Should I buy a Record 405 / Stanley 45?

[msparker]

I'm in need of a plane(s) to do grooves and rebates. I'm not too fussed about being able to do lots of mouldings as I'd rather pick up the odd woody for this purpose so I'm not interested in the more complex Stanley 55 for instance.

If money were no object and they were in stock, it seems like a veritas small plough and a veritas skew rebate would be the best, however, they're expensive compared to buying vintage and probably wont be around for a while.

Would people recommend the 45 / 405 for my needs or would you be better buying something like a 44 and a 78? Are these (almost) as nice to use as the Veritas ones? (I don't want to end up buying twice!)

If I were to go for a 45 / 405, are there particular things to look out for? there is an astounding range of prices from ~£50-750!

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[Droogs]

I have a complete #405 in the sense that I have the 27 "normal" irons that go with it but don't have any of the hollows and rounds bases that can be had as well. I use it a lot for grooves and rebates but also for a lot of edgework when I can't justify getting on of the routers out. It is a fantastically versitile tool. The prices reflect whether the iron set is complete and also the general condition. If you want a tool rather than an ornament then go for one that has a good blade set, has the fences and also has the various lengths of bar for the fences. They actually come in 3 pairs from about 6" 12 and 18" (though really hard to find) but 8mm round silver stock will do just as well. Dont worry if it has lost a lot of the chrome etc does not affect the performance, though you need to make sure the skates and the iron advance are working properly or it will never work as you want

hth

 

[deema]

I have the 405, again with a full set of cutters. I also managed to find a metric set of groove cutters. I love using the plane, it’s one of my favourite tools. Just make sure the skids are true to each other.