How To Route Wood Without a Router - 2023 Beginners Guide

Before this era, mostly carpenter uses a hand plane tool for their woodworking. It’s easier than you think. Normally, these tools are used for multiple functionalities, including shaping and rounding edges. Hand plane tools have mostly come in different sizes with different features. Having greater length, give effective and precise dig in the wooden surface. But, If you are a newbie then shorter tools are best to handle for you.

Making routing wood without routers is not complicated. It’s too simple.

This article covers how to route wood without using a router and some other tricks that will be helpful for you after reading this.

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How to route wood without a router?

If you are looking for how to route wood without a router then you can find your answers here. This content is based on the hand plane tools and how to use them? By using these tools you can cut your wood piece properly.

Types of hand plane tools and their uses:

Jointing plane

One of the longest tools of a hand plane is a jointer plane with a size of 22 inches. Mostly, the longest tools are used for straightening and trimming the wood edges.
How to use a jointer plane?

First, take a piece of wood you want to trim or straight. Then see which edge is needed to be trimmed and marked it.

Adjust your jointer on the table according to your wood piece size.
Now, place the wood on the table on which the jointer plane is placed. Now take a push plane and put it on the edge side which is going to be trimmed. Then give pressure on the edge and push wood piece over the jointer.
Doing this process for each edge you want to trim.
Now you would see that your wood is straight and trimmed.You can see that it is very interesting and easy.

Smoothing plane

Type of shorter tool is smoothing planes, which is about 10 inches in size and is most adaptable. It consists of a chip breaker on its top and a blade on the bottom. This is used for the prevention of tear-out. Mostly, they are used for smoothing, straighten wood edges and prepare the surface of wood for finishing.

It is saying about smoothing plane that you can make all of your projects by using them. But if you are making a large project then you have to spend more time on this.

How to use a smoothing plane?

Place your wood piece on the table. Take a smoothing plane to consist of a knob on its top and a handler at its back.
Place the plane on the wood piece and give all of your pressure on the knob and handler for moving the plane.
Move plane forward on the workpiece and you can see the results that it smooths the wood nicely.

You can see that it shave the wood and looks very nice.

Scrub Plane

This type of plane comes with the size of 9inches and basically used for removing a large amount of wood, having an iron with a convex shape cutting edge, and used to sharpen the surface of the wood.

How to use a scrub plane?

First place the wood piece on the table.
Take a scrub plane which consists of the knob and a blade. Pick scrub with the knob and the handle in the other hand and move it on the wood.
You can move it diagonally, or straight with the angle of 90 degrees.
Now move scrub diagonally from start to end and you can see that the wood from the width and both sides would be removed.

You can see that it gives you proper dig as you want for your wood piece.

Jack Plane

If you wanna talk about shorter tools then you can see the name of jack plane having a size of 12-17 inches. This type of tool is more versatile than jointers and can be used for both longer woodworks and shorter woodworks. Usually used for smoothing the edges.
How to use a jack plane?

First, adjust the blade using Depth adjustment.
Then, place the workpiece on to the table and mark it with the permanent marker.
Take the jack plane and put it on the wood and move forward with the help of the knob at its top over the wood piece.
Going on till you reach on your marking line.

Now you can see the results.

Combination plane

If you want to cut grooves of the wood without a router then you can use this type of plane. Normally, it Consists of a fence, a cutter, and a depth stop. Here I will tell you about:

How to use Stanley 45 combination plane to cut groove?

Look here:

First, take a Stanley 45 combination plane and a workpiece and place it on the table.
Now, adjust the cutter width and the depth stopper by moving it up and down.
Now place the plane straight on the wood and move it forward. Make dig deeper as you desire.
Move plane till you get groove according to your desire.

Note: make sure that the plane is placed straight and moving right or left. Otherwise, your groove will not properly cut.

Block Plane

Purpose of using a block plane is to smoothen the surface, edge and the grain of the wood piece. Normally, it consists of a cutting blade used to cut and smoothen, a press knob at its back moves clockwise and anti-clockwise used for pressure, and adjustable used to adjust the cutting blade.

Now here a question arises:

How to cut a block of wood or smoothen a wood using a block plane?

First, take the block plane and a piece of wood.
Then, adjust the blade with the adjustable and move the knob according to your need.
Now, place the block plane on to the workpiece and move forward.

You can see that the rough wood become smooth.

The second thing you can do with this is to smoothen the grain of the wood. Place the rough grain wood on the table and move block plane.

Spokeshaves

Best for making concave and convex shapes of the items. This is very easy to use.

How to use spokeshaves?

Place the workpiece on the table and mark with the pencil. If you want concave shape then mark on the wood and start cutting with the spokeshaves.
Move the plane according to the marks.
Keep in mind when you are using this tool that your cutting should be according to the marking lines.

Shoulder Plane

This type of plane useful for trimming the edges of wood and to make a deep dig.

How to use a shoulder plane?

Tools required for that is a marking gauge, a large shoulder plane, and a medium shoulder plane.
Firstly mark on the workpiece with the marking gauge.
Put the edge of the large shoulder plane on the marking line and move it over the line and make a dig.
Now put the medium shoulder plane and shave the workpiece.

if you are trying to do things without using tools then you must have to spend more time, spend more effort with full concentration and risk on woodwork.