If you love old, antique tools like I do, you will love the Stanley Tools 55 Universal Plane.

It is a wonderful antique tool, beautiful in design, and widely diverse in its functions. In a short time, a correctly set up and properly used number 55 can turn a flat faced board into a stunning piece of molded trim.

Whether you are a woodworker creating furniture or a restoration craftsman using a #55 to fashion replacement trim or mouldings to match 100 year old house parts, knowing how to use the tool is the first priority.

If you are anything like me, I was baffled with how to use the 55.

I bought my first Stanley 55 years ago. It was a Saturday afternoon in October,  and my wife and I were looking around an architectural salvage shop. These were the days before kids, when we had plenty of time to shop around such silly places looking for treasures. And then, out of the blue, there it was, sitting on the top shelf, covered in dust. Just the handle was poking out from a large box of brass door knobs. Dust wasn't the only thing covering the neglected tool, but also a heavy covering of rust that had frozen every moving part in place.

Gleaming with pride and not knowing any better, I toted the tool to the front counter, and paid for my find. At the time I was in antique tool bliss, but I realize know I could have bought a much better example on ebay for about the same price.

After spending a few evenings soaking all the needed parts with WD 40, I began carefully cleaning the heavy rust from the tool. Eventually, I got this old timer cleaned up and ready to use.

I only owned the single rabbet blade that was in the 55 when I bought it, and had no idea why it wouldn't cut, or even how to use it.

What I needed was the instruction manual that had originally been issued from the Stanley factory when it was new. By chance, I finally located a copy of the owners manual from a member of the Midwest Tool Collectors Association.

The great thing about the manual is that it shows you how to hold and use the plane for all of its versital functions. The user guide will teach you about all the parts, adjusting the plane, setting up the plane, setting the cutters and how to make mouldings. This guide will tell you what cutters to use to make the different mouldings, and how to make the examples shown in the manual. It also has a complete list of the cutters and an exploded view of the plane and all of its parts. This makes finding and restoring an incomplete 55 much, much easier. 

Whether you are a beginner tool enthusiast, a seasoned woodworker, or an antique tool collector, a copy of the user guide for the 55 is an absolute must.