I shot the above Video at Roy Underhill’s Woodwright’s School. Bill Anderson shows how to properly use a Stanley 45 Combination Plane to cut a simple groove for use in a dovetail box or many other uses.

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Bill shows the basic parts of the combination plane and how to adjust them.

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You’ll learn how to hold the Stanley 45 combination plane to get a consistent groove, and how to avoid misshaped grooves. I have a downloadable PDF of the Stanley 45 combination plane instruction manual here.

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In addition to teaching at the Woodwright’s School, Bill Anderson is also a regular contributor to Popular Woodworking Magazine (read his great bow saw article here) and a repeat visitor on The Woodwright’s Shop tv show.

Bill Anderson

Here’s a Woodwright’s Shop episode with Bill:

You can find vintage Stanley 45 and Stanley 55 combination planes, parts, & cutters here:

Thanks for checking this out! What other skills would you like to learn?