Good afternoon.

I'm in one of those dilemmas that we would all like to be in.  SWMBO
said " your birthday and Father's day is coming up.  Since your going
past your favorite tool dealer on your next trip why don't you pick your
present."  I enjoy woodies and have some H&R's but no plow.  So I was
thinking of a plow.  Then I got to thinking of a 45 or 55.  Does any one
have any ideas?  What should I look for in any of these?

Thanks
Carl

At 11:34 AM 6/12/99 -0400, Carl wrote:

>thinking of a plow.  Then I got to thinking of a 45 or 55.  Does any one
>have any ideas?  What should I look for in any of these?
>
One thing in addition to Stan's thoughts on a 55 being a user tool...

Even if you want to play around with a 45, avoid the earliest types.  As
Patrick's B&G points out, several improvements were made right away, and
for good reasons.  Any problems I have using mine wouldn't be there of it
was a few years newer.  (cam stop, depth adjustments, rods in thru holes
instead of left side only...)

Further, if it's just for plowing, get a couple of woodies, even though a
45 isn't too bad in that one function.

Gene

At 11:34 AM 6/12/99 -0400, you wrote:
>Good afternoon.
>
>I'm in one of those dilemmas that we would all like to be in.  SWMBO
>said " your birthday and Father's day is coming up.  Since your going
>past your favorite tool dealer on your next trip why don't you pick your
>present."  I enjoy woodies and have some H&R's but no plow.  So I was
>thinking of a plow.  Then I got to thinking of a 45 or 55.  Does any one
>have any ideas?  What should I look for in any of these?

Carl,

Whichever you choose, it sounds like it will be a great Father's day.  To
give proper advice, the first question is "what do you want to do with it"?
 A wooden plow plane will work great for plowing grooves.  The #45 will do
that as well as rabbeting, T&G, dados, reeds, beads, etc.  Do you have any
wooden match, dado or beading planes or a rabbet plane?  If not, the #45
may be a good choice for you, as it would greatly expand your options.

To muddy the water a bit...if you want to do alot of cross-grain work, you
may want to look at a #46 as an option.  You lose the molding capability.

Generally speaking, I would not recommend the  #55 to anyone who hasn't
already used the #45.  Even then, the #55 is so complicated and heavy, it's
hard to recommend it as a user tool.  I know some people use them for
moldings, etc., but in my opinion, it's more of a collector's tool.  It's a
real neat piece of engineering if you are into that aspect of tools.

Bottom line...if the #45 will give you some capability that you don't
currently have, then go for it.  Otherwise, the wooden plow will be an
equally good choice.   My website has the #45 & #55 manuals on it & a bunch
of other information (type studies) on combination planes if you want to
investigate them before making a decision.  If you do decide to go for a
#45, try to get a later model with the screw-adjustable fence.  It makes
setups a little bit easier.

Have fun,

Stan

Stan Faullin
faullin@c...
Visit my Old Tool Webpage at http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/faullin

At 11:34 AM 6/12/99 -0400, you wrote:
>Good afternoon.
>
>I'm in one of those dilemmas that we would all like to be in.  SWMBO
>said " your birthday and Father's day is coming up.  Since your going
>past your favorite tool dealer on your next trip why don't you pick your
>present."  I enjoy woodies and have some H&R's but no plow.  So I was
>thinking of a plow.  Then I got to thinking of a 45 or 55.  Does any one
>have any ideas?  What should I look for in any of these?
>
>Thanks
>Carl

Hi Carl,

I have a #46 that I sure like a lot. The cutters are skewed, so it's an
excellent plane for cutting dados and cross-grain rabbets. It's also great
for the regular rabbets and grooves that a #45 will make for you. And it's
terrific fun to use. These cost around $350, or about $100 than a #45 in
nice condition.

If you go this route, you'll lose the beading and limited sash-making
capability a #45 provides. If that bugs you, you might pick up a #50 later.
It's smaller and lighter than a #45, which makes it a great plow for
smaller work on top of giving you that beading capability. These go for
maybe $125 complete. Or you could pick up a few wooden beading planes,
which are common and inexpensive and most likely work better.

Another line of tools you might keep in mind is Record. The #043 has three
cutters: 1/8, 1/4 and 3/8, I think. It's a great little plane, and I got
mine for $85 off the net. The Record #044 is bigger and has a wider range
of cutters, but I don't have one. I believe it's on par with a Stanley #50
-- in cost and features -- but without beading cutters.

I've never used a wooden plow plane but would like to have one if I could
justify adding to the current stable.

The #45 isn't a bad tool at all, but if I were to do it again, I'd probably
get the #46 and #50 instead -- or else the wooden equivalents. I've never
used a #55, so I can't speak to that except to say I agree with you that
wooden molding planes are a real joy. (Still, just last night, I was
marveling over a photo of a #55 that I found on the Web ... )

Have a happy birthday/Father's Day! (obviously, you will :)

Ed