
The Veritas® Router Plane is an invaluable tool for work on stop or through
dadoes, grooves, or any work that requires an area cut to a precise depth. This is
the perfect tool for cleaning out areas for hardware installation, or inlay or intarsia
work, allowing you to work with a great degree of control. The spring-loaded
blade-clamping collar holds the blade in position when the collar is loosened and
provides tactile feedback for controlled blade depth adjustment. The collar can
also be made to fully release for quick and easy blade removal or reorientation.
The blade can be positioned in front of the post for general work, behind the post
for bullnose applications or laterally (left or right) for work on hinge gains.
The ductile cast iron body has been accurately machined and ground fl at. The
large wooden knobs are positioned to provide both comfort and excellent control.
The optional fence (05P38.07) can be positioned on either side of the plane and
will work on both straight and curved workpieces.
Blade Attachment
Caution: Be aware that the blades are sharp; careless handling can result
in serious injury.
The plane comes equipped with two blades: a 1/2" straight and a 1/2" pointed (for
fi nal smoothing). All blades mount into the plane in the same manner. Back off
the locking knob and press it forward to depress the internal spring. Feed the blade
up through the collar from the bottom of the plane, engage the slot at the top of
the blade with the fl ange at the base of the depth adjustment knob, and secure by
tightening the locking knob. If the blade slot does not engage with the adjustment
knob, back off the locking knob until it does.
Figure 1: Router plane components.
Depth Adjustment Knob
Depth Stop
Locking Knob
Collar
Fence Mounting
Holes (2)
Blade Holder
1
/2" Straight
Blade
1
/2" Pointed
Blade
Hex Key
2

The blade can be positioned on the router plane in any one of four settings.
• In the front for general work,
• on the back of the post for bullnose work,
• on the back and facing left or right for lateral applications.*
*Note: Applies only to 1/2" blades, not optional smaller blades.
To change the blade location from front to back, loosen the locking knob until
the top of the blade tilts away and disengages from the depth adjustment knob.
Withdraw the blade from the bottom of the plane. Rotate the collar and reinsert the
blade up through the bottom of the plane and collar.
When mounted on the back of the plane, the blade can be reorientated to face left,
right or forward by simply releasing the locking knob and rotating the blade to the
desired position within the collar.
Figure 2: Blade attachment.
Figure 3: Blade orientation.
Depth Adjustment Knob
Locking Knob
Collar
Blade
General
Bullnose
Lateral Lateral
3

Blade Adjustment
The blade depth is regulated by a fi ne screw feed that travels 1/32" per turn for
precision adjustment with the resulting depth of cut controlled by the depth stop.
The blade can be adjusted to a depth of 1".
Release the clamping pressure by backing off the locking knob a quarter turn.
(Spring pressure will be maintained to prevent the blade from falling free while
allowing it to be adjusted.) Turn the depth adjustment knob to advance or retract
the blade as required. Reclamp the blade by tightening the locking knob.
With the blade set to the desired depth, raise the depth stop* until it contacts the
underside of the depth adjustment knob, then tighten the knob.
*Note: If the depth stop prevents the blade from travelling to the desired setting,
you may have to fi rst lower it.
Use the depth adjustment knob to return the blade to its starting position. Check
the depth stop knob and retighten if required. Advance the blade ever so slightly
with each successive cut by loosening the locking knob, adjusting the depth as
described above and retightening the locking knob, until the depth adjustment
knob encounters the depth stop.
Figure 4: Depth stop.
Depth Adjustment Knob
Locking Knob
Collar
Blade
Depth Stop
4

Blade Sharpening
For ease of sharpening either the 1/2" straight or the 1/2" pointed blade, the blade
portion may be removed from the shaft. Whether removing or reattaching the
blade, be very careful of the sharp edge. Do not hold the blade shaft in your hand
while loosening or tightening the set screw. Clamp the shaft in a vise or hold it
down on a fl at surface, as shown in Figure 5. Remove the set screw that secures
the blade portion to the shaft with the supplied hex key.
Attach the blade to the holder with the small screw provided. The blade holder can
be mounted in a honing guide or used for sharpening by hand. Hone the bevel as
illustrated in Figure 6 or 7, and fl ip over to lap the back.
Auxiliary Base
The base of the router plane comes
with two countersunk holes so that
you can attach a larger shop-made
base with #10 screws. The maximum
depth of cut of the plane will be
reduced by the thickness of the base
being used.
The optional fence cannot be used
when an auxiliary base is mounted
on the router plane; however, a strip
of wood attached to the auxiliary
base can serve as a fence.
Figure 6: Honing the 1/2" straight blade. Figure 7: Honing the 1/2" pointed blade.
Figure 5: Removing blade from shaft.
Figure 8: Auxiliary base.
Stone
1
/2" Straight
Blade
Blade Holder
Stone
1
/2" Pointed
Blade
Blade Holder
#10 Screws
Auxiliary Base
5

Care and Maintenance
The body of this plane is ductile cast iron and comes treated with rust preventative.
Remove this using a rag dampened with mineral spirits. Clean all machined surfaces.
We recommend that you initially, then periodically, apply a light coat of paste wax
to seal out moisture and prevent rusting; this also has the added bonus of acting
as a lubricant for smoother planing. Wipe off any wood dust from the surfaces
that you will be waxing, apply a light wax coating, let dry, then buff with a clean
soft cloth. At the same time, the solvents in the wax will remove any harmful oils
left from your fi ngers that can lead to corrosion. This is especially important with
planes that are gripped on the machined surfaces.
Keep in mind that paste wax contains silicone that, if transferred to your workpiece,
could cause fi nishing problems such as "fi sh eyes". To avoid this problem, use
silicone-free products, such as Waxilit® sliding agent and glue release, or a tool
surface sealant. Either is an excellent alternative to regular paste wax. However,
before treating a plane with a sealant, wipe off any fi ngerprints with a cloth
dampened with a small amount of light machine oil. Remove any residual oil;
then apply the sealant to the plane’s sole.
If storage conditions are damp or humid, the plane should, in addition to the
treatment outlined above, be wrapped in a cloth or stored in a plane sack. This
precaution will also guard against dings and scratches.
Every so often, clean all parts with a cloth dampened with a dab of light machine
oil and lubricate where necessary. For corroded plane bodies, we recommend you
fi rst remove the rust with a fi ne rust eraser, then treat as described above.
The bright fi nish on the brass components can be maintained as above. If a patina
fi nish is preferred, simply leave the brass components unprotected until the desired
level of oxidation has occurred, then apply a sealant. If you want to make them
bright and shiny again, you can revitalize the surface with a brass polish.
6

Accessories
05P38.03
1
/4" Straight Blade
05P38.04
1
/2" Straight Blade
05P38.05
1
/2" Pointed Blade
05P38.23
3
/32" Narrow Straight Blade
05P38.24
1
/8" (3mm) Narrow Straight Blade
05P38.26
3
/16" Narrow Straight Blade
05P38.34 4mm Narrow Straight Blade
05P38.35 5mm Narrow Straight Blade
05P38.36 6mm Narrow Straight Blade
05P38.07 Optional Router Plane Fence
05P38.10 Handle Hardware Kit for Router Plane
814 Proctor Avenue
Ogdensburg, New York
13669-2205 USA
1090 Morrison Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
K2H 1C2 Canada
customerservice@veritastools.com
www.veritastools.com
628
© Veritas Tools Inc. 2011
INS-473 Rev. B
Printed in Canada