As you might have noticed, Melbourne Tool Company router planes are not like most of their contemporaries. With a simple, straight blade they resemble a ‘granny’s tooth’ router (the predecessor to the Stanley 71 L-shaped cutter type of router plane), albeit with ‘modern’ conveniences such as thumbscrews for blade clamping and adjustment.
At the heart of how the tool works is of course the blade, and in this blog we’re going to take a closer look at the details that make it work.
Cutting Angle
Unlike the aforementioned ‘L-shaped’ blades, the MTC is a straight chisel-style blade held bevel-down at a 50 degree angle. Whilst steep, this cutting angle works very well with or across the grain, leaving a good surface and allows good vision of the cut.
Thickness
The blades of the MTC router planes are much thicker than their forebears. Due to the nature of the work, router blades can be sticking out unsupported much further than most blades, particularly when cleaning up tenon cheeks or the like. The extra blade thickness reduces vibration in the cut.
Sweet Relief
The blades all have a slight relief angle ground on the sides, so that they won’t bind when creating a deeper rebate.
Depth Adjustment
The large router blades have a single notch milled into the back of the blade to register on the depth thumbwheel. Combined with the clamping mechanism, this makes it quick to remove and refit the blade for sharpening, without losing your depth setting.
Keeping it Sharp
As with any cutting tool, sharpness is everything. The key advantage to this style of blade is that it is quick and easy to sharpen. Whether freehand or in a honing guide, you can freshen up the cutting edge and get back to work quickly.
Taken together, these design details blend innovation with history to help make the Melbourne Tool Company router planes capable and intuitive workshop tools.