48’s, although a good tool, are as rare as hen’s teeth here in the UK and – in all honesty not worth waiting for if hoping to buy one specifically for this kind of project.

#45/405 multi-planes (Stanley/Record) work exceedingly well, as do Record’s 040/043/044 plough and 050 combination planes. For ploughing, rebate, prep for raised panel work and work producing housing/dado joints they all work well and prove simple to set up, although the 050 & 405 have the advantage of being provided with beading, tongue and groove (Match) cutters and can also handle sash, fluting,ovolo and reeding work when fitted with additional cutters.

Cutters supplied with the 405 were:
1/8″, 3/16″, 1/4″, 5/16″, 3/8″, 7/16″, 1/2″, 5/8″, 3/4″, 13/16″ & 7/8″ Plough & Dado cutters.
1/8″, 3/16″, 1/4″, 5/16″, 3/8″, 7/16″ & 1/2″ Beading cutters.
1-3/4″ Sash cutter.
3/16″ & 1/4″ Match (Tongue & Groove) cutter.
1-1/4″ Fillester cutter.
Slitting cutter.

The 050 is another very handy multi-plane with similar handling characteristic, but slightly less facility for varied work. It was provided with:
1/8″, 3/16″, 1/4″, 5/16″, 3/8″, 7/16″ & 1/2″ Beading cutters.
1/8″, 3/16″, 1/4″, 5/16″, 3/8″, 7/16″, 1/2″, 5/8″ & 7/8″ Plough & Dado cutters.
1/4″ Match (Tongue & Groove) cutter.

The 040/043 and 044 are primarily plough planes and the one used by Paul for plough work on the clock is a 044. The 040 and 043 (Due to their smaller size) tend to be suited to prep work such as drawer slips, picture frames, etc., with 3 cutters. 1/8, 3/16 & 1/4 inches . The 044 was supplied with 8 cutters. 1/8, 3/16, 1/4, 5/16, 3/8, 7/16, 1/2 & 9/16 inches Additonal cutters can be had at 4mm, 6mm, 9mm & 12mm for the 040/043 and 044 planes.

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Router planes…….. I’ll never decry newer incarnations of the router plane as they’re excellent pieces of kit, but older versions are proven more than capable of handling everyday work and can be had for a fraction of the price demanded for newer alternatives by Veritas and Lie Nielsen.