on the matter of travishers

[lowell holmes]

On the matter of radius of a travisher, do any of you have comments on the paragraph.
I'm just curious.

My first travisher is one I purchased from one of the woodworking tool stores. It is one that has a prominent chairmakers name associated with it. It is a good tool and I have no complaints. The radius of the iron on it is about 4 1/4".

I was attending a Windsor chair class at Homestead Heritage near Waco and one of the other attendees had a travisher he made. He loaned it to me when I was carving the chair seat and I had better luck smoothing seat with it than with my own travisher (purchased from the store). I liked it so much that I was able talk him into selling it to me. The radius on the iron on it is 5.6". The flatter curve in the iron makes for very fine cross grain carving.
I have a question for you tool makers in this group. Have you made travishers and if so, what consideration did you give in determining the proper radius of the iron. Is there a standard?
I have no reason for asking other than curiosity. The maker of the second travisher said he formed the iron on an old automobile brake drum. It must have been a 10" drum.

[Mike Holbrook]

I have used Peter Galbert's travisher, made by Claire Minihan, at a class taught by him. It worked very well. The interesting thing to me is Pete's travisher has almost no way to adjust it. Pete's travishers were back ordered prior to and after my class. I bought the travisher Highland Hardware sold but so far I have not been able to get it to work as well as Pete's. Elia Bizzarri sells an earlier version of Pete's travisher, which I bought too. Elia's version, as delivered, seems to be set too fine and I have not figured out how to adjust it either. I believe Elia has 4.5 and 12" radius models. Claire's version of Pete's travisher is pricey. It seems to me that the reason Claire's work so well, is hers has a brass plate instead of a wooden one and she sets them up very well. Think about a wood plane with the blade and mouth position set permanently.

I have talked to Glenn at WoodJoy Tools about travishers several times. Glenn has been threatening to make an adjustable travisher. I love Glenn's spokeshaves because, he makes a few models that allow the user to adjust the mouth and blade position very accurately. I suspect he could make an adjustable travisher too. I think the hold up is making a curved blade and travisher body very accurately, so it would make precise shavings all along its surface, even when adjusted. Think about it, how many spokeshaves or travishers are there which have curved bodies and blades with adjustable blade heights and mouths?

[Mike Holbrook]

Country Workshops sells an inshave made by Hans Karlsson. The blade has been designed and redesigned by Drew, according to his website, over a 20 year period. The interesting thing about this inshave is the center of the blade has a minor curve and the two sides have a more pronounced curve. The center of the blade is used to work the lesser curves in the front and middle of the seat and the sides are used to work the greater curve at the very back of the seat. I have one, but thus far I have trouble working grain in exactly the best direction with that curved blade without any sort of rest/mouth to help me get the angles perfect during use. Spokeshaves with flat rests and blades are much easier to make and use than inshaves or travishers with curved blades and bodies. If it took a skilled hand tool maker and a skilled chair maker 20 years to get the design of an inshave, with only a blade to worry about, right, how long might it take to design a travisher with a blade and wood body that are adjustable?

[lowell holmes]

There's not a lot written concerning travishers. I'm just curious about travisher design. It is an idle curiousity.

As I stated, I have two of them and they have different radii. My 4 1/4" travisher came from Highland Hardware as well. I think it is a copy of one of Mike Dunbar's tools.

We were shaping the seat on a Windsor chair when I managed to buy my flatter design. It cost me a lot more than the Dunbar design.

[Mike Holbrook]

I think Crown Tool Company was making the travisher and a compass plane for Highland and others from old tools Dunbar had or designed. I was just trying to find Crown Tool Company, but an internet search indicates that their site is down "temporarily". Highland says the tools they use to sell are out of stock too.

Elia offers a little information on travishers. He says he saw Dave Sawyer using a 12" radius travisher on the front of his seats when visiting him. I think Dave may have had a hand in teaching Dunbar, Curtis Buchanan... who in turn taught many of the newer Windsor chair makers. I think Drew Langsner was one of the earlier chair makers too. Drew mentions travishers in his classes and book but does not sell them, he uses adzes and inshaves/scorps for most of the same work. Drew imports unique hand forged tools from guys he knows in Sweden, Hans Karlsson, Svante Djarv. Some older forms of chair making, spoon carving and coopering are still practiced in this area. Page 28 of Drew's "The Chairmaker's Workshop" provides a plan for making a travisher.

[Dave Anderson NH]

I have both a Crown Plane travisher and 2 of their compass planes made about 20 years ago by Leon Robbins who has since passed away. Both are excellent tools. Leon sold the company around 18 years ago to Jim White and his son. When Mike Dunbar was still running the Windsor Institute he recommended the Crown products. They also made a really nice panel raising plane.

[lowell holmes]

I have both a Crown Plane travisher and 2 of their compass planes made about 20 years ago by Leon Robbins who has since passed away. Both are excellent tools. Leon sold the company around 18 years ago to Jim White and his son. When Mike Dunbar was still running the Windsor Institute he recommended the Crown products. They also made a really nice panel raising plane.

I'm curious, how did the panel raising planes perform cross grain? I'm thinking you would have to slip up on the final pass. Maybe a simple rectangular pass that was close and then finish with the raised panel plane.

