Question on a Stanley 54

[Kris Cook]

I joined SMC recently and this is my first post in the Neanderthal Haven forum. My wife was in Denver over Thanksgiving and her uncle hearing that I was into woodworking gave her to give to me a Stanley 54. It belonged to his father-in-law who was stationed at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7th 1941. After the war he built movie sets for one of the Hollywood movie studios. Anyway, my wife's uncle also sent along a note with the history part which I thought was really cool. He also gave me an un-marked rabbeting plane and a Yankee drill.

It is kind of funny - this summer I was working out of town and decided to hone my hand-working skills. I built Mike Peckovitch's tool chest using only hand tools (I did take a skill saw for cutting lumber to rough length). I had to plough a lot of grooves and dadoes and ending up using my router plane. The router plane worked fine but this plane would have been super handy.

The 54 came with 4 blades (unfortunately not 1/4" but I am not complaining).

I am getting ready to sharpen the lot of them. It looks like the bedding angle is 45 degrees, and the blades were sharpened at a 35 degree angle.

My question - for ploughing grooves in hardwood wouldn't 25-30 degrees make more sense?

Thanks in advance for input.

351857

Kris

[Nicholas Lawrence]

Always nice to have a tool with some history.

I don't know that much about the 54.

Is it a bevel down design? If so, the only real difference between 25 and 35 that I am aware of is that edge retention at 35 will probably be better.

[Jerry Olexa]

It means more when its from within your own family...Good for you...

[Jim Koepke]

Howdy Kris and Welcome to the Creek, or at least the cave next to the Creek.

The #54 is a rather odd duck. It was only made for 10 years and is somewhat difficult for collectors to find one to fill in the holes in their whatever it is they keep a collection locked up in.

It is much like the #50 without the nickers.

More information here:

http://www.supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan7.htm#num54

Remember that just because something is rare doesn't make it super valuable. It will likely serve you as a good user for many years to come.

A word of warning though, combination planes can become a slippery slope. DAMHIKT!

jtk

[Derek Cohen]

My question - for ploughing grooves in hardwood wouldn't 25-30 degrees make more sense?

Hi Kris

The recommended bevel angle for plough planes is 35 degrees. They need to be durable rather than have a super sharp edge.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Kris Cook]

Thanks everyone for your input.

Jim - the link was enlightening. I couldn't understand why there weren't any nickers.

35 degrees it will stay.

Derek - I have been reading articles on your site a lot recently. Very nice work. I am planning to make a birdcage awl soon.

Kris

[steven c newman]

And, when you do sharpen the cutters, all you need to do is hone the backs flat, no need to touch the bevels. Just hone the backs. They will be sharp enough.

[Jim Koepke]

And, when you do sharpen the cutters, all you need to do is hone the backs flat, no need to touch the bevels. Just hone the backs. They will be sharp enough.

There are many ways to get to sharp. Mine is a little different than Steven's. My bevels get honed. Also on a plow plane and many molding cutters it is good to hone the sides. Most of them have a slight bevel to the sides. This helps to make smooth sides on the work by reducing binding in use. It is kind of a clearance angle for the sides.



Jim - the link was enlightening. I couldn't understand why there weren't any nickers.

Kris

That site is one of the best sources of information on Stanley planes.

Your image is a bit dark. It is difficult to tell if there is an adjuster on your plane or if it is without. It also appears to be japanned as opposed to nickel plating. If that is the case it was likely made during the war.

jtk

[Kris Cook]

Thanks Jim. It does have the adjuster. At a minimum I will be re-defining the bevels, as at least one of them is not quite square. Looking at the blades the bevels are generally convex. I am guessing this is due to hand-sharpening and possibly stropping.

Kris