Buying a Stanley 55 - is Ebay OK?

[David Weaver]

I know that's a loaded question, but I'm trying to get a Stanley 55, and it looks like some of the folks who are putting pictures up on ebay are copying other peoples' descriptions and pictures.

Does anyone on here have a 55? If so, where did you get it? Local flea markets and yard sales don't yield much - though I wouldn't expect to find one at a yard sale. Flea markets here though don't yield what they seem to farther into the northeast. I guess Pittsburgh was more into the steel and less into the craftsmanship that was prevalent in the Philadelphia/Boston areas.

Is there a better place to look than Ebay, without paying $900-$1000 from a dealer (which is out of the question). I am looking for a user, so it's important for the plane to be sound, but the nickel doesn't have to be 100%.

[George Springer]

I noticed a "Buy it Now" on eBay last night for $450 and the photo looked familiar. I checked the seller's feedback and discovered they had bought the plane a week ago for $350. They were using the same pictures from the listing they purchased so it was familar. I don't see any 55's in the wild in north Texas but there is one in a local antique store that has one that looks fairly complete (but I've not taken a buyer's look at it) and the asking price is $550.00. Don't know if that helps or not. I don't own one but will if I ever find a "deal".

George Springer

[David Weaver]

George - I saw that. I think it's underhanded, and someone sniped me at the last second last night, and then immediately re-listed the item, but with a copied description and pictures from someone else's auction - they already had the scheme cooked up.

There's nothing illegal about that, I know, but it burns me up.

[Clint Jones]

I would reccommend buying a 45 if you plan on using the plane. What do you plan on doing with a 55 that you cant with a 45??? I saw one at an antique mall complete for $150 but it didnt have the cutters box or cams so I passed.

[Mike Hollingsworth]

I think I know where you can get one for $500.
It is complete and in the box.
PM if interested.

Mike H

[David Weaver]

Clint - mostly dadoes and rabbeting, so I might misunderstand what the plane can do - but I would like to have the ability to do the profiles.

I'm hoping to be able to get a complete unit - I want to learn how to use the tool, and not spend my time finding parts for it - just because I don't even know what "complete" is, and what's easy or hard to get. I know the cutters are easy to find, but I don't know about the rest of the plane parts.

Is the 55 as impossibly difficult to set up as it's made out to be?

I'm open to switching ideas to a 45 if it's really going to be that difficult to get decent results from the 55.

[Jake Darvall]

If you don't care about collecting and more about woodworking, you shouldn't need a complete 55 and box. The majority of parts you'll probably never use anyway.

So if you want to save some dough, and keep it practical, buy an old beat up one.

All you need is......

main body , with a depth stop and its binder, and the blade clampdown, which mostly are there.

a couple of fence rods.

the sliding skate assembly .

a single fence ( you don't need two)

There's a auxiliary skate as well. Thats helps use a bit. But for a lot of cuts I've found is not necessary.

only half a dozern blades. I use my 55 often, and I only use about 15 of them. You definetly don't need the complete set of blades.

You'll need plenty of practise and patience at first. Most important is you learn to sharpen your blades.

[George Springer]

David, If you can find a copy of Plane Basics by Sam Allen the set ups for a 55 to cut different moulding profiles is covered pretty well. The book is out of print but you can find copies. I did a Google search when I started looking for mine and found several on the web. It's the primary reason I started looking for a 55.

GS

[James Mittlefehldt]

David, If you can find a copy of Plane Basics by Sam Allen the set ups for a 55 to cut different moulding profiles is covered pretty well. The book is out of print but you can find copies. I did a Google search when I started looking for mine and found several on the web. It's the primary reason I started looking for a 55.

GS
Also Lee Valley has the original manual reprinted, it shows up a lot on Ebay.

[Ken Werner]

How about a 50? I've seen them go for much less than 45s and 55s.

[David Weaver]

Are the 50s plow/dado planes?

There are a couple of 55s on ebay right now, and I'm going to try to nail one down.

[Barry Vabeach]

David, there was a write up in FWW book on planes comparing the 45 and 55 and the main difference is the 55 skate can move up and down ( as well as side to side) so you can get non uniform profiles. The 45 does a square ( identical at either side) dado and reed. The 55 allows either side of the profile to be higher ( or lower) so you can do ogee's and such where the profile ( if spilt in half) is not a mirror. I find that the 45 is a go to plane for grooves and for reeds ( or beads ) The 55 is not all that hard to set up, though def harder than the 45, but even when set up, it has no real mouth so the results for curved profiles are not all that great unless the wood is very straight grained. You would probably get the best results ( for a little less money) by buying a 45 ( get the one with the fence with the turnscrew in the middle if you can) and then buy a few pair ( 4 , 6 , and 8 ) hollow and round planes and you will be better off than with a 55. Good luck Barry

[Joe Denney]

David,
If you don't have any luck on the bay, pm me. A local antique dealer has a 55 in a shop made wood box w/a complete (I think) set of blades. It's not perfect, but looks like a good user. If memory serves, he's asking $250 or so. I'd be glad to facilitate a transaction, just shoot me a PM. I'll be gone until Sunday night, but will check and verify he still has it and the price on my way out of town this am.

Joe

[David Weaver]

Joe - thanks for the offer. I snagged one off ebay yesterday, and it looks fairly complete, but the pictures couldn't tell absolutely everything. If it comes and it's in workable shape with no cracks in the castings or no screw threads blown out, then I'm done looking.

If it's not what the seller says it is, then I'll be in contact.

Thanks -

[David Carroll]

Clint - mostly dadoes and rabbeting, so I might misunderstand what the plane can do - but I would like to have the ability to do the profiles.

If what you want to do is primarily dados and rabbets I'd get a beater 45 and a 78 and then a 46. The 46 (or 47) is the sweetest plane for dados because of the skewed cutters. You could do this for about the same money.

But having owned all of the above (at one time or another), to make dados, a wooden plane is tops, IMO. You need one for every size but they typically go for 35 - 85 bucks so you could buy a bunch of them for what you would pay for a decent 55. Tune it up once and there it sits on the shelf, waiting and ready.

David C.