Kirk, thank you.  I read the B &G entry for the 46, but not for  the 45.  I 
only have one depth gauge with the plane, I'll have to see  if I can find 
another.  
 
This is really good to know as I was considering making a shaving box that  
has all kinds of thin-walled interior spaces.
 
Thank you again Kirk,
 
John
 
John M. Johnston
"There is a fine line between hobby and mental  illness." Dave Barry  

 
In a message dated 2/24/2012 10:20:01 A.M. Central Standard Time,  
eppler.kirk@g... writes:

On Thu, Feb 23, 2012 at 8:47 PM, <_Sgt42RHR@a... 
(mailto:Sgt42RHR@a...) > wrote:

Oh!  What the heck is the slitter blade used for?  I sharpened it  to 8000
as well, but am not sure what to do  with it.

>From Blood & Gore, that internet  Classic:
_http://www.supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan6.htm_ 
(http://www.supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan6.htm) 

Many  folks have no idea what the slitting cutter is used for, nor are they 
 appreciative of what a clever and powerful little gizmo this thing is. It, 
 along with its pressed steel depth gauge, are usually MIA, but 
replacements  are fairly easy to find. Once you use the slitting cutter, you'll
realize 
just  how cool it is, and your fingers will forever stay attached to your 
hands  since you won't have to resort to that dangerous spinning blade that 
sticks up  from a cast iron table to rip thin strips of wood. The slitting 
cutter and  depth stop are attached to the plane in a milled area located at 
the right  rear of the plane, just forward of the handle (earlier models 
attach the  slitting cutter over the extra long rear arm). The fence is used to 
position  how far into the wood the slitting cutter does its slitting thing, 
and the  depth stop controls how deeply into the wood the slitter goes. 
With the  slitting cutter extended below the stop, all it takes is a few passes 
to cut a  thin strip off a larger piece of wood (if the wood is thick, you 
usually run  the slitter from both faces). This function is very useful for 
slicing beads  from the wood so that you can use them to decorate whatever 
your mind can  imagine. 

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