Stanley No. 45 Parts

[Mike Hutchison]

I posted in a thread in this board that I am doing some 45 parts
shopping with Martin J. Donnelly. I have been unable to play hooky
from work to send them a phone call agreed on "order form"
Yesterday I got a package from them with two rods before I paid
them. That's OK I guess, except that the two rods are not the
same length and neither have any threading. One rod is 4 1/2" long
and the other is 4 1/16" long.
Neither has a small through hole to put an awl or nail or something
to get just a little torque if there were threads. I am going out to
the shop now and see if they are the correct diam. to fit the holes
in the fences and main stock.
Does this sound off-base to anyone?

[Jim Koepke]

My knowledge of Martin J. Donnelly's business practices is zilch.

The threaded rods for the Stanley #45 were only used from 1884-1896. If your order wasn't clearly for a pair of threaded rods, it could be reason for your expectations not being met. Otherwise/either way you may need to go through a return process.

The changes to the design of the #45 after 1896 held the rod adjustments by threaded fasteners. This eliminated the need for tightening by nail.

As to the lengths being different the explanation for that may be how they store parts. These may have been in a bin with a pile of rods. The person filling the order may have just grabbed two without looking for a matching pair.

Threaded rods for the #45 will have different lengths of threads since one of the rods threaded end also retains the slitter and its depth stop.

It might be easier to get a set of the appropriate rods on ebay and cut and drill them to your preferred length. Many years ago one vendor was selling reproduction rods. The pair received at the time needed a bit of sanding to fit well. It seemed the designers at Stanley tended to make things in odd size. My recollection is the rods are threaded with a 1/4-28 pitch.

jtk

[Mike Hutchison]

Jim K.
Thanks for the detailed information. Maybe I should have
included more information. To Wit: The long rods that came
with my plane are threaded and have through holes.
Also there is a stamp on the skate of main stock.

STANLEY RULE &
LEVEL Co
PAT.MCH.11.84

This info would seem to confirm what you were saying in your post
The kicker is if you search eBay for Short Rods Stanley 45
you quickly find rods with threads and holes and mjd tools in the title of the listing
Long story short these will be returned, in no small measure due to your help
I am certain they are not correct for my plane.
You seem to combine "user" and "tool scholar" in pragmatic proportions.
Thanks again for your reply.
Mike Hutchison

[Jim Koepke]

Mike,

You are welcome.

And thank you for your kind words.

jtk