Stanley 68 & 71 rabbet spoke shaves

[Stephen Rosenthal]

Recently I've seen a number of these appear on eBay and craigslist. Not much info available online and only basic description and illustration in Stanley's catalog (1934). Does anyone have one of these and, if so, what do you use it for? Or is it now simply a collectible?

[lowell holmes]

The Stanley spoke shaves I've had have not been good tools. I have good luck with Lovejoy and Veritas.

[Bill Houghton]

I've always wondered how useful these could be. The sole is rather long, front to back; it's almost a short rabbet plane with handles on the sides. Were I looking for a Stanley rabbeting shave, I'd think about a 67. The removable handles would let you tuck into awkward spots, too.

And I've had better experiences than Lowell with Stanley shaves; I like 'em.

[Jim Koepke]

I have three Stanley shaves, all of which work fine. I do not have any of the rabbet shaves.

jtk

[lowell holmes]

An explanation is in order.

My issue with the Stanley shaves I've had or used is the thickness of the shavings I could get. The gap between the edge of the blade and the shave's body is, IMO, excessive.
There have been fixes where epoxy and wood were used to close the gap. These fixes were marginal at best. The Stanley Shaves I have are the standard shaves, not the rabbett.

I find the Lee Valley shaves to be vastly superior. If you've never used one, your in for a treat. I do not favor the Lee Valley low angle spoke shave, but their standard shave is my preference. I have both Lee Valley shaves.

That being said, I have built two different rocking chairs at Homestead Heritage in Elm Mott Texas (near Waco). The shaves we had to use were Stanley and the chairs were successful in spite of the thick shavings.

[Stephen Rosenthal]

Well, looks like nobody really knows too much about these shaves. Guess that confirms my opinion that they're collectibles, not users. Bill, I agree with you about the 67 - very versatile, but tough to find in decent shape with all components.

[lowell holmes]

I went to the internet and looked at Stanley 67 and 68 spoke shaves. They are not the ones I was talking about.
The 67 and 68 look like they would be good shaves. They look like the Lee Valley Cast Round spoke shave, which I like a lot.

The thought of a tool not being a user is foreign to me.:)

[Jim Koepke]

Well, looks like nobody really knows too much about these shaves. Guess that confirms my opinion that they're collectibles, not users. Bill, I agree with you about the 67 - very versatile, but tough to find in decent shape with all components.

I do not know that it confirms them being collectibles as much as it confirms they are not an everyday user for most folks here.

If you do work and often hear a voice in your head saying, "if only I had a spoke shave that could cut this rabbet," then it would be a good user for you.

Kind of like rabbet planes and molding planes, some have use for them, others do not.

jtk