A Closer Look At The Stanley 45 and What It Can Really Do 

Dude that was one of the best educational woodworking videos I’ve seen in a long time. I just bought a Stanley number 45 now I just need to get some more cutters for it.

Having owned it for several months I just put a blade in my 45 and used it for the first time today. I noticed the engraved date of manufacture (22 Jan 1895), so it's Happy Birthday Stanley! :-)

Just picked up a 45 today. I'm so stoked! I will need to get blades as all it came with was a 1/4" plough.

Still have my record 405, exactly the same as the Stanly 45,, bought for me when I was 15 ( 65 years ago) For £15, still use it occasionally when noise is a problem. Thanks for the video.

Thanks James, I just picked up a 45 at an estate sale yesterday. It was surprising to find in its box all the cutters, instructions, and the screwdriver. Thanks for the video I look forward to trying it out.

Don't be shy about a longer video. All ways interesting, we get to see others at work and play. And hell see how you use the tool. cheers from Tasmania.

Very enjoyable, and informative. He called them nickers but the instruction manual calls them spurs. I had no idea what they were used for or why but this answered the question.

I enjoyed this video but have to correct one thing. Your window glazing instructions are inside out. The decorative profile goes to the inside while the rebate faces the weather and is filled with putty. Thanks for the intro to the 45. John

Great vid! I have a Stanley 45 and a No. 50 also. I like them both a lot. I usually grab the 50 more often because it's very light if I have to groove 200 ft. of door stiles.

Thank you very much. I purchased one a while back, and now I know how to use it properly.

James - thanks for filming this demo. This will help me get my restored 45 in working order. I received a box of vintage cutters I’m going to have to remove the rust and sharpen. Looking forward to seeing what it will do.

Thanks for the video, I just got a 45 at a swap meet in April, just had the one cutter, learned a lot, thanks James.

I picked up one of these very planes today at a tool sale. It was because of your video. The best part about this whole thing is I think I saw you at that sale today!

Lovely video, makes me want to go and make some shavings. Just one thing though, with all plough and moulding planes, wood or metal, you start the cut near the far end of the board, not the edge near your hip. This way the blades which have about 1 degree relief angle on the sides (trapezoidal cross section) has a chance for the sides of the blade to be used to clean up the sides of the cut. If you start at the end nearest you the blade is digging underneath the surface and is much harder to use, and does not have a chance to make as clean a cut. I have a lovely screw-stem plough with the 8 blades, and an Emir moving Filister plane with three blades, in wood. I also have the Stanley 50 plough, the 45 and 55 multiplanes. They are so much fun and for a project like a shelf for a pantry, you will have finished the job using these planes in less time than it takes to set up a router table.

"When the student is ready the teacher will arrive" I am recently retired and just dug out my fathers Stanley 45. I want to work with hand tools and so between your excellent videos and my complete early 45 this student is off and running. THANKS!

Glad to see you showing how more blades can be used on these multi plane a lot I looked at just showing a rabbit or a grove these planes are so much more than just to uses and are a valuable bit of kit if you don’t want to use a roughter and doing handwork much more fun onece set up just as quick

At last! Clear explanation on the 45……….please do more, this is a tool I want to master

Need one of those! Definitely quieter and safer than power tools. Slower for sure but half the fun is the therapy of hand woodworking for sure!

Just found a 45 this weekend. Loved your video and will use it for reference as I restore it and put it to use. Got two boxes of irons with it.

I have been a woodworker for a couple of years now that I am retired, and I use both powered and hand tools based on which will do the best job and sometimes which will produce the best results. I have a Stanley 45 but with most of the 55 irons. What keeps me from using the 45 is getting it set up properly. You have given excellent info on the cuts the 45 can make, but could you go into some details on how you set the irons, depth stops, etc?

Thank you for this video. I only recently found a Stanley 45 that I was able to afford and did not fully understand all of the things it could do.

In case you have a 45 or 55 and are missing blades or don't have the full set of blades, the Lee Valley/Veritas blades for their combination plane (a beautiful plane, BTW) are compatible with the 45 & 55. I think they may also have a few profiles that weren't available in the original blade sets.

My sons inherited their great-grandfather's Stanley 45 and several other planes. I think they are beautiful.

Another fun video ! What an amazing tool. As I set up my own well worn before I got it 45, I like to let myself imagine a craftsman in 1900 or so being able to finish the interior of a house making the trim, windows and doors along with cabinets etc. and even the beaded wall boards. I love it when I get a chance to see a craftsman era home that was built during the days when electrical carpentry tools were a new concept !

