Spokeshave categories and uses

[John Hiner]

I do not have any experience with spokeshaves, and have looked them up on the web. There are many different types. Pictures are shown and each is described, with the various parts named and so forth. However, I have not found an explanation of why one is better at a particular job than another. There are round soles and flat soles. Convex and concave and combination. Flat handles and curved handles. Perhaps some work best with green wood and some with seasoned. Does anyone know a reference or web site (or has personal knowledge) that explains what particular job each particular spokeshave is designed for?

Thank you,

John Hiner

[Steve Friedman]

For metal spokeshaves:

Flat bottom for flat or convex shapes
Curved (or round) bottom for concave shapes - the radius of the curve is different based on the manufacturer
Concave for rounding things like chair spindles

Best is to try some out and see what's comfortable, but:

Lie-Nielsen Boggs and small bronze shaves are great, but tend to be for fine finishing work and are a bit tricky to set up.
Lee Valley shaves can take thicker shavings and are very easy to set up.
Older Stanley & Record shaves can take much more aggressive shavings than any of them.

Wooden (low angle) shaves are a different world, but (based on my limited experience) seem to be much better for steep inside curves that a metal shave can't get to.

Since spokeshaves are traditional in green woodworking, I would check anything written by Jenny (John) Alexander or Drew Langsner. Also, go to Google Videos and search fpor "spokeshave." I got 60,000 results.

Steve

[Bill Houghton]

I would add to Steve's comments that a flat bottomed metal-bodied shave can do some, relatively mild (long radius) inside curves. That would be my first choice, but that may be because a spokeshave like that was my first spokeshave, so I'm used to it. A lot of people buy something like the Stanley 151 or the Lee Valley shaves, but I find the depth adjusting nuts can get in the way. I prefer a Stanley 52 (which has straight handles; the 51, more common, has kind of gull-wing handles, like a 1959 Chevrolet [and boy, did I just show my age there]), which is more compact and lighter. The modern equivalent is the pricey Lie-Nielsen Boggs shaves. A note here on the proper grip of this type of shave: you grip the body, right next to the cutting iron, between thumb and first finger, pushing or pulling and manipulating angle with those two fingers. The handle is mainly there to give the rest of your fingers somewhere to rest. Well, I'm exaggerating a little; the handles help you sense the angle at which the shave is presenting itself to the wood. I find the straight handles more comfortable for resting my fingers and more sensitive for detecting angle.

Round bottom spokeshaves are tricky things to use, prone to chatter unless well-tuned and handled with care (I have found that pulling them works better than pushing; your wrists turn in with more control than they turn out). They are very good for tight inside corners (where you must always be careful to observe grain direction and shave down the grain). I've owned several, and given away several. My current preferred round-bottom shave is a Stanley 63 from the Sweetheart era, but you have to be careful with the 63 and 64 shaves, as the quality varies a lot.

Metal-bodied shaves (with a couple of exceptions) present the cutting iron to the wood bevel down, at an angle similar to that of a bench plane. Wood-bodied shaves pretty well all present the iron to the wood nearly flat, with the bevel up. They can do marvelous things with end grain; I don't have much experience with them, though, so will let others, with more experience, chime in.

So, let's help you down the slope a little...if you're thinking about spokeshaves, you should also think about drawknives. The drawknife is seen mostly as a rough-work tool, but with just a little practice, you can do some remarkably delicate work with one. The two tools complement each other.

[Dave Anderson NH]

You don't show where you are in this world John. Getting some hands on time with someone who can show you examples and let you try them and find out their capabilities is very useful. As an example, I just so happen to be teaching a class (free) for our NH guild's Hand Tools Group on the 23rd of this month on Spokehaves and Drawknives. I'm sure members here who are local to you or your nearest woodworking club can put you in touch with someone who has the tools and would be willing to help you. Internet forums and internet videos are very useful, but nothing can compare with real time hands on and interaction.

[Jim Koepke]

John,

Welcome to our Cave by the Creek. As Dave mentioned, you may live close enough to someone here who would be happy to get together with you to test drive their shaves.

Here is a post on my Stanley #51 and #63 spokeshaves compared to a couple of spokeshave shaped objects.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?153938-Just-A-Whisker-on-Shaves

The sole and the blade do the work. The handles provide the leverage and comfort for the user. So to paraphrase, "different spokes for different folks."

jtk

[John Hiner]

Thanks to everyone,

I appreciate the links and input. It would be great to have some hands on training. I live in the mountains of Virginia in Highland County. I will check out those Google Videos.

John Hiner

[Bill Fleming]

You might start with the videos by LN as they will be fast and easy to find. You can find from their website or doing a LN search on YouTube.