02/05/2026
Every time I lay out a Stanley No. 45, I’m reminded why this thing earned the nickname “the Swiss Army knife of hand planes.”
This isn’t a collector’s novelty — it was a daily-driver problem solver in shops for decades.
Here’s why the 45 is such a useful plane 👇
🔹 One body, dozens of jobs
With interchangeable cutters and fences, the 45 can plow grooves, cut rabbets, form tongues and grooves, bead edges, and handle countless profile cuts — all with one tool.
🔹 Precision without electricity
Need a groove exactly 3/8” from an edge? Set the fence and go. The plane wants to track straight, repeatably, and quietly. No setup dance, no dust cloud.
🔹 Beading and detail work
Those classic beads you see on period furniture? Often done with a 45. Clean, crisp, and historically correct — especially satisfying on hardwoods.
🔹 Adaptable to the workpiece
Wide boards, narrow rails, awkward stock — the adjustable arms and depth stops let you tune the plane to the job instead of forcing the wood to the tool.
🔹 A thinking person’s plane
The 45 rewards setup and intention. When dialed in, it’s incredibly capable — and when you use one, you understand how woodworkers worked before routers existed.
At Coral Woodwork, tools like this are why I love restoring and using vintage hand tools. They weren’t designed to be fast — they were designed to be right.
If you’ve used a 45 before (or want to), I’d love to hear:
👉 What’s your favorite cutter or operation?
👉 Groove, bead, tongue & groove… what do you reach for it to do?
Old tools. Still earning their keep.
