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09-09-2016, 11:27 AM
(This post was last modified: 09-09-2016, 02:22 PM by Bill_Houghton.)
I picked up an early Stanley 5-1/2 at a yard sale, in need of a lot of cleanup. Last night, I was examining it, and realized that the 2-1/4" wide cutting iron is dated in the third quarter of 1941, two years after Stanley rationalized production by making the iron on the 5-1/2 2-3/8" wide, the same as the Nos. 4-1/2, 6, and 7. That got me hunting, and I found a 1958 catalog that still listed the narrower iron as a standard replacement part, listing it for "old style" 5-1/2s.
Now, granted, "old style" in this case means "up to nineteen years ago" (1939 to 1958); but if only Stanley still maintained replacement parts for "old style" planes...
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Yup, they sold the 5 1/4" irons in 1953 as well, I checked my Stanley catalog. I've seen guys grind down 1/16" off of each side of a 5 3/8" vintage iron to fashion a replacement in users; collectors hate that with a passion. Very cool you have a replacement with a date reference. The only new irons sold in the 5 1/4" size are Hocks, neither LV nor Woodcraft Pinacle makes them in that size. I bought a Hock for an older #5 1/2 once, but sold the plane a while ago.
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Should you check with Ron Hock be sure to check the plane iron thickness ....some replacement blades will not take really thick blades as an old 5 1/2 I had.
Paul from the beautiful mid-coast of Maine (USA)
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Thanks, Admiral and Paul. If I need a replacement iron, I'll certainly confirm that the thickness will work; but, at the moment, it's on the list of tools to be refurbished at some point in time and space, and I'll probably sharpen up the existing iron and see how it works. It's a pre-WWII iron, back when the Stanley Works quality was still pretty decent.
