Stanley 50 Review By: I.Ball
Category: Old Multi Planes
Manufacturer: Stanley
Plane Type: Plough
Model No: 50
The Stanley 50 plane is a small plane packed with a wide range of functionality.
The Stanley 50 is called a combination plane due to the many functions
the plane can perform when different parts of the plane are combined
with each other, these plane functions include the following:
- Plough
- Dado
- Tongue and groove
- Bead
- Centre bead
- Rabbet and fillester
The Stanley 50 combination plane is often referred to as the Stanley
50 plough plane or Stanley 50 plow plane, though technically as can
be seen from the list of functionality, the plane is a lot more than
just a plough plane. The actual reason it is often referred to as a
plough plane is no doubt because there is a
Stanley plough plane 50S.
The Stanley 50S is exactly
the same as the Stanley 50 with the difference being the 50S only
has the plough cutters. If the plane you are researching only has the
plough plane cutters please see the Stanley plough plane 50S review.
For a plane with so much functionality, the plane is very light and
compact, saving a huge amount of storage space and because of this
compactness the tool can easily be placed in a portable tool-bag.
The Stanley 50 consisted of a cast iron body, depth gauge, double
armed fence, 2x long arms/rods, shaving deflector, beading gauge,
cutter adjustment lever, spurs for cross grain work, and 17 cutters:
- Bead: 1/8", 3/16", 1/4", 5/16", 3/8", 7/16", 1/2"
- Plough: 1/8", 3/16", 1/4", 5/16", 3/8", 7/16", 1/2", 5/8", 7/8"
- Tongue: 1/4"
The 50 was fitted with a rosewood rear handle, offering the user a
good firm way to handle and control the plane while also giving the
plane a rich look.
The Stanley 50 plane and its parts were finished with a nickel plating.
This finish was designed to give the plane a bright, shiny look while
having the function of helping protect the plane from rust. The nickel
plating can be prone to coming off with time, usually it is small
partial loss.
The plane was sold in the most part in an orange Stanley cardboard box
with a green label on the end of the box describing the plane's main
details. Inside the box the plane cutters were housed inside a wooden
sleeve which had a label on the front with a diagram of each cutter
and its credentials.
The Stanley 50 is the only combination plane of this form. There are
a couple of similar planes in the form of the
Record 050 plane
and
Record 050A plane.
The Stanley 50 plane is no longer made so it is only possible to buy
old second-hand Stanley 50 planes. Veritas Tools have released a modernised
version of the Stanley 50 in the form of the
Veritas plough / plow plane.
Body :
cast iron
Blades:
best steel
Handle and knob :
cast iron
Plane finish:
black japanning
Body :
cast iron
Blades:
best steel
Handle and knob :
cast iron
Plane finish:
nickel plate
Body :
cast iron
Blades:
best steel
Handle and knob :
rosewood
Plane finish:
nickel plate
<1884 - 1960>
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