Do You Have What This Plane Takes Stanley 444

[@francois1473]

Soooooo, what you're saying is, you need 2 of these planes so you dont have to change the settings all the time :P

[@grbroussard]

Yes!

[@paco_vazquez]

Absolutely, we need the right tool for the job (and then she said that the job is turning out to be “tool collector”) 😂😂😂

[@stuartansell9461]

Perfect solution 👌

[@johngalanes5264]

For a long time, I thought I wanted one of these. Thanks for convincing me otherwise AND saving me a bunch of money:)

[@jimbucket2996]

I just heard stanley made a sliding dovetail plane a week or so ago and here it is. I'm not exited about acquiring one after this demonstration. Thanks

[@wierdalien1]

It's deffo one of those tools that absolutely a godsend when you need it, but the times you need it are like never

[@botch3936]

I'm going down to my shop now to hug my Porter-Cable router.

[@SteveAugust7]

Amen

[@athmostafa2462]

It was fun at the time they made it 😊 I say it's a cool tool.

[@TedSchade88]

I can’t believe you (mostly) kept a straight face throughout all this madness. Nice!

[@5StoryWoodWorks]

I have a complete 444. I use mine for fun fairly often. As I use it and better understand the settings it goes way faster than it used to. I have also learned to back up the away side of your work piece with another board of the same thickness. Stops breakout at the edge of the workpiece. Just carry the dovetail groove into the sacrificial piece. I actually used mine to make the dove tail pinch rod you made a while back. Just for funsies. Of course, I am also a fan of my fiddly 55 so maybe I am just a glutton for the fiddlies.

[@jrkorman]

As I was watching I was waiting for the end edge of the dovetail to breakout.

[@tomengel8833]

What is a fiddly 55?

[@EvLSpectre]

​@@tomengel8833Stanley 55. Moulding plane. Came with like 50 cutters and it can do a lot..... Just takes a long time to setup

[@robertberger8642]

I absolutely REFUSE to support your efforts by leaving a comment here. No way, no how, I’m NOT going to do it! Thanks for this video! There’s a series of projects I was thinking of that involve sliding dovetails (swappable mailboxes that attach to a post using them). I was wondering if there was an appropriate plane for making them. After watching this, I think I’ll need to do it with a different tool. This one looks like it would require too much effort. I guess my best option would be to use a back saw, a chisel, and finally a router plane.

[@LaraCroftCP]

As a German (yeah, the guys who construct the most complicated things in the world) i have to say: thats the most complicated handtool i ever seen. I love it and i want to build a better adjustable by myself

[@dougdavidson175]

CDB. Thanks James & family.

[@jamesangus7137]

Thanks for that - interesting madness that plane

[@theidlehandsworkshop3884]

What a nightmare of a plane lol, still neat how it works... baffling at the amount of thought that had to go into that to make it work with all those pieces. You need to get your hands on the Stanley No. 9 Meat Tenderizer and give that whirl. Thanks for sharing James, always nice to see what strange new tools you introduce us to.

[@deezynar]

It would be relatively easy for a guy to make a pair of planes that do the job of that one plane. A person with some metal working skills can make his own blades. And the plane bodies can be made out of wood. This is similar to dado planes. One plane that makes one width of dado is easy to make and easy to use. A Stanley combination plane that supposedly does everything is expensive to buy, and is hard to set. Having different planes that are specialized for just one job is much better because there's almost no setup time. Grab it and go. Anyway, thanks for showing that. I have never even heard of it before, so it's clear that I have never seen one. You have really become a valuable asset in the last couple of years.

[@steveshapland8846]

Thank you, James, and thank your lender. I've seen one of these in a collection but never a demonstration of it in action. Now I don't need to buy one. As for sliding dovetails, I made a replacement fence for my #79.

[@jeffreythompson9549]

As an aeronautical enthusiast, I watch anything about planes, sometimes the content is a little confusing.

[@charitiekbyrd1]

Well, it's not proper to have your knickers out for all to see 😂😂. Great video, interesting plane. Not one I want but it's nice to see how they used to do things. Very cool 😎😁

[@stevesahr1752]

I scored a complete 444 recently and just love owning it. At some point i will put it to use. For now it is a comfort to own to just admire.

[@stevesahr1752]

And yes, it was expensive.

[@stevesahr1752]

Wonderful demonstration.

[@philiprichardson3074]

Was on mycollect list but not so sure now! Great video

[@HandlebarWorkshops]

Seems like you may need two of those. One set up for the dado and one setup for the spline. Then, as long as the stock you work with the most is relatively the same size, you just throw it in your toolbox and pull each one out as needed.

[@garychaiken808]

Great job. Thank you 😊

[@MartianHeadquarters]

that looks like teh type of tool that you;d make the dado first and then go in with that to finish it off. Yet watching you play with that i can half see a design in my mind to do most of that and then just tidy up the rest.... i may have a play.

[@buildchimp]

The Stanley website says these were manufactured starting in 1912, which is the year before Ford introduced the assembly line. For a plane that only makes sense in a mass production scenario, it sure looks like they anticipated the assembly line. People were obviously thinking a lot about big batches of piece work at the time.

