Stanley 55 Plane Review By: I.Ball
Category: Old Multi Planes
Manufacturer: Stanley
Plane Type: Multi / Universal Combination
Model No: 55
The Stanley 55 plane is packed with a number of planing functions including:
Due to the Stanley 55 supporting multiple plane functions, the Stanley 55 is referred to as a 'Stanley Multi Plane' or 'Stanley Universal Plane'.
The Stanley 55 plane was in effect a storage space saving tool. When
the 55 was first made, most woodworkers would have a different wooden
plane for each planing function and then they would have many different
sized planes for each plane type.
For example a user of the time might
have had 10 wooden side bead planes such as sizes: 1/8", 3/16", 1/4", 5/16",
3/8", 1/2", 5/8", 3/4", 7/8", 1" (plus possible other sizes), and then
numerous other planes for the other functions and sizes.
For this reason a woodworker of the time would often have a large wooden
tool chest full of wooden planes.
The Stanley 55 plane allowed woodworkers who could afford the plane to
have a tool which was easily portable from workshop to job.
The Stanley 55 plane originally had 55 cutters / blades as standard with an additional
41 extra cutters available to buy.
In addition to this users were able to make their
own cutters from blanks or to order custom designs from Stanley by providing Stanley
with a sketch of the cutter design.
Length:
10 inch
Weight:
7 3/4 lb approx.
Metal Parts:
cast iron
Handle, Knobs, Wooden Parts:
rosewood
Plane Finish:
nickel plated
No. Of Cutters:
55
Additional Cutters:
41
Custom Cutters:
Made by users or made to order by Stanley
The standard Stanley 55 plane blades consisted of the following 55 cutters:
* If you use this information please link to this page or reference this website
Originally the Stanley 55 was advertised in the late 1800's as a 'Universal Plane'
(Stanley 55 Plane).
They then went on to be advertised in 1912 as a 'Universal Combination Plane' (Stanley 55 Plane).
In the early 1930's the Record 405 Multi-Plane was introduced which was similar to the
Stanley 55 but slightly scaled down, the 405 kept the name 'Multi-Plane' from the 1930's to 1980's.
The 55 then went on to be advertised in 1939 as 'Stanley "55" Plane' (Stanley 55 Plane).
In answer to 'Is The Stanley 55 A Combination Plane Or A Multi-Plane?' I would say the answer is
whichever you wish to call it, for me given the many years of changing naming of the Stanley 55
in advertising and given the similar plane type of the Record 405 being classed as a multi-plane
for 50 years of manufacturer advertising and 40+ years of further literature I have come to see
it as a multi-plane.
A combination plane under the Record plane indexing and for me (which must be directly or indirectly
from Record plane indexing) and what is shown in a 1939 Stanley catalogue is a plane which sits
between a plough / plow plane
and a multi-plane, "45" or "55" in terms of functionality.
See 'What Is A Combination Plane?'
and 'What Is A Multi Plane?'
for more on this.
1898 - 1958>
....
Do you have a question/answer or something to share about this tool?
Please Contact Us
(i) This review/article may give warning(s) / advisory notes / cautions / guidelines given
in good faith, any such information should not be solely relied upon and seen
as the exhaustive list of warnings / advisory notes / cautions / guidelines. Refer
to good safety practices for the safety of you and others. Refer to good practices
for the good health of your tool and property.
(ii) The details here are given in good faith, the details are constantly growing
and evolving including corrections, there is scope for error and shouldn't be fully relied upon,
please confirm any details for yourself by performing additional research from
reliable sources.
Enjoy viewing the encyclopedia of tools.
If you are inspired by our content or use info such as dates, sizes,
details from FindMyTool.co.uk
please kindly give credit where credit is due via giving a nod in a video
or a link to this website.
Please see our terms if using more than a few dates
or details.
"Just stumbled across your website and an absolute treasure trove of information.
I was recently given an old Stanley 110 block plane and wanted to know more about it.
Your website told me everything I needed to know.
But there is so much more to read. I forsee me spending a lot of time just reading
page after page. I can appreciate how much time this will have taken to put together.
I just wanted to let you know that your hard work is appreciated."