Has anyone else noticed the rising cost of replacement parts for Stanley and Record router planes? I recently went online to source components for my Stanley England No. 71 and was genuinely astonished by the asking prices.
If you were to build a router plane from scratch using spare parts purchased on eBay, you’d be lucky to come away with much change from £170. In contrast, a complete plane—equipped with three blades but without the original box, can sometimes be found for around £95. The economics of restoration are becoming increasingly skewed.
Fortunately, I’ve managed to build a modest collection of routers over the years, including:
- 🧰 Sargent No. 61
- 🧰 Stanley No. 71 Type 4
- 🧰 Stanley No. 71½ Patent 01
- 🧰 A brass copy of the Stanley 71½
- 🧰 Record No. 71
- 🧰 Two Stanley England No. 71s
The old tool collector 