Stanley #55 plane
 

If the Stanley #55 plane was such a good universal workhorse, why are
they not sold today? Or, are similar planes made today?

Stanley #55 plane
 

Phisherman wrote:

If the Stanley #55 plane was such a good universal workhorse, why
are they not sold today? Or, are similar planes made today?


Stanley have dropped a large proportion of its plane range because
the market has changed , with the advent of routers , portable
beltsanders and power planers many of the older planes became
uneconomical to produce as people moved away from them

I have been after a side fillister for years now but they havent been
in production for decades , replacement blades for plough planes are
unavailable as are the screwdriver tips for pump screwdrivers

Its just the changing nature of the trade unfortunatly

There are still companies out thier that are making similar products
to order , clifton being one of them but they are extremley expensive
although the quality is excellent.

How often on a building site do you see a joiner use hand
screwdrivers , planes , braces , drills you dont

Stanley #55 plane
 

On Jan 16, 8:19*am, "steve robinson"
wrote:
....
I have been after a side fillister for years now but they havent been
in production for decades , replacement blades for plough planes are
unavailable as are the screwdriver tips for pump screwdrivers

By "pump screwdriver", do you mean a "Yankee" or spiral ratcheting
screwdriver? Lee Valley still sell the drivers, bits, and a converter
to use standard hex bits with them:
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...411,43417&ap=1

Stanley #55 plane
 

'lektric dan wrote:

On Jan 16, 8:19*am, "steve robinson"
wrote:
...
I have been after a side fillister for years now but they havent
been in production for decades , replacement blades for plough
planes are unavailable as are the screwdriver tips for pump
screwdrivers

By "pump screwdriver", do you mean a "Yankee" or spiral ratcheting
screwdriver? Lee Valley still sell the drivers, bits, and a
converter to use standard hex bits with them:

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...411,43417&ap=1

Yes , i am based in the UK so its uneconomical to purchase small
items from the USA by the time they slap on vat , import fees ,
handling and postage a small 3 dollar item ends up around $50 .


Same with replacement parts for handplanes what you pay a few
dollars for in the states in the uk its just as cheap to buy a new
plane

Stanley #55 plane
 

On Sat, 16 Jan 2010 14:19:36 +0000, "steve robinson"
in production for decades , replacement blades for plough planes are
unavailable as are the screwdriver tips for pump screwdrivers

There's still a few quality manufacturers around. I gave myself a
Veritas plow plane and the optional five blade package for Christmas.
It works really well and is a relief from the noise and dust created
by a router.
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...78&cat=1,41182

I believe Lee Valley also has the screwdriver tips for the Yankee type
pump screwdrivers.

Stanley #55 plane
 

wrote:

On Sat, 16 Jan 2010 14:19:36 +0000, "steve robinson"
in production for decades , replacement blades for plough planes
are unavailable as are the screwdriver tips for pump screwdrivers

There's still a few quality manufacturers around. I gave myself a
Veritas plow plane and the optional five blade package for
Christmas. It works really well and is a relief from the noise and
dust created by a router.
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...78&cat=1,41182

I believe Lee Valley also has the screwdriver tips for the Yankee
type pump screwdrivers.

unfortunately i am in the UK

Stanley #55 plane
 

On Sat, 16 Jan 2010 15:26:58 +0000, "steve robinson" wrote:

'lektric dan wrote:

On Jan 16, 8:19*am, "steve robinson"
wrote:
...
I have been after a side fillister for years now but they havent
been in production for decades , replacement blades for plough
planes are unavailable as are the screwdriver tips for pump
screwdrivers

By "pump screwdriver", do you mean a "Yankee" or spiral ratcheting
screwdriver? Lee Valley still sell the drivers, bits, and a
converter to use standard hex bits with them:

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...411,43417&ap=1

Yes , i am based in the UK so its uneconomical to purchase small
items from the USA by the time they slap on vat , import fees ,
handling and postage a small 3 dollar item ends up around $50 .


Same with replacement parts for handplanes what you pay a few
dollars for in the states in the uk its just as cheap to buy a new
plane

That's interesting. I have been following hand tool prices, including plough blades,via ebay (US)
for the last couple of months or so. I'd gladly pay the 10 pounds or so for a mixed maker set of
plough blades if I didn't have to pay shipping. Some nice dovetail saws there have gone for as
little as 4-6 pounds in December. Ebay (US) seems to have a lot of very nice planes and chisels at
very good prices from the UK. The killer is shipping to the US, some 25 pounds or about $40 for a
lot of these items.

Regards,
Roy

Stanley #55 plane
 

On 1/16/2010 8:00 AM, Phisherman wrote:
If the Stanley #55 plane was such a good universal workhorse, why are
they not sold today? Or, are similar planes made today?

Well in the opinion of at least one guy who ought to know, the #55 was not a
"good universal workhorse", but a piece of crap:

http://www.supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan8.htm#num55

I'm a Stanley plane fanatic (and I *use* them; they don't just sit on the
shelf) but the #55 isn't one I've been tempted to acquire, mainly because I
trust Patrick's opinion enough to not be tempted.

--
See Nad. See Nad go. Go Nad!
To reply, eat the taco.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbqboyee/

Stanley #55 plane
 

On Jan 16, 9:00*am, Phisherman wrote:
If the Stanley #55 plane was such a good universal workhorse, why are
they not sold today? *Or, are similar planes made today?

