# Router Plane Blades



## 7Footer (Jan 24, 2013)

Does anyone know of a source other than LV or Lie Nielsen to buy a router plane blade? Every plane/router blade on Stanley's site is no longer available, and I can't find anything on Amazon or eBay that is a better option than Lee Valley. It doesn't have to fit any specific router plane, as I am planning on building a shop-made one. I think that eventually I will buy this set of Veritas blades for $62 and hopefully the Veritas Router plane itself, but I've bought so many tools lately my budget has worn thin (aka the wifey is watching me), so rather than buying one for $14 plus whatever shipping is I would rather wait until I can grab the whole set, and I wanted to explore another method.

I've come across a couple blogs where people mentioned making a router plane blade out of an allen wrench, *have any of you guys tried this method?* I've got one nice set of allen wrenches at home that I won't mess with, but I've also got a little box full of miscellaneous wrenches I've come across over the years. Obviously many of the loose allen wrenches I have are made out of crap material, half them are probably from Ikea, but several are steel, so I thought maybe if I find a couple they would be worth grinding to make a blade with? How do I tell if an allen wrench is worth taking the time to grind into a blade or not?


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## paratrooper34 (Apr 27, 2010)

I have an extra blade from a Millers Falls router plane. Send me a PM with your address and I will get it out to you.


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## Tim457 (Jan 11, 2013)

I've ground two allen keys for router plane blades. You can tell by the sparks that come off the grinder when you grind them how good the steel is if you know how to tell the sparks apart. There's pictures of the different spark patterns you can find online I'm sure. You can also just tell by how it takes to the grinder and how hard it is. People say allen keys are mostly good tool steel as far as a router plane blade goes.

I will say that grinding an allen key is barely worth it. Only do it if you're broke or a cheapskate like me or it seems like fun. It took a long time to get them ground down without burning the steel. Had to stop and keep dunking them in water. You have to grind a flat all along what becomes the bottom of the blade and it's a fair amount of metal to remove, especially for a 3/8" or something allen key that becomes a 1/2" wide blade. Then you have to grind the bevel. Maybe if you're better with a grinder you could do it quicker than I did.


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