Just Saying!

Top two right, Tyzack, bottom two left the original Preston design.

Just so it’s said. The Preston- and Tyzack-style router plane is not worth any more than any Stanley or Record type and not worth as much as the Veritas or the Lie Nielsen router planes. Just saying, that’s all! They do no more than the others and in most cases they don’t actually do as well. The only, only reason I liked mine from the beginning was that they were unusual, but not at all any better. I have sort of collected them, but my first one cost me about £10 via eBay. I liked the price more than the plane. Soon they will all be gone from the net unless a collector or collector /user wants to sell theirs on.

Outboard regular position

Whereas it does have a feature or two for inboard and outboard functionality, I have not used this in anything I have made nor have I found the more common routers less advantaged. I say all of this because I hate that anyone should taker my usage as some sort of endorsement when all I want is people to pay a fair price. Whereas the regular routers by Record and Stanley have gone up and up in price, they have also levelled off at a fair price that’s not prohibitive to those willing to save for them.Some do complain that £100 or so is a high price for their budget, but most people will eat out and spend the price of a plane in half a dozen coffees and two or three meals out. When I bought my hand tools most of them cost me a week’s wage. It wasn’t too much with 55 years in the using of them 6 days a week. .00104895 of a penny a week.

The hump in front of the cutting iron is well worth having even if you negate its functionality by adding the wooden sole. It’s this feature alone that betters the Preston-style version really. Of course putting the cutting iron outboard as shown enables you to plane into a stopped housing dado and all of the router planes have this feature anyway.

Outboard end position

44 Comments

  1. 500$ for this style plane on ebay right now. Ridiculous :0 your words turn items into gold

  2. Paul:
    I’m sure you’re right but I’d still love one at a reasonable price. Perhaps you should hold a contest and give one away as a prize. In Canada they never come up on eBay.
    Gord Clark

        1. Wow. Are you both serious? Also note Paul actually already has given one away.

          1. Keith and Paul – yes! It is so easy to give away another’s knowledge and tools but not your own — 400,000 or even more subscribers to something Paul is giving away that to me is priceless. His knowledge being available to me has allowed me to understand so much more than owning another router plane could offer.
            Thank you, Paul.

    1. I hardly see how giving away 1 router will solve anything for the 399,000. There are modern versions at a fraction of the price if you’re so inclined. Paul owes us nothing – if anything I am indebted to him.

  3. The Stanley No1 plane is another example of this price phenomenon. Lie Nielsen makes a copy. Here in the states we have a firm that sells a version of the Preston/ Tyzack router plane in brass. They are sold out all the time and it’s hard to get one, in fact it was reviewed in Furniture Magazine not too long ago. It sells for $315 or so US. I’m not related in any way to the business but Walke Moore tools is the name if anyone wants to try and purchase one.
    I’d rather buy some old tool that was used a few hundred years ago. It gives me a bit of a thrill to use something that has some history behind it.
    There are plenty of molding planes, plow planes and the like around for a fair price once you get to know the seller who won’t gouge you or cheat. I’ve seen some beautiful custom made tools going for fair prices, at least compared to what they would cost to make today.

    1. My dad a few years ago mentioned had had wanted one to add to his collection. I didn’t know anything about them so I went to EBay. Yikes! I got him the LieNielsen one at a fraction of the cost and he is just as happy.

      The neighbor down the street has a Stanley No 1 that his dad got him in the 1940s when he was a little kid.

  4. There goes any chance of getting one now……
    Thanks Paul!
    Enjoy your collection…..

    1. Oh enough already of the sniping at Paul for his detailed and helpful handtool reviews, just because a spinoff of this information might be an increase of prices online. He typically gives alternatives.

      What would you prefer, that Paul never review these tools? In which case you never would have heard of them anyway. Go find someone else to envy if that’s your thing.

  5. For months I have been watching these vintage router planes go for as much, or even more than I can buy a new Vertias, I’ll continue to shop ebay for a router plane until I am in my next home and have my shop set up. If I am unsuccessful
    it buying a router plane by then, I’ll ordered a Vertias, that comes with two
    cutters as well as the sharpening jig. This blogs sheds some light on the subject
    of buying off ebay. Thank you for another brilliant blog! Cheers!
    Best Regards,
    Paul Masseth

    1. Paul,

      Thank you for the post.

