Stanley 45

[Carlos Cabrera]

I just got a Stanley 45 on the bay and it really needs to be cleaned up. Has anyone used Citric Acid to clean them up ? Any suggestions would be appreciated. It came with only one cutter so I am going to need some more :-) anyone have any extra cutters ??

Thanks,
Carlos

[Jim Koepke]

The cutters are often available on eBay. They are cheaper if you buy them without the boxes.

If I were going to do a soaking rust removal on one of these, I would do what was needed to keep the wood handle out of the solution.

The ones in my care have only been cleaned using a wire brush.

Post pictures if you can, There are a lot of changes the 45 went through over its years of production.

jim

[Bob Haverstock]

I have my Dad's Stanley 45. I remember when he bought it on an auction in the late 1950's. It came in the original box with a set of cutters in their box. I have fond memories of that day.

He thought that he had paid too much for it. As I recall, it was a five dollar bid.

I also have a couple of rough 45's and a Fulton. I look forward to reading your posts

Bob

[Dominic Greco]

I just got a Stanley 45 on the bay and it really needs to be cleaned up. Has anyone used Citric Acid to clean them up ? Any suggestions would be appreciated. It came with only one cutter so I am going to need some more :-) anyone have any extra cutters ??

Carlos,
I used a medium brass wire wheel brush chucked into my lathe (A drill press will work as well) to clean up my No45. I disassembled the entire plane and cleaned each part with the wire brush. If the parts were too small for that, or the area I wanted to clean was hard to reach, I used my Dremel with a small wire wheel brush installed. After I finished removing all the rust, I gave each piece a coat of 3-in-1 oil and allowed them to sit overnight. This reduced the chances of rusting, and help to get rid of the residue left by my hands. The next day I wiped off the pieces, re-assembled the plane, and gave the entire assembly a coat of Reconnaissance wax.

Before:




After:




Please be VERY careful with WD-40 around this plane. If any of the chrome plating has lifted the WD-40 can work it's way underneath and turn the area copper colored (DAMHIKT).

As far as the blades go, I've been watching the sales of No45 blades on Ebay and have been somewhat surprised at how much they are going for! I find myself using only the thinner ones (3/16", 1/4" & 3/8"). I keep a 3/16" wide blade (almost) permanently installed for use when I made drawer sides.

[John Keeton]

Dominic, that is quite a transformation! Makes me want one - I had the bug a couple weeks ago, and ended up with the 50...... hmmmmmm??!!?

[Duane Mohney]

John, that's ok I got the bug and ended up with a 45 and a 50 withen the space of a couple of weeks. I did ok, each was missing a couple parts. I'll have 200 into them when I get all the parts together.

[Dominic Greco]

Dominic, that is quite a transformation! Makes me want one - I had the bug a couple weeks ago, and ended up with the 50...... hmmmmmm??!!?

Thanks John! It's bad enough when you get your first combo plane! Then you want another, then another, then another! But they are just so COOL looking!

I wanted a No46 for a while and ended up getting it and a No45 at the same time. Since I had one already (the one pictured), I ended up cleaning the No45 and selling it. I still need to find blades for the No46 but I'm reluctant to shell out the kind of dough that their going for on Ebay. So the still tarnished and dirty No46 just sit on the top shelf of my tool cabinet, silently mocking me.

[Jim Koepke]

If you do the wire brush rust removal, be sure to wear a dust mask.

Nice work Dominic. Like you, some of my blades are the ones used the most. Since there are enough 45s in my shop, they stay almost permanently mounted. Being taken out only to sharpen when needed.

jtk

[Dominic Greco]

If you do the wire brush rust removal, be sure to wear a dust mask.

Nice work Dominic. Like you, some of my blades are the ones used the most. Since there are enough 45s in my shop, they stay almost permanently mounted. Being taken out only to sharpen when needed.

jtk

Thanks Jim. And your comment about the dust mask is right on target. I wear one all the time when I'm using the wire wheel brushes. Who wants to breath all that metallic dust in? Or end up with magnetic boogers?