[@hassanal-mosawi4235]

Thanks for sharing that!

[@lelandallen]

That is A LOT of work!!!

[@WoodenBoatBen]

That’s how you slide into dovetail madness.

[@TomMustache]

The only plane Stanley didn't make was the kind that flies.

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

That depends on how hard you throw it. Lol

[@JohnWoods-m4c]

Very neat tool.

[@monteengel461]

I have read about the Stanley 444, and that it is difficult to use. This is the first time I have seen one or seen a demonstration of one. I want one because I am a collector, but as a woodworker I will pass.

[@liquidrockaquatics3900]

If you were making apothecary cabinets, I can see this being invaluable

[@potflower4136]

I like to use just a normal dovetail plane (Grathobel, easy to come by on flea markets around here) for the tails and a simple straight-edge with the matching angle as a saw guide for the groove. Decently easy to adjust the tails to fit the groove later, whether you have it tapered or not

[@artswri]

Blimey, that’s a lotta setup. But interesting! Thanks for showing

[@toyfiretrucking]

i recently aquired one of these. no-one was bidding so i just put a silly bid in and won it. its complete but i think it might become a dust collecter.

[@ceilingfan42]

Really feels like this would have made more sense as a pair of planes, both practically in flipping back and forth between steps and not needing to reset, and in ease of use. It seems like in the spirit of this being super modular it became more difficult to work with.

[@athmostafa2462]

Interesting tool 😊.

[@markelder1345]

Had no idea this plane existed. Sounds like a great idea until you explain it - no eBay search for me

[@stuartansell9461]

Great video ❤

[@kencarlile1212]

Yup, that's a tool that would drive me up the wall.

[@orbitalair2103]

We need to figure out a way to make replacement nickers for the stanley tools.

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

You can buy replacements. I also have a video showing how to make them out of a hacksaw blade.

[@glideking]

Thank you!

[@RobertParker-v7v]

Wow. And I thought getting my no. 45 was tricky sometimes.

[@ferguscosgrave7510]

Thanks

[@daveallen007]

Hiya James, Imagine you are a master tool maker, extremely skilled, and able to make any tool from any material. First, what would you do to this tool, the Stanley 444, to improve it? For example you might change the shape of the main body so that there is a more traditional handle that allows you to hammer the cutter blade; perhaps you would have the blade like a more traditional Stanley where you can use a screw to adjust the up and down, and a lock to adjust the skew? Second, what would you do for fences? What shape do they need to be? Could the fences be spring loaded to keep them from being so loose? Would scales (measurement) be added at the front and rear - for depth gauges, where the allowable depth is more accurately measured? Would you prefer if the plane had a traditional knob shaped handle (wooden or brass)? Is there anything else that you might change?

[@stevem268]

i want one! i admit to being a collector, particularly combination planes but they do get used once in a while. how about a video on the somewhat elusive millers patent planes, no's 41 through 44

[@Adamant4160]

I could see using this to cut the male dovetail and using an electric router to cut the female dovetail

[@TomBuskey]

So you have to do a bunch of test setups just like with power tools.

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

Exactly!

[@davegillette2715]

You owe us a sliding dovetail tool video that doesn’t look insanely painful to use 😂

[@tazminiam5164]

But what about a woodworker worth his pepper?

[@dannyhale7645]

I wonder if Reed Planes could come up with a better design. I guess the real question is whether the time and money investment be worth it. It would probably need to be a lot easier and faster to set up than Stanley's version to be commercially viable.

[@theoriginalbuggins]

Aha! Another labor saving device!

[@johnfreiler6017]

Do you have a video of you cutting sliding dovetails by hand that fast? Care to teach us?

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

I have not done that video in a wile I might have to add it to the list. here is the old one. kzbin.info/www/bejne/b2Wbo3qfipiHqac

[@johnfreiler6017]

@@WoodByWrightHowTo Hmm, so I need a dovetail plane? Hmm. You hinted at making one... So now i have two potential projects for you. 😀

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

I did a series on making one of those a while ago. kzbin.infoD7FuG_xibBU?si=JNasqoRuudzShPUa

[@michaelmorris1865]

Thanks man, it looks like I'm going into debt and needing new excuses.

[@ManuelGarcia-ww7gj]

I cannot imagine cutting a long dovetail groove with a saw--and likely neither the joiners of olde--hence the Staley 444. Of, course today you could just use a power router to make quick work of these heretofore showoff joinery. Still easier said than done and best practiced on an inexpensive wood for practice prior to using an expensive project wood, such as poplar and red oak instead of say, holly and sapele.

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

oddly enough the joiners of old did not like the 444 that is why it did not sell well. up untell the 1930s you still saw the instruction books cutting it with a saw. here is a vide on it if you want to see more. It is a bit old but surprisingly simple. kzbin.info/www/bejne/b2Wbo3qfipiHqac

[@ManuelGarcia-ww7gj]

@@WoodByWrightHowTo Thanks for pointing this out to me. I am forced to conclude that wood workers are loath to give up something that they already know how to do, no matter hoe difficult it might be. Innovating new techniques has always been a gamble for the tool makers. Oh, and I think that the commenter who opined the need for having two 444s to build a single project is right.

