Originally Posted by
David Zor
Now, to potentially change the topic a bit...
Is there a reference out there for what irons are interchangeable with what plow/plough planes? A friend kindly offered me a spare Stanley 45 that is a spare for him for a price I couldn't pass up. However, I'll need to provide my own irons. Do the currently manufactured Veritas irons fit any of the vintage planes? What is the interchangeability between the Record 043 and 044? Interchangeability between Record and Stanley? And how about internal to Stanley? 45 and 55 fit eachother?
Here is an old post that may help answer some of this > https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?251419
The Veritas blades may work in a Stanley #45 but they are of a shorter length which means shorter life over the time they are used.
The Stanley #55 uses many blades that can be used on a #45. Some of the standard blades for a #55 were available as special blades for the #45. One thing the #55 has the #45 doesn't is an adjustable depth on the movable skate. This allows the #55 to use non-symmetrical blades.
The #55 also has a fence than can be angled for use in certain situations.
Another use of the #55 gave me an idea about stopped cuts with the #45 > https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?257497
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)