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Arron
8th November 2004, 06:24 PM
Spokeshaves are pretty much my favourite tool. The metal versions are good but when it comes to organic curves and freehand shaping it is the wooden ones that excel. They are common at flea markets, but most of the ones you find are fairly worn out, the blades are hard to adjust and dont stay still so they dont really perform at their best. I bought a bunch of worn out or broken ones very cheaply at the local market just to salvage the blades, and gave them a new life with new bodies and brass mouths. Three of them make a neatly matched set, so I put them in beech. Beech is very resistant to splitting, so with a bit of care you can make them such that the blade locks in so tight that it needs a powerful hammer blow to adjust the blade depth. The fourth one I put in mahogany. Anyway, they are easy to make and well worth the couple of hours work each that they require. Getting the mouth geometry right takes a few trial runs, then its mostly just a matter of freehand shaping the body. And incidently, the best tool for making a wooden spokeshave is a wooden spokeshave.

ps. I just recieved in the mail a free copy of the Lee Valley catalogue. Amazing what you can get in the States. Christmas is looking good.

regards
Arron

Driver
8th November 2004, 07:49 PM
More great work, Arron! Well done. :)

Wood Borer
9th November 2004, 09:13 AM
Fantastic

derekcohen
9th November 2004, 05:12 PM
Arron

Those are just fantastic!

Regards from Perth

Derek

IanW
11th November 2004, 09:09 AM
Nice work, Arron.
I've got an oldie that still has tight-fitting tangs. I've used it a bit, and like the way the cutting edge is more in line with the handles - seems to make for better 'feel' than the 'modern' Stanley metal design. But the blade is a bit soft and doesn't hold up on anything tough.
Have you seen the new Lee Valley catalogue? They now have blades for 'roll yer owns' - complete with adjusting nuts. After seeing your efforts, I'm tempted to have a go at making one from a nice chunk of Mulga or something.....
Avagooday,

Ian007
11th November 2004, 09:38 AM
Very Nice
Well done, lucky you for having the time to do such nice stuff

Cheers Ian :)

Arron
11th November 2004, 09:07 PM
Give it a go IanW. My only tip to offer is that I learnt the correct sequence the hard way:
Cut the blank to final width and height
Drill holes for tangs and fit the blade
Cut the 45degree waste slot
Cut the limbs, shape with chisel and spokeshave
Profile the body to give the blade the right amount of bite
Sand and finish
The advantage of doing it this way is that if you misalign the holes or split the timber banging the tangs in then you dont waste the time involved in shaping the limbs and body.

The brass on the front of the mouth looks good but is completely unnecessary if a hard timber is used.

Also, dont use a timber that splits easily. Thats why I use European beech. Plus its easy to pick up beech on council clean-up days - when everyone throws out their rubbish Ikea furniture.

Arron

IanW
12th November 2004, 09:33 AM
Ta Arron - yeah, I will give it a go for sure. Had a good look at the Lee Valley kit in their new catalogue last night - $29 (US) with an A2 blade, and a dinky adjustment system that I can't quite fathom from the picture, but it should solve the problem of wrestling with the friction-fit tangs.
I suppose you could go without the brass wear strip, but it can't be too hard to fit, and would protect the mouth a bit. I've got a little double-radiused scrub plane I made for scooping out chair seats, etc., and it has worn quite severely in front of the mouth - (somewhere on my 'gunna' list is the job of fitting a brass insert on that, too!)
Anyway - sometime in the next week or so, I'll put in an order, so when it arrives, and when I finally get around to assembling it, I'll post the result. It may be some time......
Cheers,

Sturdee
24th November 2004, 07:11 PM
Arron,

You inspired me with the photos of your spokeshaves. When I was at a trash and treasure market a couple weeks ago I bought three old spokeshaves for $ 4. each. After scraping of all the accumulated grime, sharpening the blades and polishing the shaves they came up pretty well.

What is even better they work well too. :D

Thanks for the inspiration. Photos are attached.

Peter.

Auld Bassoon
2nd October 2005, 09:13 PM
G'day Sturdee!

Those look like lovely little gems - but how do you adjust the depth of cut, etc?

Cheers!

Andy Mac
3rd October 2005, 09:32 AM
Nice work Arron!
I agree about the wooden bodied ones being nicer to use, and I think the blade angle on the average metal versions is, well, average. Doesn't seem to slice the timber, more of a scrape!
Cheers,

Wood Butcher
3rd October 2005, 09:41 AM
G'day Sturdee!

Those look like lovely little gems - but how do you adjust the depth of cut, etc?

Cheers!

AB,
You would find that the tangs on the ends of the knives are a fairly tight fit in the boy of the spokeshave. You just tap the blades in or out as needed and the tangs will hold the blade in that position. Simple but very effective!