# How does Depth gauge Work on No71 Router



## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

I’m trying to figure out how to use the depth gauge in the Stanley No. 71 Router plane. I found a couple of videos that shows how to use a router plane, but one YouTube video has a new modern router plane and I need to know how to use the old Stanley No.71. The other video has my router plane, but only shows the operation and not how the gauge is set.

Can anybody explain how to do this or point me to a video of it?


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## Billy De (Jul 19, 2009)

Sleeper the router you have is known as a open throated router.
the throat is the space in front of the blade when working on wood that is narrower than the throat the pin is fastened in the front of the plane and the small piece is fastened to the bottom of the pin and closes the throat, the small piece effectively becomes the sole of the plane in front of the blade and allows you to use the plane on narrow pieces of wood.

When you want to use it as a depth gauge the small piece is released from the bottom of the pin and placed on the top of the pin,if you want to set it at say 1/4" you measure up from the plane a 1/4" on the pin and fasten the small piece at this place on the pin.The pin is left lose in the plane and as you use the plane the pin drops down till the small piece hits the plane and this tells you that you have reached the depth that you wanted. Billy.


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

Thanks Billy,
I was looking for a photo to see if I understood you correctly and just now came across this PDF instruction sheet 
http://www.tooltrip.com/tooltrip9/stanley/stanmisc/71man.pdf

I can understand about cutting narrow stock, but I'm still having trouble envisioning the depth stop as to how it actually works without interfering with the cut. Is it more of a visual reference?


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## Billy De (Jul 19, 2009)

Sleeper unfortunately it doesn't show it in the link you posted ,but I think you`ve got it. 
It is very much a visual thing the small shoe fastens to the top part of the pin,the pin is lose in the plane so moves down in the dado or rabbet as the blade removes the waste till the shoe touches the plane and then you can see it has reached the depth that you set it at.

BTW the two holes in the sole are so you can fasten a flat piece of wood to the sole to increase the sole area.
The 71 1/2 has two slots milled into the sole of the plane so a fence can also be fastened onto the sole, I don't know if this is the same on the 71.


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

Billy De said:


> Sleeper unfortunately it doesn't show it in the link you posted ,but I think you`ve got it.
> It is very much a visual thing the small shoe fastens to the top part of the pin,the pin is lose in the plane so moves down in the dado or rabbet as the blade removes the waste till the shoe touches the plane and then you can see it has reached the depth that you set it at.
> 
> BTW the two holes in the sole are so you can fasten a flat piece of wood to the sole to increase the sole area.
> The 71 1/2 has two slots milled into the sole of the plane so a fence can also be fastened onto the sole, I don't know if this is the same on the 71.


Mine doesn't have the slot or the fence, but does have the two counter sunk holes. I wasn't sure what they were for and was thinking it was for mounting on a table or something.
Anyway Thanks Billy for your help


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