Hi Folks,
I have a friend of mine who has a complete Stanley #55 with all the cutters for sale. He wants $550 for it. The nickel plating is about 99.9%, cutters are all there and are in very good condition, with a few duplicates.
He also has a complete set of Hollows & Rounds that he wants $350 for. These are in a wododen toolbox w/handle. Looks like it was made for them. The irons are in very good shape and the bodies are likewise.
Are these good buys? I have some pics of the H&R’s and will post soon.
I welcome any and all suggestions.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Replies
The #55 will make a hell of a door stop.... The H&R's would be a better deal from a user standpoint.
Napie,
Aw, c'mon man. Think of how many plane irons you can freehand sharpen! :-)
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 2/16/2008 10:08 pm ET by KiddervilleAcres
As <!----><!----><!---->Roy<!----> <!---->Underhill<!----><!----> said, the reason there are so many #55 are found with all the irons and in such good shape is that they really don’t work very well, hence they were not used and are all together in the box where they belong. I dumped a #45 years ago and bought router bits with the proceeds, one of the best moves I ever made.
Napie,
Was just pullin your leg.
I have had a #45 for a couple years now and I really like it. I use it to make beading and all kinds of decorative edge treatments. Of course it means that the timber needs/should be straight grained for best resluts. It was a challenge to get it to work, but then again, I always enjoy a challenge.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 2/16/2008 10:38 pm ET by KiddervilleAcres
Oh they are fun that is no doubt and a challenge is the term for them. I believe there are two types of “woodworkers”. Those who are about making something and the end result and those for who the tools and the process are the reason and the product is secondary. I consider myself to be in the former group, maybe it was all that Tage Frid and Sam Maloof I read.
Napie,
What you said about the end result vs the journey kinda kindled a memory for me.
For close to 30 years my woodworking consisted of mainly framing, hanging drywall, plywood on flooors, mostly building not furniture or what might be construed as fine woodworking.
One day I was finishing up framing a wall and I noticed that the studs didn't line up quite right to my eye. I took out a plane and started planing off the high spots and my father said,"For chrisake ya ain't making furniture!"
Well here I am trying to make furniture.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
I just picked up a Barry & Way (1842-1847) Beech and boxwood plough plane for $57. And there was a Mint condition 55 in an oak, box joint, with sliding lid. The finish on the rosewood glossy, I don't think the 55 was ever used and all pieces parts were there along with 4 wooden boxes of assorted cutters included. They wanted $650. There was also a 45, a #1  Stanley too, a corebox plane, and a Bedrock corrugated bottom jack. Sadly the #1 was in weep over poor shape and $1130 to boot.
While I have your attention, Do you know of a source for fenced plough plane irons?
I hope you can figure out how that plane works ;-) too many pieces parts for me.
Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
Bruce,
Sorry man I wish I could help you. I'd be Googling myself. Perhaps someone else will chime in that can help. If I happen to stumble on it I will definitely let you know.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 2/16/2008 10:12 pm ET by KiddervilleAcres
Googling!!!!!!!!!!! My eyes are crossed from hitting so many sites. Seems like the Brits have the corner on the market. Hoch will custom make(maybe) have to send in sketch and specs.
Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
If you really get stuck I should be able to turn up the plough irons for you at reasonable cost, but the postage might be a put-off. The numbers one and two are often a bit hard to find.
Thanks for the offer, and I keep it in mind. I've just begun to search the flea markets and antique shops around here. They're not an item that are selling like hot cakes and I have seen a few, but sure can't remember where. But I sure don't mind antiquing;-)Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
Bob,
I'd say it depends on wether you are buying for collecting or for using. If you're collecting then buy them both. If you're buying to use, forget the #55 but the H&R's sound like a steal.
-Chuck
At a recent auction there was a 55 with all of the stuff. I use 45s all the time and wanted to upgrade (and add to my collection). My opening, and only, bid was $350. It sold for $850. $500-600 sounds like a fair price to me. These are great tools, understanding of course that you will never use all the parts on a regular basis.
Do you really want a 55? What will you use it for? Have you much experience with a combo plane?
If you want to experiment a bit, I have several 45's: I'll loan you one along with the Lee Valley reprint of the 45/50/55 user manual. then maybe you can decide. Personally I use my 45 mainly to plow grooves with an occassional bead.
Tony
I've had my #45 for nearly 2 years and I can't say that I use it a lot. In that time I would venture to guess that I've got maybe 50-60 hours with it. It's the challenge for me more than anything and I'm getting weary of the snarling of a router. There's something theraputic about making decorative profiles using different cutters.
The other night I made some small ogee bracket foot stock for some boxes that I'm making. I used some straight grained white birch; light passes being the order of the day. It was a lot of enjoyment.
Yesterday I called to make an appointment for a haircut but I think I'll cancel it. Hair isn't quite long enough yet for a ponytail and has more than an adequate amount of grey/white hair!