[@BuckSterling1]

Have you tried any of the HNT Gordon planes? I’ve been thinking about getting one of their side rabbet planes with the dovetail foot.

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

He's those are great.

[@scottswineford6714]

Pretty sure if I found one I'd quickly look for a marketplace to list it.

[@SimonWillig]

So it's a fore-fore-foreplane. I call that premature

[@alangknowles]

And a stopped sliding dovetail?

[@1deerndingo]

Thank God I don't need one. I did do a book shelf that had twelve shelves. I cut in sliding tapered dovetails. I'm not sure the 444 can do that.

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

It can do tapered sliding dovetails just as easily. It all depends on how you set those fences.

[@lounackman6104]

Question? Would there be any value in cutting a dado first and then using the 444 to cut out angle for the dovetail? Some suggest doing this even with power routers.

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

it would make the first cut a bit easer, but it would take far longer and not give any better a result.

[@MCsCreations]

Yeah... If I find one of those for sell I'm going to run from it. 😬 Thanks, James!!! Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@lewisconklin7252]

Cool.

[@mattomon1045]

Hi James

[@brianbarney1885]

I enjoy using my Stanley 45 but this plane lost me when you said “extra body parts”! I’ll take a hard pass on this one🤪.

[@davidwood3751]

Snide remark

[@pettere8429]

Screw that, get a gradsåg ('groove saw').

[@LChalifoux]

I hadn't heard of a gradsåg, so looked it up - those are charming little saws. They seem to have all kinds of different handle styles. I couldn't find anything about using them though. @WoodByWrightHowTo James - here's another interesting rabbit hole for you!

[@christopherharrison6724]

I can’t see this on my shelf

[@kcirful]

That dovetail plane would be a headache for me. It makes my Stanley 55 a walk in the park 😐

[@creischn9862]

You sure know but there's a wooden plane for the Dovetail part which is much cheaper and available as new.

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

Yup. I have a few. Lots of fun.

[@creischn9862]

@@WoodByWrightHowTo compared to the fiddeling with the 444, sure :D

[@cbryantbear6498]

What is it 4?

[@tomengel8833]

You need two friends with a 444 each. That way you could fine tune it and not have to change it around all of the time.

[@amberkokoro5723]

Could a person get similar results using a 45 or 55 with an appropriately selected iron ?

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

Unfortunately, no.

[@coffeeconcentrate]

CDB... ?

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

Comment down below

[@ping170]

Dovetail down below ;)

[@waynehollard]

CDB

[@vince55sanders]

four for fore

[@mrmaldoon8362]

Phore

[@orbitalair2103]

Expensive you say. Well seeing as how i dropped several hundred on a old #45 to make a complete kit, i can imagine.....

[@perstaunstrup3451]

With that complexity and nightmarish setup it should have been numbered 666.

[@ryanstieglitz777]

Comment down below.

[@jeghedderhenrik]

and 1 finger is already hurt

[@dalepatton4861]

On your channel the 444 seems to be about as useful as the "thumbs down" button.😆

[@tatehogan5685]

Comment down below, that's about the "tail" of it

[@jwydubak9673]

comment down below

[@TheThirdThomas]

Cdb

[@christophervanmeier1648]

Okay...a duh moment for me. It seems to me that I could modify a router plane in some fashion to do the same thing.

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

Most of it. When doing it by hand you usually saw the sides and use the router plane to remove the inside.

[@MemphisCorollaS]

Comment down below

[@tomarmstrong1000]

Im a hand tool user and know this may sound like heresy, but watching this make me think that plane is why they invented the electric router 😅

[@wwtrkr3189]

Comment here

[@mac6435]

Are you ever going to build something?

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

Most every Saturday I put out a build video. They don't do very well but I keep putting them out. I haven't been able to the last two Saturdays as I've been gone.

[@SBZ5809]

That is an absolutely ridiculous tool. I want one. I would never use it, but ... whatever.

[@HaroldShipley]

Just use a router. Quicker, less problems and the results are just as good.

[@fredpierce6097]

Yikes!

[@Fusion_Woodworking]

I'd say a powered router with a dovetail bit is a great convenience even for a handtool shop.

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

that takes almost as much time to setup with fences. if you are just cutting a couple hand cut is surprisingly fast

[@nathancooley8459]

Calling it a Spur instead of a Knicker is a good idea, lol. KZbin only needs to mishear you one time and boom, channel deleted 😅

[@mrmaldoon8362]

Haha :)

[@jimneely4527]

Maybe Stanley should have numbered it the 666.

[@trevdog7945]

One trick pony 😅

[@hairy-one]

THIS! is why God gave us routers...

[@SteveAugust7]

Nope, that's not gonna work. ☠️

[@sheilbwright7649]

Comment from down under, I know this is probably as heretical as suggesting maybe guns kill people, but as satisfying as hand tools are and quiet and less dust this is the time to use an electric router.🫢

[@dv8ntcpl]

CDB