of how it can be done with hand tools! I believe that I will use power tools since I don’t have the physical agility that I once had.

Marvelous tutorial. I really appreciate that you don't speed up the video, and we get to see you work in real time.

Mr. Sellers, you've helped me to build my own router plane, and I really appreciate it! Mine turned out to be not as beautiful as yours, of course, but the most important thing - it works absolutely great! Now I can make clean and even surfaces which I couldn't do with a chisel. Thank you very much for such an amazing tutorial!

It took me a good week, but I have all components and can start making this router plane. If it's gonna bee the worlds best one......... let's say I'll do my best 😉

Very nice work. Thanks for sharing. One point -- better to quench the tool steel in oil rather than water. The water produces too fast a cooling rate which may lead to cracking. The "O" in O1 in fact denotes that it is meant to be quenched in oil. A "Wxx" tool steel will be alloyed differently and will be okay quenched in water.

Ótimo trabalho! Muito detalhado, seus trabalhos inspiram, parabéns!

Really enjoyed the change of pace of the video. A simple narration worked really well for the second half of the video. It was quite pleasant

When people call you a master it's an understatement. Thank you for all of the videos you've shared with us and all the best from Northern California 👍

Very cool! I've wanted a router plane for a long time and I'll definitely be making one of these. Thanks for sharing and especially thanks for putting together nice drawings for free.

For some reason, it was profoundly satisfying to see you add your signature and date at the end. Few items in this world get such treatment. You were justifiably proud of this one.

Question, with quenching O1 in water, are you not worried about grain formation and brittleness? When I’ve done similar with O1 in the past I’ve always used oil and ended up somewhere in the low 60’s on Rockwell C. I’ve seen others do it with a water then oil combo quench as well. More curious than anything, it could be totally different with such thick bar stock, I’m usually just doing 1/8” or less

I wonder if I can use another kind of tool steel than O1 for blade, because in my country its hard to find one. One suggestion from steel supplier is this type 1.2379 (NC11LV) in replace of O1. No idea what it means anyway ;-)

Thank you Paul. Great instruction. Your time invested in this video is still helping thousands, including me. I'm in the process of making a router plane now. Thank you again.

This is so fantastic, Paul. Thank you on behalf of the entire world of woodworking. I've priced the key parts here in Ohio, and the O1 tool steel is clearly the most expensive bit. And even there, I can buy a 36" length locally for about $30, and have enough steel to make 8 of these, if I wanted. Call that (generously) $4 in tool steel per router plane, and the other hardware can be had for as little as perhaps another $3-$5 in total, depending on the bulk one is willing to buy in. Absolutely astonishing.

Parts should arrive by the time I finish my bench, can't wait to build this.

I love your videos. Lots of inventive solutions that don't use massive power tools. I did not like the music! I am one of those people that has to listen with 100% of my attention when I hear music. Regardless of the quality, I much prefer silence when you are not speaking so focus on the fine details of your technique.

Paul uses Imperial and Metric in the same video and blows up the internet!

Half lost my mind with the poor man's lathe when sanding the handle. Such an obvious/simple solution that I never would have considered!

I have just built the router plane. I had some 10mm square HSS, I needed an angle grinder to cut it. Not tried the plane yet but it looks good and the blade is nice and sharp. I am not sure about heat treating the steel blade though.

I just completed my Paul Sellers router plane. I was disappointed however when I tried it out. The iron wants to dig into the wood and either tear it out or act like a brake just plowing in to the wood. It seems to me the plane angel is to steep. It behaves like a chisel held bevel down the way you would hold it to dig out a mortise. I compared to my Veritas router plane which has a the bottom surface of the iron near parallel to the surface being planed. Yours is way way too steep.

Just small observation - could have easily turned to his pillar drill to make those holes in the cutter but I'm guessing knew most of hos audience will only have a combination drill so takes the opportunity to teach us more!

Amazing build and great video as usual. :) I want to try it myself!

Very nice build thx so mutch 👍🏼👏🇨🇦 Questions for you , can you tell me if the hole for the cutter was made this small for a reason and could we inlarge it ? The last question is , what type of shellac was this waxed dewaxed ? Thx for answering 😉

Paul aren’t you supposed to reheat and let the steel cool down? I know that’s what I do when hardening stamped receivers for firearms, is the cutter good to go after just the quench?

Thank you again Mr Sellers! I've been checking your channel every day waiting for the second part of this. Sir, you are truly a master craftsman, and I hope someday I can pass this knowledge on to my son and (future) grandkids. I've learned so much from you, and continue to look forward to learning more.

Can anyone recommend a source of knobs in the UK that match the 44mm x 41mm dimensions? Thanks in anticipation.

So, the bottom of the cutting iron or the bevel is at 30 degrees from the work surface or the sole of the plane? Or is that the angle of the bevel from the perpendicular edge of the steel?

👍

Its not just Pauls channel . Is anybody else sick of all these poxy adverts every three or four minutes?

Thank you for the video, it is really inspiring. I would like you or anyone were did you managed to source the tool steel? I'm in France and the only place i managed to sourced it is overpriced on ebay (~45pound for 50cm). Have a nice week-end anyway!

The hardened steel is very brittle. You should temper it in an oven. 1 hour at 220°C will do.

Hi Paul. Have you considered doing a wooden spokeshave kit?

What wood did you use

Better off locking a pair of nuts on the machine threaded part and driving with a socket..

the link to the Router Plane Drawings is a blank page. no drawings there...

Can you link to the rasp and file you use @ 9:18?

Anyone else try to tell Paul that he had the drill bit guide upside down at around 15:29 minutes when he was drilling the holes for the plate?

Can you give the dimension on the knobs. Also the overall height of the knob

Verry good. Tanks but were you find the manual but?

Can anyone point me to a source for the handles? I can't seem to find anything that is good for this job - i.e. tall enough. All I can find are 25-30mm tall which is not enough. Thanks.

What kind of steel for the cutter. Love your instruction. Thanks

I have a stanley and a veritas router, but I can tell this is better because of the cutter design. Good job always Mr. Paul Sellers.

Mr.Sellers, The simple act of being human, while teaching is a treasure for someone like myself...60 plus years old. I wish I had a teacher like yourself,when I was a young buck. You,my mentor are a pedagogical master! Very Respectfully...Phil Blanchette...

I thought you exist in reality but you are simply a legend.

I've been wanting a router plane for years, but the cost of a good router plane (Lie-Nielsen or Veritas) was intimidating. Also, the blades were difficult to sharpen. This plane by Paul Sellers solves both problems. I've made a wood plane, and the pleasure of making your own tools is priceless.