Stanley 45 plane

[Richard Gillespie]

I inherited a Stanley 45 plane from my father. I believe he inherited from his grandfather. It has sat in it's pasteboard box quietly rusting for many years. I don't remember my father ever using it.

I opened that box tonight, thinking I might try to use it to cut some 3/8" dado's I need. I'd have to sharpen the blade but the plane appears to be usable, if a little rusty. Not knowing anything about them, were they, as a multi purpose tool, any good? Are there any instructional manuals available on the net?

[Harold Blair]

Richard: I regularly use a Record 405. This is the English version of the Stanley 45. It is a very useful tool. However, I found it initially very frustrating to use. It is tempermental and somewhat difficult to setup (compared to a single purpose plane.) Be sure to get the blades really sharp and take very shallow cuts. Harold Blair

[Jeff Kurtz]

Richard,

I just did a quick search on Google, and it does seem there are some materials out there.
Here's the link. http://www.google.com/search?as_q=&num=10&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&btnG=Google+Search&as_epq=Stanley+45&as_oq=instruction&as_eq=&lr=&as_ft=i&as_filetype=&as_qdr=all&as_occt=any&as_dt=i&as_sitesearch=&safe=images
Also, you may want to check on EBay, they frequently have the manuals for sale there.

Jeff

[Scott Quesnelle]

Manual that should work for your stanley 45 is available here:

http://www.marquis-kyle.com.au/otherstuff.htm

Parts list and other info available here:

http://www.rosewoodandbrass.com/The%20Stanley%2045%20Combination%20Plane.htm

As a plane it is fairly useful. Finicky to setup on occassion and expensive to buy usually. You don't have to worry about the expensive part, but the parts list will show all the cutters available for it.

If you want to kill the rust, look at electozapping it. Just search on google or go here:

http://www.chip.com/buick/techtips/rustremoval.html

Lucky you for finding a plane with a long family heritage.

Scott Quesnelle

[Dave Anderson NH]

To some the #45 is a bit gimmicky. It really isn't though. Most folks problems with this tool have to do with expecting immediate perfect results. This is a complicated plane and has a bit of a learning curve. Expect to spend the time and tuition (wood) learning to use it. It does a number things quite well, particularly beading and rabetting. The best of info on how to use it is the book Planecraft available through Woodcraft.

[harry strasil]

I am fortunate to have 3 stanley 45 planes. a type 1 (1886-87), a type 8 (1907-08) and a type 12 (1915-1920), a stanley 50 and a stanley 55 type 1 . Depending on what I am doing I sometimes have a different cutter in each one so I don't have to keep changing cutters. They are very versatile and handy planes and after learning to use them, there is not to much they won't do.