      I’m about halfway through making your bench and loving it.

      I managed to find an old Stanley 71 for £45. I appreciate I have been very lucky looking at prices on eBay.

      It doesn’t have any holes for attaching a wooden sole so I think it could be quite an early one.

      It’s been well used and well looked after but only came with one very worn and out of shape straight blade. Any tips on where to buy replacements?

      Keep up the good work!

      1. I was fortunate indeed when I started watching you four or so years ago. Fell in love with the way you used the router plane. I found one on ebay. Stanley Pristine condition and with all original attachments . If memory serves it was about $100 US works like a charm.

      2. The cutters from Veritas work. They are a little longer, so the flange on the adjuster needs to be up, unless you have a wooden sole attached.

    2. I saw a Stanley 71 1/2 listed with other planes and for sell on craigslist in Oklahoma (where I live) and so I inquired about the price and was quickly disinterested when i was quoted $185 U.S. dollars. This was for a 1970’s model Stanley 71 1/2 with a single cutter in it’s original unrestored condition. I wasnt expecting it to be free but i felt this was just too high. I’m okay with paying fair prices but I also dont want to be taken advantage of.

      1. Edit: autocorrect on my phone changed the date, that was supposed to read 1940’s model not 1970’s

    3. I went new for the same reason. I ended up with LieNielsen. Mostly because LieNielsen has a show once a year near where I live where you can try the tools hands on and they have instructors there to answer your questions. It’s a smart idea on their part.

  6. I agree, I have one because of luck an timing with a low price on eBay somehow. With it in hand for less than I paid for my Stanley 71 I don’t find it any better and just grab whichever is closest or sharpest. It is very cool looking though, I love it.

  7. I had one of these Tyzack router planes a while back in my workshop.
    In my opinion, it was not as versatile for the work I do when compared to a newer Veritas or even a traditional Stanley/Record model. Kept these,
    put the Tyzack on Ebay and sold it for a surprisingly good amount that paid almost full for a Microfence mini router base, edge guide, etc… made by Rich Wedler in CA.
    Glad to hear that I my opinion was not completely off mark.
    Thank you again Mr. Sellers for your very useful content.

  8. I would recommend building your router plane from scratch (but buy the blade!). Building mine was just about my first project (it shows), but I built it, how cool is that!

    FYI – I will get a “real” one some day, but not until my joints are tight!

  9. While I have bought some tools from eBay at fair prices, most of my tools have come from flea markets and antique stores. Here you have the ability to bargain and inspect the tools closely. Yes you will find some dealers asking ridiculous prices, but just pass them on by. With patience you can find quality tools at reasonable prices. My most recent find was a minty C. Garlick and Sons brass back dovetail saw with split nuts for $8! Plus you get a chance to admire the old craftsman made funiture. Just last week I saw a 9′ tall china cabinet with leaded glass doors made in walnut. It had the adjustable shelving just like Paul made in the tool cupboard. I was mesmerized! I admired that piece until my wife said, ” Either buy it or stop fidgeting with it. ” I always try to learn something about different construction methods by examining old pieces like this. Yes ebay is convenient, but it’s not the only option. I guarantee you will have fun, and find some good tools and inspiration along the way. Granted you may never find a Preston router, but then again you just might. Happy hunting!

    1. That really depends where you live. We have no decent tools in markets where I’m at. It would be a lovely way to find them though.

  10. I purchased a Stanley router plane here in Australia, I find it to be a really great little tool, screw it to a piece of flat stock and it works a treat. I think it cost me the princely sum of $60 and came with three irons, a fence (which I used as a rebate plane when I was making my son’s bed) and it takes the Veritas irons. It is a great little plane and was in really good nick for its age.

  11. What I hate to see are the shysters on Ebay selling Veritas and Lie Nielsen products as “vintage”, and over-retail prices at that. Ridiculous and predatory.

    I’m glad I bought my kit years ago before this tulip craze took off. Buy a Veritas or LN or shop the yard (boot) sales.

    1. I noticed more and more that many tools currently being manufactured in China and sold from there now carry the word ‘vintage’ as standard in the title when in reality there is nothing vintage about it.

