Stanley No 45 Skate knob

[Bill Berklich]

I picked up a Stanley No 45 (7?) that is missing its Skate Knob. It is the older one that threads directly on to a cast stud on the skate. Does anyone have a pattern, dimensions, thoughts, ideas to tips on turning or replacing it? I have a nice chunk of Rosewood picked out for it.

[Jim Koepke]

The tough part is matching the threads. If you can do that, then the rest is easy.

Do you need measurements?

There may be one in my shop that can be measured if that is what you need.

jtk

[Bill Houghton]

This is heretical, but, if yours is a user tool, you could tap a hole in the middle of the stub, then bore out the knob to accept the maximum diameter of the stub, and retain it with a screw through the center, similarly to the knob on the front of a bench plane.

[Jim Koepke]

Found mine and measured it.

The sphere is 1-1/2" diameter.

The 'pedestal' is 13/16" diameter by 7/32" tall.

BTW, mine was broken and epoxied into place by a previous owner. The ones that thread onto the fence have a tendency to get broken from the force against the threads. That was fixed by using a metal bolt and nut.

jtk

[Bill Berklich]

This is heretical, ......

ROFL - I initially read it as "Hysterical..." It is a bit of heresy I hadn't considered but I may under take. This is a good solid user (aka not pretty), not a lot of the plating left, some pitting and a few dings, and all the blades. So if I can't reasonably turn and thread a replacement I will def just drill and thread for a later model handle. That should COMPLETELY confuse the next owner as he tries to figure out exactly what he's holding :-)

[Bill Berklich]

Found mine and measured it.

The sphere is 1-1/2" diameter.

The 'pedestal' is 13/16" diameter by 7/32" tall.

jtk

JTK - thanks for the dimensions. My thought on threading is to get a coarse thread bolt and cut away the threads in 3 equally spaced places to make a tap. Not sure if that will work but if it's close then maybe... If not then I'm going to just modify it.

[steven c newman]

IF you happen to have a Stanley No. 110 block plane around..WITH a knob intact....the threads are the same as the ones on the #45.....just a thought....use that to check the tap size.

[Bob Glenn]

Why are these knobs always missing? Just wondering.

[Jim Koepke]

Why are these knobs always missing? Just wondering.

The user tendency is to push on the knob to hold it to the work. This tends to turn the knob tighter. The threads tend to get mangled and then the knob either keeps falling off or it splits from the exerted forces.

If you look at the later design, they are rarely seen without their knobs.

My solution was to purchase a later model fence, for the fine adjustment feature, then to purchase later model planes.

jtk