Right On! Great demo. I’ve worked with power tools all my life and now that I started watching the Master Craftsman videos on line started switching over to hand tools. I find it much more relaxing and rewarding. Recently I tried dovetails with handsaw and chisel and after 16 loved the experience of mastering the challenge. Keep up the videos. You are great at explaining your topics.

Really enjoyed(as always) James and am heading for the "Stanley 55" video now. You really have a gift for explanation/demonstration...cheers...rr

Old school technology, gotta love it. I have a Stanley no 50, patent date 1903. Any chance a video on this type of plane?

great video, I also love handling and using these wonderful piexes of old equipment

Seems to me you could use setup blocks to make sure the fence is parallel.... Thanks for sharing, James!

I saw you have a 50 now. Which is your favorite to use? 45, 50 or 55? I think I want a 50 mainly just for rabbets and dadoes. I like the simplicity of it compared to the others. Thanks for all you do. I really enjoy your videos and appreciate your time and wisdom, not to mention selflessness.

Hey James, I can see that this could be real plus to add to the tool line up. Looking forward to the 55 video.

Thank you for your work.

Thanks alot.. I just bought the #45 with full set of its blades.. Will go & give it a try.. Thanks again

Great presentation and instruction James. Thumbs up.

cool video. Like some of the others already posted, sharpening and making your own cutters would be an interesting topic. I was also wondering how the repeatedly of the setup is. Would you have to batch out a project or can you dial the plane in to a previous setting? Or would having several wood body planes be better for that? Keep up the good work!

Hello, I do enjoy your videos and recently got a Stanely 45 (didn't think I would ever own one). I wanted to ask what are your most used cutters for your combination planes? It didn't come with any, However I am making a tounge and grove set, some flat planes for datos and rebates and maybe a beading cutter too. I was wondering if there were any other useful ones you would recommend making too.

Great information about a somewhat mysterious tool in my arsenal...thanks!

Mine just arrived in the mail an hour ago and I am SOOOOOOO excited. Yeah its complicated so I will find a book.

I love my 45! Take any chance to use it I can. It may not be perfect but it makes me smile. Great video and look forward to finding out why I need a no. 55 too 😂

Hi James. You seem to be the master of Stanley planes so I thought I'd ask you. I've been lucky enough to get a Stanley number 45 in excellent shape. The only part missing is the slitting blade and the number 10 plow blade is broken. Otherwise it is complete and in great shape with almost no rust.. I'd like to have some idea when it was made. It is nickel plated, not Japanned. It has the micro adjust on the fence. Other than that, I'm not really sure what to look for. The few sources I've found online are very confusing and contradictory. Any help would be appreciated...

I own the Veritas versions of these. I would have to say that I basically do not use the combination plane at all. Everything that I do can be done with the small plough plane (I have both the left and right handed/orientation). The Combination plane is nice, but it's simply too heavy to do any extended work for a long time. At that point, I just pull out the dado stack on the table saw.

I like it james. I have a 45 and a Sargent version of it that I like but I'm not that good with them cause I don't experiment with them enough. I plan to though

Thanks for the video, that is a gorgeous tool. I remember looking in my Mams mail order catalogue when I was a kid at all the lovely wood working tools, oh God if I could go back in time I would be a person that works with wood. Now I am a quite old git lol. Made a nice bird table/ stand/house thing recently for my sister (because of youtube vid) which she loves and I am doing another one for my other sister . I need to get some tools like I used to drool about when I was a kid, that would be great and make all kinds of things. Better late than never eh?

Thanks for sharing

Thanks for the great video. Could you tell me if this tool can be re-jigged so a left-handed person can use it? It actually looks like it can be used for both left and right persons, for all the blades. Thanks again. - Ken.

Please do a few more on this. Not 3 hour long, but several shorter ones. Specific question: could you make specific cutters for this plane, if you have a specific need for a specific mold or bead? Like a double bead, or an ogee? Other question, dado in the middle of the board?

Thanks so much!

I just looked over your channel and the Video was online for 11 sec. : )

another great video. price of stress relief just went up. glad this is only a hobby.

James, terrific content! I’m new to all of this, and find your videos really helpful. I picked up a Stanley 45 some weeks ago and just getting to play with it. The 45 I got does not have the wood on the fence. Is there a standard width, length, or type for wood for screwing on to the fence? Thanks!

Nice video

I would like to see a video on the anatomy of a no. 45. Im looking to buy one off ebay and sometimes it is hard to know if they have all the parts and pieces

Recently saw "rounds and hollows" for a 45 online. Can you demonstrate how those attachments/cutters work? I am assuming you have them :D or know someone who does and has produced a video. Although other links to documentation on use would also be appreciated! I really enjoy your products. You, Rex, Paul, rob C, Katz and the lot are very fun to watch and learn from. Frankly, it was due to covid (time and distance) and a flea market continental plane purchase that lead me down the hand tool woodworking path. :)

Thank you James.