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Bob,
" There's something theraputic about making decorative profiles using different cutters.
That is more correct than you may think (;). Making profiles by hand with moulding planes or a #55 or #45 and the others is great if you are not in the normal hurry.
Making huge profiles with a shaper using slotted collars or solid profile cutters is also satisfying as long as you have established one or two principles first.
And a router fills in gaps and then some. And if it is a quality electronic type then it need not be too noisy.
I have a plane customer who collects moulding planes, also makes cutters and enjoys making profiles. He is a Psychologist.
Philip Marcou
55s basically work fine. Granted, you can't reach into your woodpile and grab the first board that looks halfway decent. You might have to take thirty seconds to actually look at the grain as opposed to ramming it through the machine du jour.I bought a beater off EBay a few years ago. Missing a fair amount of plating but the parts were all there. And here's the deal - every single cutter - every one of them - had a highly polished back and the moulding profiles had been touched up by somebody who knew what they were doing. This had been a user. And this is good. I had bought, for a reasonable amount of money (less than $300,) a plane with a full set of cutters that somebody had spent a lot of time honing. Time is worth a lot. The tool collectors had not bid this one into the stratosphere since it was missing a lot of plating. The fools had no feel for how valuable the cutter set was in the state it was in. The wood does not know that any plating is missing.Most 55s never "worked" for two reasons: the cutter's backs had not been polished and the user did not understand stock selection for making hand cut moulding. They were trying to make moulding with dull cutters, set too rank, and probably into rising grain to boot. If you take a moment to plan your work everything should go well. Rejoice, stock selection has become part of the craft again! Remember when making applied moulding to work the profile on wide stock and rip or slit it off when you're done. Run it longer than you need and crosscut off the first and last few inches of the run.
Edited 2/18/2008 7:53 am ET by BossCrunk
Boss,
Thanks for the inputs. I have been thinking about this since I saw the 55 and the H&Rs quite a bit. I want both! Trouble is, $900 is quite a bit of money to me at this time.
I'm hoping to get back sometime this week and take a closer look and numerous pics. Here's one of the H&Rs:
View ImageBob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
If it's an either-or then buy the hollows and rounds.
Edited 2/18/2008 8:26 am ET by BossCrunk
Bob, I see your comparing the H&R's to the A/C unit in the back ground.Swap him the A/C and the vintage glass jars on the floor. Sounds fair to me!I should try more swaps like that. Hows the curly birch market up there?Ron
Hi Ron,
Hows the curly birch market up there?
Right now I'd be happy with curly anything! Haven't heard a peep. Guess it's time for a roadtrip to the loggers. See what they've stashed from the winter cutting B4 it ends up in their woodpiles!
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Bob, my eye teeth are in the post gratis. I personally would grab the H&Rs since complete sets are not easy to get here and they are so usable. Similar profiles may be created with a router or spindle, but the surface is to some extent hammered and bruised making it difficult to mimic period pieces, the hand tools are the originals.
The 55 is pricey even by our standards in the most overtaxed state. (Some folks still think we are independent, we might be provincial but we sure are dependent, it just takes a bit longer for the ripples to reach us).
Bob, congrats, it sounds like a decent deal. Some questions???
Four boxes of cutters-earlier or one wood box with four rows and a cardboard slip case-later production?
orig box, box jointed-slide cover, wood hinged cover, tin, or cardboard?
spare screw on rear left main body, just ahead of the tote?
If you buy it get one of those small 1/8" flat screwdrivers with the rotating end cap and cut off 1/4". Soften the edge of the cut off and you have your tommy bar to work the collet nuts on the bar locks.
I assume that the H&R set are woodies and not cutters and bottoms for a #45. In either case it's a great opportunity. Looking fwd to seeing the pics, it's a shame there are none of the #55. Paddy
Paddy,
Thanks for the questions - I'll get them answered this week hopefully. He was in a rush to get snow off some roofs as we're supposed to get anything from 6" of snow to 2" of rain. I'll take the snow, at least I can move it!
He basically told me that both were mine, i.e. I have first dibs on both the 55 and the woodie H&Rs. I definitely want the H&Rs, just not sure the cookie jar can handle &900!
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 2/17/2008 9:04 pm ET by KiddervilleAcres
This reply may be too late but ....
About 1 month ago I was looking around on e-bay and found a #55 w/ 4 boxes of blades in nearly perfect condition for
$125.00!
That then prompted me to make a posting here on knots about 55's vs. molding planes. So, I would say keep looking as you may be able to find a 55 for substantially less than what you are considering.
Thanks,
dlb
.
Thanks man,
I've come to the conclusion that it's one or the other; either the hollows and rounds or the #55. It's looking more like the H&Rs at this time. The budget can't handle the strain of both.
Not exactly an Ebay fan but will take a look around.
Thanks,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
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