Tool Gloat - Stanley #55

[Dale Murray]

Gift from dad that was a gift from grand dad.
Grand dad tried woodworking but had no patience, later in life became a serious tool collector.
Dad has been a woodworker for more than 50 years now.

At some point grandpa gave dad a #55 with cutter sets 1-4 and two blade sets for a #45 - 1 and 2. Dad has never used it; he has loads of machines and really not interested in hand tool work. I am very driven to learn more about hand tool working and thus this is now mine.

Gloat gloat gloat


268904268905268906

[Todd Burch]

Sweeeeeet.

[David Weaver]

55s are nice, especially as complete as that. Nice and nice for work are two different things, but it will look nice while you use other planes to do the work....and every once in a blue moon, you might get into a pinch where you need to use it for a profile on house trim or something.

The fact that it's been in the family that long is extra cool, though, and it's in good shape with the tower and all.

[Chris Griggs]

Purrrrrrdy!

[Adam Cruea]

Wow. . .uh. . .

That thing looks. . .slightly complicated. Almost like an old-timey Transformer or something.

The fact it's been in the family is awesome, too.

[Dale Murray]

I have no misconceptions in regard to functionality; they are a pain to setup and usually a multi-tool is a poor substitute for several dedicated tools.

My next hand tool purchases were going to be a set of Veritas plow planes and a Rabbet plane (set of skewed, maybe). Now I can use that money toward a table saw instead. I believe my first use will be to make tongue and groove joints on clear straight grained red cedar for shelves in the linen closet. The wood it super dry and easy to work.

[Adam Cruea]

I have no misconceptions in regard to functionality; they are a pain to setup and usually a multi-tool is a poor substitute for several dedicated tools.

My next hand tool purchases were going to be a set of Veritas plow planes and a Rabbet plane (set of skewed, maybe). Now I can use that money toward a table saw instead. I believe my first use will be to make tongue and groove joints on clear straight grained red cedar for shelves in the linen closet. The wood it super dry and easy to work.

Multi-tool? How about we start with what this thing *can't* do. . .it may be a shorter list. ;)


And even if it's not functional at all, it's cool, dude. But hopefully it'll do your tongue-and-grooves nicely. :)

[Jim Koepke]

Very cool indeed.

My experience has shown that the best way to learn about setting up a #55 is by using a #45.

Since this is a hand-me-down you may just have to struggle with getting the adjustable skate set up to use it like a #45.

My #55 has helped me to reproduce some old molding for a project built for a friend.

If you do not already have the instruction booklet you might find this helpful:

http://www.tooltrip.com/tooltrip9/stanley/comb-planes/55man.pdf

Good luck,

jtk

[Jim Leslie]

I used to have one some years ago. I did make moulding with it for some picture frames & it was fun to use. It really worked well though it does take some getting used to (and super sharp cutters!).

[Harold Burrell]

OK...that's it...you suck.

[Brian J. Williams]

Very nice, especially knowing the family history. And for those of you who despise 45's and 55's, I'll gladly take them off your hands. I love my 45 (both the Stanley and the Colt).

[Archie England]

Indeed! Very nice--especially the family heritage.

[Michael Ray Smith]

OK...that's it...you suck.
+1 (and a pointless parenthetical to get me over the minimum number of characters per post)

[Mike Hutchison]

Nice looking plane fer sure
Having only seen 2 45s in the wild: (both of which were incomplete, I think) and
not having seen a 55 in person- am I correct in concluding that the 55 has a good bit
more knobs and attachments?

[Jim Koepke]

am I correct in concluding that the 55 has a good bit
more knobs and attachments?

Yes, the 55 has an outboard skate that is adjustable for height. This allows for non-symmetrical blades to be used. There is also an auxiliary skate to lend support in the center.

The 55 also has fences for both sides. The runner on the fences are adjustable for angle of attack. The screws on holding the wood allow for this.

The Stanley brain trust knew enough about the wood workers of the day to make the main parts of their multi-use planes incompatible with each other. The rods may be the same size, but the spacing between them is different for each plane.

The exact numbers escape me at the moment...

The latest edition of the #45 was supplied with 23 blades and 20 more were available "special cutters."

The #55 was supplied with 54 blades and 42 more were available as "special cutters."

Stanley also offered a service of making custom blades for the #55.

Some call it a boat anchor. Others think of it as an ingenious way to pack a lot of molding plane into one box.

jtk

[Jeff Duncan]

I've been wondering for years what to do with my 55 which I also received from my grandfather....well actually from my grandmother shortly after my gf passed. Too cool a tool to let go of, yet not nearly worth my time to diddle with. I think for now I'll let it set on the shelf for another decade or so and pass it down another generation:D

JeffD

[Dale Murray]

Its true, I do suck.

It is a very cool item to have. I intend to use it for tongue and groove and for plow purposes. Doubt I will try moldings.

I understand it can be a pain in the butt to use but there are possible learning opportunities there too. If it truly were a crap tool I doubt it would have been manufactured for 60 plus years. Maybe its crap because quarter sawn lumber is harder to get these days?

Who knows, I will enjoy screwing around with it and possibly cursing it along the way.

[Jim Koepke]

I understand it can be a pain in the butt to use but there are possible learning opportunities there too.

The most difficult part is getting the cutting portions of the blade to fully remove material to make a path for the skates.

With the #55 it is compounded by having to get the adjustable skate set properly for the non-symmetrical blades. Setting it the same as the fixed skate for the regular (#45 usable) blades is not a problem.

After that the biggest hassle is sharpening the blades other than the plowing blades, slip stones and patience.

jtk

[David Weaver]

I think it was probably an on-site solve all for archtectural work. That's my guess, at least. I think if you have a single purpose plane, the single purpose plane will work better every single time, but you can't put 50 of them in a small box and take it to repair a 2 foot long piece of trim in someone's house.

I used the 55 that I had as a plow plane, and like the 45, it worked well for that, and did do a roundover for the kitchen baseboard. The only real problem with it is that it's basically a chisel type cut. If you can plane downgrain the whole time, you don't ge greedy with cut depth and the cutters are sharp you can use it without issue, including the basic moulding profiles.

[Dale Murray]

I did not feel this deserved a new thread so I resurrected this one to share tool success.

I am renovating my garage. I machined some wood down to 1.5"x1.5" and need a 1/4" groove to accept some plywood. Not having a 1/4" rabbeting bit I ran to the local Home Depot - they did not have one. While contemplating options I thought, why not try the #55. Took a few minutes to setup but once done it worked like a dream.

Tomorrow I will have to cut 192' of grooves with a #55. It will take a little while but be quiet and dust free.

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[Jim Koepke]

The #55 is better at doing lefty than the #45.

With a sharp blade they are a joy to use.

The Home Depot not having the bit you wanted may have been an omen.

jtk