  12. I bought my Veritas yrs ago. Great tool, which can do better with a removable wooden base in many occasions. Ebay is not what it used to be… even Flee Markets have changed as well.
    With so much yrs of advertisement on tv/web that you can become rich in a day…it seems many believe it and confuse gold with iron.

    Best.

  13. After checking eBay a few times I gave up on the idea of buying a router plane and was drawing up plans to make one. A couple of weeks ago I was in a local used tool store, a charity they take used tools that are donated Ansell them so they can help elderly folks stay in their homes. I noticed a crude homemade box on a shelf, picked it up, it said 48$ US so I opened it and saw a number 71 Stanley plane with 3 blades and the depth stop, I didn’t set it down until I payed for it. The plane body is clean, dull but clean, the blades were rough. I got 2 of the blades to cut like they should but the spear point was flat on one edge, now it works but still needs work done on it. For 48$ and some elbow grease I have a nice tool, sometimes you just have to be patient and trust.

    1. I finally gave up on buying a Stanley or Millers Falls for a reasonable price so I bought a new Lie Nielsen for less than the average price of a used Stanley on eBay. Only bad thing is LN sells no blades other than the 3/8s it ships with. I bought an ECE wooden router with 3 different blades to try out and it was only about $130, with the cutters available in either imperial or metric.

  14. After watching eBay and other vintage tool sites for a reasonably priced router plane for about a year. I went to Lie-Nielsen and bought a new one for the same price I would have payed for a used one. I like to put vintage tools back into service when I can, but I will not be taken advantage of for an inferior tool just because it’s “vintage” !!! Thanks for all you do Mr. Sellers.

  15. Thanks for this post and review, Paul. I have never seen the Preston router shape, only the traditional Stanley shape with the hump up front. I bought mine, a Millers Falls, some years ago for about USD25, IIRC. It doesn’t have the depth stop. I have making one for it on my roundtuit list.

  16. Yeah $500+… that’s a set of bench and mortise chisels, a pair of saws, and a brand new Veritas router plane… with a fence.

  17. Guys, you don’t have to own the exact same tool that Paul uses. Just get one that’s within your budget and be happy with it. If you’re a user, you will be able to use whichever one you get.

    If you’re a collector… well, you will sometimes have to pay collector prices.

  18. I don’t have the patience for eBay. I have been very happy dealing with the U.S. tool dealers. Jim Bode, Patrick Leach, Sanford Moss and Josh Clark are the ones I have done business with.

    I bought a Lie-Nielsen router plane and have been well pleased with it. Seems like a good value compared to vintage ones.

    1. Each to his own I say. What I love about eBay is it is risk free these days and it is a worldwide store so I can find tools there that I might never find through the individual dealers in tools. The 16″ handsaw by Groves I found in the USA would never have come my way had it not been for the simplicity of eBay.

  19. Very good paul!
    I think this style of router has a big advantage surfacing tenon cheeks.
    Thank you.

  20. Looking at the final photo with the blade approaching the edge of the slot I`m sure Paul you use some magic to cut from the outside inwards . My improvised tool of a piece of flat wood with a sharp screw (scratcher )protruding would be a perfect solution . Then cut the final part with a chisel .The wood and screw trick works well for door hinge slots where there is no room for bulkier tools .

  21. Hi Paul. I just bought a brass router plane (the link is below) on e-bay for 25 £ plus de postage. It has a nice old look, but i’m thinking on giving it a small refurbish, a litle polish and smoothing edges, and the handles are painted in black, but i think id prefer wax them. Just a litle refresh and a small personal touch.

    https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F143308046720

    Now i’m looking for some blades, and the minimum i found for one blade is 39£ plus shipping.

    I read all of your coment’s, and i believe averything as is price. But i look on the ebay and other places for the prices and the parts prices, and i think that they are to high, for the status of the items and when you want to restore them, and at the end the total price is huge.

    Personaly i remember my grandfather doing is woodworking. When he past away, all is tools disapear. Now i am trying to make a small shop for my hobby. For the start i’m loving the search for the tools, and the seeking for knoledge, how they work and the tecniques used. I’m selling all the power tool’s and going back in time. I hope all that knoledge whon’t be lost.

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