Veritas combination plane.

[James Waldron]

Where exactly is it that you can buy new Stanley 45 or 55 and all the special irons that go in them? I can't find a supplier for these (other than ebay for example or maybe craiglist, etc - but they are not new). [snip]

Can't help with a new Stanley, but there's the Anant (India) produced 405 on the tooling they bought from Irwin after Irwin acquired Record. I have a Record 405 that is, for all intents and purposes, identical to the Stanley 45. Haven't seen the Anant, but it's out there. Dealers for Anant in the US seem to be hard to find these days but Anant has a site: http://www.anant-tools.com/iron_bodi...ch_planes.html where you can find info on a fairly broad array of Stanley "clones."

I have a couple of Anants for several years, a #5 and a #7 and a #10. Mine took a bit of tidying-up to be first class, but an hour with each took care of all that. All issues were "fit and finish" and the "bones" of the planes were of very good quality. Good castings, good machining. They perform quite well when compared to rehabbed Stanleys; not better but essentially equal. The blades are decent steel and hold a good edge for a reasonable amount of work, but are not "outstanding." If any get damaged, I'll probably go to Hock or perhaps LV for replacements. But for now, they are effective workers, not my first choice but ready and able when they are called upon.

I'm not a shill for Anant, but since the "new Stanley" question was asked, I thought I'd share.

[steven c newman]

The Anant 405 is $300,and maybe add shipping? They also make a clone of the #50, BTW.

Rehabbed a #A4 a while back.....not too bad.....
test drive.JPG
They used a little too much chrome plating, though.

[Patrick Chase]

The Anant 405 is $300,and maybe add shipping? They also make a clone of the #50, BTW.

It's sold as the A45. You can find them online from UK sellers for 200 UKP, which is $260 or so.

I think Veritas needs to reconsider their cutter pricing, and perhaps offer a bundle similar to the core ~20 cutters (23 for the Anant) that shipped with the 45.

[Simon MacGowen]

I think Veritas needs to reconsider their cutter pricing, and perhaps offer a bundle similar to the core ~20 cutters (23 for the Anant) that shipped with the 45.

Re-pricing? No objection. But, are those PMV11 cutters? If so, little chance for a price reduction. I have changed almost all my Veritas goodies to PMV11, except I think the spokeshave cutters. Won't touch the A2 anymore, except as backups (sold all the O1s at a huge loss...like scrap metals!).

Simon

[Patrick Chase]

Re-pricing? No objection. But, are those PMV11 cutters? If so, little chance for a price reduction. I have changed almost all my Veritas goodies to PMV11, except I think the spokeshave cutters. Won't touch the A2 anymore, except as backups (sold all the O1s at a huge loss...like scrap metals!).

Good point. The original blades for the small plow plane were/are all A2, but the newer beading blades (which were developed for the combo plane before they redesigned the plow) are PM-V11. They also cost about $20 each, so it appears that the cutters for the Combo will indeed be PM-V11.

In my case the point is somewhat moot since I've bought a 55. The basic cutters (smaller ploughing and beading irons etc) that come with that plane are also compatible with the 45 and therefore the Veritas.

[Ray Selinger]

Used tools are one of the great bargains. I just couldn't bring myself to pay the price for one of the last production #405s when they were new in the early' 80s. From Lee Valley, BTW. I think I paid 1/3 for a #45 with an incomplete set of cutters and a full set of cutters together. When you buy good tools it's supposed to hurt, after all you are buying tools for your grandson. If you don't believe that, you 've been drinking too much walmart juice.

[Patrick Chase]

Re-pricing? No objection. But, are those PMV11 cutters? If so, little chance for a price reduction. I have changed almost all my Veritas goodies to PMV11, except I think the spokeshave cutters. Won't touch the A2 anymore, except as backups (sold all the O1s at a huge loss...like scrap metals!).

One other remark: As I've switched over to PM-V11 for many things I've found myself getting rid of A2 and keeping O1.

The reason is that A2 and PM-V11 are both high-alloy, abrasion-resistant steels that tend to fail by chipping particularly at lower edge angles. IMO A2 is strictly inferior to PM-V11, meaning that there is no significant respect or attribute in which it is better.

In contrast O1 isn't as abrasion-resistant, but it takes a very fine edge and is pretty tough stuff. It tends to fail by abrasion/dulling or sometimes by folding, but much less often by chipping. It also performs well at low edge angles. It's therefore complementary to PM-V11 rather than strictly inferior.

[Simon MacGowen]

In contrast O1 isn't as abrasion-resistant, but it takes a very fine edge and is pretty tough stuff. It tends to fail by abrasion/dulling or sometimes by folding, but much less often by chipping. It also performs well at low edge angles. It's therefore complementary to PM-V11 rather than strictly inferior.

Agreed. But the buyer didn't want any of the A2 stuff.

Simon

[Dave Anderson NH]

Interesting perspective on the steels Patrick. You might want to expand/expound upon that in a new thread. Many might find it interesting.

[Frederick Skelly]

Interesting perspective on the steels Patrick. You might want to expand/expound upon that in a new thread. Many might find it interesting.

I agree. It would be.

(Ive been toying with replacing some of my A2 with good ole O1, to see if I like it better.)

[steven c newman]

Food for thought..
IMG_1165 (640x480).jpg
1/4" wide ( #12 cutter) 3/8" deep groove....36" long Curly Maple stile. Groove has to be dead centered...careful, watch for chips between the fence and the side of the part. Oh,and rub the fence and the skates with a plain old candle....helps when the grooves get a bit deep.....two down, two to go...

[Pat Barry]

Food for thought..
IMG_1165 (640x480).jpg
1/4" wide ( #12 cutter) 3/8" deep groove....36" long Curly Maple stile. Groove has to be dead centered...careful, watch for chips between the fence and the side of the part. Oh,and rub the fence and the skates with a plain old candle....helps when the grooves get a bit deep.....two down, two to go...

I'm sorry steven, but the cut quality doesn't look all that great. Were you trying to chamber the lead in on both sides or what caused the tear out? Maybe the groove was too deep for that cutter?

[Mike Brady]

Patrick, I looked at the new plane at Handworks. I did hear them say that the blades from the Small plow are compatible with the new plane, but I did not hear the new profile blades identified as PMV11. I guess my question is why would they mix steels on the same series of blades? If everything is going PMV11 then the pricing of the small plow would be changed. Perhaps Robin can enlighten us on this detail.

[steven c newman]

Read where I said about chips getting in the way? The "camber" was from going against the grain.....and a chip got between the fence and the part. I then turned the stile end for end, and went with the grain.....works a lot better....maybe I need to take shallower cuts to start? Cutter was stropped, before I installed it....that's been a few grooves ago...all in Maple. You could try the New Plough plane....oh, that's right, you don't HAVE one, yet.

That little bit of camber does help when placing tenons into the grooves, on their way to a mortise.
top rail.jpg

This one will be off-set, so other parts can be used to attach the top of the chest..
fence.jpg
This plane does make a lot of chips, and shavings.

[Hasin Haroon]

You could try the New Plough plane....oh, that's right, you don't HAVE one, yet.

You clearly use your 45 well Steven. That dig was a bit unnecessary though!