It can cut the groove for AQ 21 weather strip on the edge of a door the router bit is now north of 50euro

Just became the owner of a Stanley 45, waiting for it to show up in the mail.

When using the tongue and groove blade did you flip the nickers up so they wouldn’t score or would they not be able to touch the bottom of the groove either way?

It appears that nickers are not only for an initial scoring because every return stroke precedes every forward stroke with another scoring when the tool is withdrawn in contact with the wood as you appear to be doing in this video. This matters if I am seeing things right.

To check for parallel on groves I use one of the other knives to measure. It is like watching someone eat candy, it makes you want to go out in the shop and make some shaving. Thanks for that, now I need to go dust off Mr.45 ;) Later.

That was great, thanks James

A nice decrative flueting to boxes or anything you want to add a little something too..

I have a sargent 1080PB basically the same as the 45 (not sure what the PB stands for) but what do you sharpen your irons at 35 degrees??? Or less

Nice review James, thank you

Great video. Thank you!

great demo!

I've been working on (slowly) a series about using the #45 for its '7' different functions. One of my favorite tools, which is probably why I've got somewhere around 16-18 of them currently

thank you so much, this is very useful video to me :)

Cool video, cool tool. Why did you try to hide all the tear out at the end?

Thank you.

I have a stanley 50-013 combo. Any help would be appreciated.

Hi, new subscriber here. I was wondering if you have had any experience with a no 46? I've seen more than one blog post claiming that although it doesn't have the molding plane versatility, it's a much better plough/fillester than the 45&55. Thanks for all the great hand tool content!

How do you sharpen the blades that do beading? I am not sure if I should get rounded whetstones for this, or something else?

Often times at work I need to make a board with a tongue and or a groove. I hate to drag out the table saw for one board so I'm looking for a hand plane to make quick work of it. Sometimes the tongue and groove need to be centered sometimes not. Is this the one I want?

Nice work,hopefully I will find one of these someday!

I am recently moving towards using hand tools as a woodworking hobyist and have been very luckily given a record 405 in the box with 23 blades in imaculate condition by a very good friend. I have, however been looking for guidance on the 405 but find most info is on the more premium stanley 45. should you have any links or advice regarding differences I would appreciate your input. Also Keep up with the videos. I need my fix of top quality streams and youtube uploads here in the UK. Thanks for putting in the effort and producing very enjoyable material. PS-: Also got a record Num 4 given and in ok condition so a handy backup to the bench vice for the non Bio work :D

Great review...enjoyed watching.

Nice video! Can you cut a sliding dovetail with it?

I was wondering where I could find replacement knickers? I have recently acquired an old #45 but one of the knickers is missing...

Curious....I'm looking at buying a #45, but I don't think it has cutters, are aftermarket cutters available, or do they have to be made...?

This is so cool! Love the sounds! :D

Hi, I have the Stanley 050 and working with the fence on the right hand side (I am left handed) but I get some damage from the depth stop. Do you get this because the video did not show the finish. Colin from Northern Ireland

Very interesting, great explanation

Great video as usual but I still can't stand the 45. Well, the Stanley one that is. Colt's is quite nice.

Wouldn't you use the knickers/spurs also to cut along the grain?

Great video

Looking at buying one whats a decent price to pay

Nice presentation. I was under the impression that this tool did many jobs albeit somewhat poorly and/or inefficiently. Apparently this is not the case when wielded skillfully……..

Where can you get the plates from.

Do you sharpen your own blades on your Stanley 45. On some of those many blade it must be difficult. Lol

If you were doing a fair amount of tongue and groove I suspect it would be a good idea to have two #45's or a #45 and a #55 just so you could leave a plane set up for each type of cut.

Notched vs unnotched irons?

Great video I was looking at one of these the other day. What should you reasonably expect to pay for one of these?

What's the difference between the Sargent 1080 and the Stanley 45?

Cool

Is IT postbiler to buy the Stanley nr 55 in England ,- not in Norway. Also used. If so where ?

nice! now how to sharpen those beading and moulding blades...

Incrível esta magestosa plaina.

Hola dónde compro las cuchillas de mi cepillo 45.

I have a question for anyone on this page willing to comment: I have a Stanley 50 which came with a full set of blades including a 1/8 and a 3/16. However, when I try to tighten it to anything less than 1/4", the skates come together before the blade is secured. I can see by the original box for the blades that these smaller blades were stock, so I'm puzzled. I would greatly appreciate any input.

Try working your plane from the exit end of the board using shorter cuts and working backwards. That should help avoid all that tear out you experienced on the sash molding you were making.