Stanley No. 46 Cutter Box Lid

[David Carroll]

10 years ago I bought a Stanley No. 46. It didn't come with its box, but did come with a set of cutters in a box, but without a lid. I love the plane and decided to make a new lid for the box of cutters as soon as I found some time. After only a decade and I suppose thanks to the quarantine, I made it this afternoon.

It was a fun little project. The wood (as close a match as I could find) was an old step ladder tread I found at the dump. I took great pains to preserve the "patina" of the wood and though it is not a good match, in another hundred years it'll blend in.

My question is this: On the originals, were there any clips or anything to keep the lid on? Or does one tie a string around it all? I see remnants of a label that held it closed and together during shipping (I think), but that's of no use now.

Does anybody have one?

Sorry if the photos are sideways :-/ I couldn't figure out how to rotate them...

DC

[Jim Koepke]

Interesting when the images are clicked on they enlarge properly oriented.

A good resource for this kind of research is ebay. From a listing for a Stanley #46:

#46 Blade Box.jpg

It looks like there isn't any spring clasps like on blade boxes for the #45.

jtk

[Stew Denton]

Hi David,

Good job, glad you finally got a chance to build the cover. I need to do a similar task, but I haven't gotten around to it, so I need to do exactly what you did, but need to build the entire box not just a top. Do you have some spare step ladder treads.......just kidding.......I need to go our transfer station here in town and try to filth my own step ladder treads.

That said, I have cutter boxes for 3 combination planes. They are all different for the three planes.

One box has no clasp of any kind, the lid is just sets on the box held in place by the irons that stick out of the top of the box bottom. Thus it is just like the box with lid that you now have for the cutters for your # 46.

A second set of 2 boxes for the cutters for a single plane have very thin sheet metal flat springs attached to each of the narrow ends of the top of the box. They are not set up to hold the lid on in any way, all they do is slide over the ends of the box bottom, and keep the lid from sliding off the box from end to end.

The last one is for my Stanley 46, and it has a flat swing up hook type closure. The hook is on one narrow end of the box bottom and swings up to hook on the head of a tiny finish nail that is nailed into the end of the top of the box. On the other end of the box is a hinge that is inset between the two leaves that form the flat sides of the box. It is the same thickness as the thin wooden spacer that separates the sides of the box along the edges to make a space for the irons between the two sides. It is a well made hinge, not a cheap flat hinge. Thus, the lid can swing open, opening up pivoting on the end with the hinge. It stays attached to the bottom part of the box at all times because of the hinge. On that box both the hook and the hinge are brass.

The oldest combination plane is the one that the lid that is just loose on the bottom of the box, and from the type studies, that combination plane was made in about 1914. The box with the two flat spring clips on each end of the boxes was made in either 1921 or 1922, again by the type studies. I do not know when the 46 was made, and I bought the irons separately from the plane itself.

I am wondering if Stanley changed the types of closures for their boxes for their combination planes from time to time just like they change their trademarks, which is why I listed the dates that they were made. I wonder if the closures on their boxes for the cutters all had the same type of closure during a given time period.....but I don't know.

Regards,

Stew

[Jim Koepke]

I am wondering if Stanley changed the types of closures for their boxes for their combination planes from time to time just like they change their trademarks, which is why I listed the dates that they were made.

Yes, the boxes for combination planes did change from time to time. Originally it was a single box of blades for the #45. These actually came with extra nickers stapled to them. With added blades it changed to two boxes. There may have been other changes before they went to a single box with two rows of blades. These may have been made of cardboard.

jtk

[Mike Hutchison]

If 3 or 4 people do it..it's a movement
I just finished a cutter box for my 45 yesterday.
I used brass latches. I had a little issue in re: screws.
In trying to be close to the dimension/s of the originals
I found that the smallest (shortest) screws that I could readily
buy locally wanted to stick through the sides which of course
would mark the cutters. Used a combination of flat washers and
and what manufacturer calls finish washers to "shorten" the screws
and get clearance between the two parts of latch. Still had to a little
dressing with my thinnest flat file inside the box.

[David Carroll]

Thank you all for your comments!

I checked out Google (Thanks for the tip Jim!) and then Jim Bode's site, and I found examples of all that Stew mentioned. I believe I have some small brass swing up hooks. At work, I have some spring steel that I could probably use to fabricate springs, and I even have a tiny brass strap hinge that I could use. I save odd bits of old hardware for just such occasions.

On the box I have (the base) there is no evidence that there was any hardware removed, so I am inclined to believe mine is of the oldest type with just a lid that fit over the cutters, so if the cutters were removed, there would be no way for it to stay on at all. Likely I will put the hinge on one side and make the closure with a hook.

I'm not a real stickler for historical accuracy, but I would like to make a more positive closure that is still in keeping with the age of the plane.

Thanks again everybody!

DC

[David Carroll]

Update:

It's a silly little project, and clearly doesn't fall under the topic of "fine woodworking," but It was fun! The whole thing didn't take three hours start to finish, building the cover and fitting the hardware. Added bonus: I got to use some odd bits of antique hardware that I've been saving since the Reagan Administration!

I had a single old brass strap hinge that came in an old dusty box of brass bits 'n bobs from a yard sale, and I bought an old tool chest that came with a drawer filled with old hooks and things. So I fitted the hinge at one end and the hook (with a round head screw closure) at the other.

I added a slip of wood to keep the lid aligned when the box is empty. I'm not sure that it is necessary, but it does take up the extra space and also keeps the cutters from tipping over in the box.

Stanley Cutter 1.jpg
Stanley Cutter 2.jpg
Stanley Cutter 3.jpg

So that's one project done and dusted! Now on to something else!

DC

[Jim Koepke]

Some of my best times in the shop is when doing a little puttering like this.

Thanks for sharing.

jtk

[Mike Hutchison]

In a previous post to this thread I was mentioning available fasteners. I wanted to go with brass for a couple reasons-rust due to Florida humidity, thought maybe it would dress up the thing and had some brass on hand.Turns out the size of the latches I found, again at the Big Box, impacted what size and shape the label could be. Here is where I wish had seen David's solution before I put latches on. Not saying I would have went with that approach but having what looks to be a viable option would have been nice. My cutter box ended up 10-1/16" L x 11/16" Th x 5" Hgt. Didn't have to notch out the bottom part of the box for sash cutters; they are stored inside the main box.

CutterBoxwLabel.jpg

[David Carroll]

Nice Job! I saw several cutter-boxes with the hook and eye on the front, just like yours. But ultimately I went with the side, because there was more wood to screw into (the box front on mine is just 1/8-inch). Plus I had several tiny old hooks that as I mentioned before came from an old tool chest, which was about the same age as the plane (pre-1900).

It's a movement!

DC