A miner gloat, I have Dunbar's book "Making a Windsor Chair". IIRC, being out of print, I paid a handsome sum for it.

I just checked on line and see the book has been reprinted and the cost is nominal.

[Mike Holbrook]

I have one of the small compass planes too Dave. I just have not learned how to make it work for me yet. I talked to Jim White a few years ago about his products. I am wondering if his web site is under construction or if he has quit making hand tools? It would be a shame to loose this source of reasonably priced hand made tools.

I have a copy of "Make a Windsor Chair with Michael Dunbar" bought at Highland, Hardware at the time. I did not realize it was a collectors item Lowell. Mike Dunbar does not run the Windsor Institute anymore? I thought I talked to him about classes a year or two ago? Drew Langsner at Country Workshops was apparently starting to arrange for someone to take over his classes when I took his class about a year ago. It is almost like the end of an era. Mike, Drew, Curtis and Dave may have saved Windsor, Stick and Post and Rung chair construction from fading out and popularized it too.

[Dave Anderson NH]

I don't own the panel raiser Lowell. At one point they made both a left and a right, both without nickers. They also made the panel raisers for Garrett Wade, or at least Leon did. I've seen them work cross grain on some red oak and they didn't tear out any. They were very very sharp though. I bought my copy of the original printing of Mike's Windsor book over 20 years ago along with his original version of restoring antique hand tools.

The Windsor Institute is now closed. Mike decided to retire and there was no one willing to purchase the business. Over the last couple of years he was decreasing the number of classes he taught. Martin Donnelly of LFOD tool auctions will be auctioning off the tools at the summer gathering in Avoca, NY. Out of curiosity my wife and I drove by the Institute about 3 weeks ago when we were in Hampton (30 minutes from home). The building was empty and the signs were gone. No for sale sign either so I guess someone bought the land and buildings.

[Steve Voigt]

I made a travisher with a 3" radius, which is about what the Galbert/Minihan travishers have. If you have a larger radius, you might have trouble on some types of chairs with working the back of the seat area, next to where the spindles go.
I forged and hardened a blade for another travisher with a 6" radius, but it's on the back burner for now.

[Bob Glenn]

You can skew the travisher to reduce the smaller radius cut at the back of the seat.

[Mike Holbrook]

Steve, you wouldn't have a picture would you?
There are so few hand tools designed to make curved surfaces. Most of these surfaces are largely made with straight bladed:drawknives, spokeshaves and hand planes by repeatedly removing corners until a more or less round or curved surfaces starts to emerge. There are drawknives, axes, adzes, gouges... made for this work but they require a greater skill set to use as the worker has to manually maintain the blades position, prevent chatter.... Planes with cambered blades are even relatively rare. Things get more complicated when the cutting surface has any kind of curve, much less any adjustable mouth/rest/blade height...

I suspect that travishers have always been rare because of the difficulty in making and sharpening them. Drew Lagsner\Country Workshops has been one of the few places one could go to learn to make curved surfaced objects from wood with hand tools, usually from green or dried wood that is not dimensioned. I guess this type of work comes closer to being wood sculpture\carving than "traditional woodworking". There are the lathe guys who make bowls, curved legs...but this gets back to machining\milling vs working with hand tools. I think curved surfaces may be the most "neglected" form of hand tool woodworking.

[paul cottingham]

I suspect it is not the same sort of tool, but I have had good luck using a Veritas pullshave (especially if you modify the mouth a bit) in the same manner as a travisher.

As for Dunbar, I recall mentioning that he was closing up sometime in January, but we couldn't find any corroborating info. I think I took a bit of a beating over it, if I recall. :-) I am sad that I was right, regardless, it's never good when a pioneer retires. Jenny Alexander, Drew whatshisname, Peter Follansbee, and Roy are all getting on in age. Hopefully people will step into the void.

[lowell holmes]

There seems to be a ready supply of his book now. When I had to have mine, that was not the case and IIRC, I paid some where around 30-35 dollars for it. I still have it and will keep it.

IIRC, Dunbar introduced the scary sharpening system. I will use wet or dry sandpaper on a granite plate if I have a real need for a fine edge. I think he also introduced sharpening with side to side motion, which I do. It allows me to lock my upper body and arms using a side to side motion from the hips. Dunbar will be missed.

[Steve Voigt]

Steve, you wouldn't have a picture would you?


Mike, I wrote it up in detail here (http://blackdogswoodshop.blogspot.com/2014/08/travisher-is-finished.html).

[Dave Anderson NH]

Hi Lowell,

While Mike Dunbar "popularized" the sandpaper sharpening system known as "Scary Sharp" it had been around a long time before. The folks on the Old Tools List actually coined the name "Scary Sharp" and had used it for some years before Mike adopted it. It had been around even longer than that. My day showed me how to use sandpaper as a down and dirty method (and it was dirty in the days of flint paper) over 50 years ago. I think my grandfather showed it to him as a means of sharpening when out in the yard or on a construction site.

[lowell holmes]

I have oil stones, water stones, diamond stones, but I will often go to sandpaper on granite when sharpening a large edge. A Duelen jig will make short work on jointer knives on the granite.
I do have a jointer which I sometimes use, mostly for house repairs. If I have a large malformed board, I will joint it also. There will be fine shavings from my Bedrocks before I'm through.