I have a couple, and found them to be useful for some things, but
there are limitations inherent in the design. Having no mouth means
that tear out is a bigger problem. They are cumbersome tools and a
bit unwieldly for most work. The biggest problem is that the tool
tries to be everything, which is impossible in woodworking. One of
the nice things about up a dedicated molding plane is that it is
already set up to use when you pick it up.

That being said, you can replicate a helluva lot of period molding
with the 55, and you learn a lot about the importance of planing
order.

I don't know of any plane that is complicated as a 55 being made
today, but I suppose there's some boutique plane maker making a $6000
version.

R

Stanley #55 plane
 

In article ,
says...
If the Stanley #55 plane was such a good universal workhorse, why are
they not sold today? Or, are similar planes made today?

I've seen a few articles that implied they never did work very well.
But their Rube Goldberg appearance makes them very attracive to
collectors.

Stanley #55 plane
 

Larry Blanchard wrote:

In article ,
says...
If the Stanley #55 plane was such a good universal workhorse, why
are they not sold today? Or, are similar planes made today?

I've seen a few articles that implied they never did work very
well. But their Rube Goldberg appearance makes them very attracive
to collectors.

Its down to the user , once you have gotten used to its features and
handling its a cracking piece of kit , ideal for restoration works
when you need to match an existing mould

Stanley #55 plane
 

On Sat, 16 Jan 2010 17:07:39 -0600, Steve Turner
wrote:

On 1/16/2010 8:00 AM, Phisherman wrote:
If the Stanley #55 plane was such a good universal workhorse, why are
they not sold today? Or, are similar planes made today?

Well in the opinion of at least one guy who ought to know, the #55 was not a
"good universal workhorse", but a piece of crap:

http://www.supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan8.htm#num55

I'm a Stanley plane fanatic (and I *use* them; they don't just sit on the
shelf) but the #55 isn't one I've been tempted to acquire, mainly because I
trust Patrick's opinion enough to not be tempted.

Thanks for the link. Interesting read, and saw a few tools I had not
seen before. The router made many obsolete.

Stanley #55 plane
 

On 1/16/2010 7:33 AM spake thus:

I believe Lee Valley also has the screwdriver tips for the Yankee type
pump screwdrivers.

Hell, Stanley still makes those. I bought one at my local (Ace) hardware
store not long ago.


--
You were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it.

- a Usenet "apology"

Stanley #55 plane
 

David Nebenzahl wrote:

On 1/16/2010 7:33 AM spake thus:

I believe Lee Valley also has the screwdriver tips for the Yankee
type pump screwdrivers.

Hell, Stanley still makes those. I bought one at my local (Ace)
hardware store not long ago.

They are only available in the USA not UKor the rest of europe

Stanley #55 plane
 

On Jan 18, 7:00*am, "steve robinson"
wrote:
David Nebenzahl wrote:
On 1/16/2010 7:33 AM spake thus:

I believe Lee Valley also has the screwdriver tips for the Yankee
type pump screwdrivers.

Hell, Stanley still makes those. I bought one at my local (Ace)
hardware store not long ago.

They are only available in the USA not UKor the rest of europe

Just as well.
http://www.garrettwade.com/product.a...cd2=1263824948

R

Stanley #55 plane
 

On 16 Jan, 14:00, Phisherman wrote:
If the Stanley #55 plane was such a good universal workhorse, why are
they not sold today? *Or, are similar planes made today?

They are, just not by Stanley. There are any number around cheap S/H,
Record made them until recently and Clifton are now making them
(although at some incredible price).

The trouble is, that like other metal bodied interchangeable iron
planes, the mouth is poor - there isn't one! So chip formation is
poor, compared to an old one-pattern wooden moulder. They also
appeared on the market at a time when previous fashions for extensive
moulding work were receding, and routers (fixed bench machines at
least) were appearing for production joinery.

I've got a couple: #55 and a Record 050 and I never use them. About
the only thing I might use them for would be to match custom mouldings
(making a cutter to match) and I do that with a Stanley #66 scratch
stock instead (cuts very slowly, but leaves a better finish).

Stanley #55 plane
 

On 16 Jan, 14:19, "steve robinson"
wrote:

How often on a building site do you see a joiner use hand
screwdrivers , planes , braces , drills you dont

If they're on a building site, they're carpenters rather than joiners.

Stanley #55 plane
 

On 16 Jan, 17:33, "steve robinson"
wrote:

I believe Lee Valley also has the screwdriver tips for the Yankee
type pump screwdrivers.

unfortunately i am in the UK

You can still get for Spiralux drivers if you hunt, and Rolson (yes, I
know) are still making the whole screwdriver. For some tasks, I still
prefer a long pump screwdriver to the weight of a cordless.

Mine uses long Bosch bits with a hex end, re-ground with the half-dog
end to fit.

Stanley #55 plane
 

On Jan 18, 10:52*am, Andy Dingley wrote:
On 16 Jan, 14:19, "steve robinson"
wrote:

How often on a building site do you see a joiner use hand
screwdrivers , planes , braces , drills you dont

If they're on a building site, they're carpenters rather than joiners.

If they're not joiners, wouldn't they be loners? Or if they didn't
mind people borrowing their tools, loaners?

R