[Wrangler02]

A friend just gave me eight boxes of cutters for a Stanley 55. It is such a wonderful collection, that I am now looking for a cutter-less 55!!

 

[Wrangler02]

Check Liberty Tool -- When I was up there last summer they had a bunch of 45s and 55s, each with only one cutter.

Thanks for the information. Currently their web site shows no 55’s; but I have bookmarked it and will keep checking back.

I got a 45 from my kids a few years back. It came with only one cutter, and it took a couple of years to find a selection. I think that having the blades and finding a plane will be a much easier search.

 

[Wrangler02]

You might give them a call... the site has a tiny fraction of what's in the building. They have a sign at the door that says something like "Enter at your own risk: our insurance company has denied us coverage for injuries caused by falling tools." I don't know if they're willing to look around for you, but it couldn't hurt to call... if they're bored enough they might be willing to dig through the stacks.

It sounds like my kind of place! We are talking about a trip to New England this year. I think that may be a destination.

 

[Wrangler02]

It's a fun stop... I spent a couple hours there, and probably didn't see everything. There are a couple other good antique stores down the road, at least one of which also has tools. I picked up a Sargent-made Craftsman combination plane at Liberty, and an old Millers Falls Langdon miter box at the antique store.

There are no shops around here specializing in hand tools. We make a trip south in Feb-March each year to Arkansas and MO. We have a couple of shops that we haunt and usually pick up something unusual.

 

[Wrangler02]

There's almost always one or several on ebay at any given time. I've bought a couple of 55s with no cutters, except maybe one in it. 45, and Record cutters work in them too.

So do 55 Cutters work in a 45. I had been led to believe that they were not interchangeable

 

[Wrangler02]

I have a nearly ironless 55... But I'm looking for irons not looking to get rid of it! :laughing:

Keep looking my friend! I'm emotionally attached to these.

 

[Wrangler02]

I have about 30 cutters for the 45, and now about 150 for a 55, so I can't imagine needing more irons. I'm in no rush, but plan on searching for a 55 with no or few cutters. Just goin' to price shop!

 

[Wrangler02]

Thanks guys. I could have tried fitting the new cutters into my 45; but, I was busy cutting oak today.

 

[Wrangler02]

I checked ebay for you, but none currently worth buying. Make sure you get one with all the parts. Slitting cutters and cams, for example, go for more than it's worth to buy one without these pieces. Do a Google search for 'Stanley 55 plane manual", and print it out when you find it. It will show all the parts so you know what you are looking at when bidding on one. I've bought two complete ones (with only one cutter) off ebay for around a hundred bucks, but it takes some looking, and being lucky to bid when no collectors are after it.

Thanks for checking Tom. I never think of e-bay. It's always been my desire to lay my hands on anything that I purchase. Then again, maybe it's just because I'm a Luddite.

 

[Wrangler02]

Very, Very nice of him.