Which do I modify - the Stanley 13-050 or the Stanley 55 cutters?

**paul.cleary** · 6th January 2018, 09:56 AM

Some background first.
I acquired a Stanley 13-050 combination plane in good condition but with no cutter blades.
So my solution was to monitor the NZ Trademe website (EBay for NZers) to see when something would come up.
After some time, I was lucky and was able to buy at a reasonable price a miscellaneous set of Stanley 55 cutters (blades).

Some cutters are not usable in the Stanley 13-050 due to their end shape, but many (plough, bead, reed) are OK to use with the plane's skates.
However these cutters are too thick (by about 1/10th mm) to fit into the cutter clamping grooves of the Stanley 13-050.
So my question is: what's the best way to get the cutters to fit the plane
Do I grind down the thickness of the cutters on the sides? Do I widen the grooves of the Stanley 13-050?

"Best way" can be measured in 2 ways:
1. Easiest and fastest way to get the cutters to fit
2. Minimum impact on the long term $ value of the plane and the cutters
All comments, especially other people's experience in the same situation, welcomed.

Paul

**NCArcher** · 6th January 2018, 12:48 PM

To be honest, the plane isn't worth that much. Don't be afraid to alter it.
I'm not certain of what you mean by the cutter clamping grooves. I haven't had a close look at a 13-050.
If you need to reduce the thickness of the cutter, put a piece of sandpaper on a sheet of glass (or anything nice and flat) and sand the top face of the cutter till it fits. You can hold the cutter with a magnet.

**paul.cleary** · 6th January 2018, 01:58 PM

Stanley 13-050 cutter clamping grooves - an explanation
Stanley 45s had a bolt with a tapered end that was just above the bed of the small groove where the cutter was mounted in the main skate of the plane. Tightening this bolt via a wing nut would cause the tapered end to clamp down the cutter onto the bed so the cutter was firmly fixed and did not move.

The Stanley 13-050 does not have this clamping mechanism. Instead, there is a groove in the main skate of the plane and a matching groove in the movable skate of the plane - these grooves hold both sides of the cutter when the 2 skates are clamped together. The clamping is done via a long bolt fixed in the main skate and going through a hole in the movable skate. The bolt has a knurled nut on the outside of the movable skate that is handturned to bring the 2 skates closer together.

Hope this helps.

**ian** · 6th January 2018, 05:35 PM

Like NCArcher I don't have access to a 13-050. That said, my inclination is to modify the plane and not the cutters.
As NC said, 13-050 aren't particularly valuable. Use a file with a safe edge

**paul.cleary** · 12th January 2018, 12:03 PM

Ian and NC,
thanks. I've put a safe edge on a Bahco file and used this to widen the grooves on the Stanley 13-050
Much faster than grinding down the thickness of 8 Stanley 55 cutter blades.
Paul

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Which do I modify - the Stanley 13-050 or the Stanley 55 cutters?

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