Fred Emhoff reamer

[Mike Henderson]

Does anyone know if Fred Emhoff is still making that 11* tapered reamer? And if so, do you know where it can be purchased?

I found Wharton Valley Chairworks (http://www.windsorchairresources.com/emhof.html) but no prices. Lee Valley (http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&cat=1,180,42240,53317&p=54864) has a 12.8* one for $21.50. If the Emhoff is a lot more expensive, I'll make the legs with 12.8* tapers.

Thanks,

Mike

[Kevin Adams]

Mike--

Give Fred a call and ask him. He's had some health issues here and there, but I bought a set of spoon bits from him not too long ago. His reamer is first rate, BTW.

Take care,
Kevin

[Robert Rozaieski]

Mike,
I heard awhile ago that he wasn't making the spoon bits any more. I'mnot sure about the reamer. The Windsor Institute used to sell them. They have one now called the Smart Reamer which may be Fred's, I'm not sure. At any rate, it's $160.

http://www.thewindsorinstitute.com/tools.html

FWIW I made one from an old saw blade based on John Alexander's plans on his web site. I shaved mine, not having a lathe.

http://www.greenwoodworking.com/reamer.htm

I know that you turn so you could easily make one. This is all that Curtis Buchannan uses to make his Windsor chairs..

[Mike Henderson]

Robert - thank you for the pointers. That $160 one is a bit out of my price range - the John Alexander one is the one I need. And it seems appropriate to the spirit of Windsor type chairs.

I'll try to make one following his directions.

Mike

PS Do you have any other Windsor chair hints and tips?

[Robert Rozaieski]

Mike,

I've only used the reamer for a saw bench and shave horse so far. I have not made a Windsor yet so I probably don't have any useful tips for you right now. I keep planning to build one but other projects keep coming up. My FIL has a dying red oak he needs cut down this fall so this may be a good time for me to think about making one since I'll have the green oak. Right now I don't have a lathe though so I can't turn the legs. I may try to do something simpler with shaved legs, I don't know yet. I plan to make a treadle lathe after the holidays so I'll probably wait a little longer. I have to see how bad the tree is and how much wood I can get out of it. It's pretty much dead as it had no leaves all summer and now the bark is starting to peel so I may not get anything out of it but firewood.

With regard to the reamer, it does work real well and you can't beat the price. You sharpen the blade just like a card sraper as reaming is basically a scraping cut anyway since it's pretty much all end grain. Just take it slow so you don't tear out big chunks (DAMHIKT). If you try to go too fast or push too hard, the blade can catch the fibers and rip them in soft wood like is typically used in Windsor seats. I did try it on a practice hole in some mahogany and it was much nicer and less likely to tear but this wood isn't typical seat wood.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Have ye given consideration to makin yer own~?
A tapered bit of hard wood with a sharpened bit of steel set in a slot might do the trick.

[Johnny Kleso]

Mike,
I have a Clifton I bought about 5 years ago off eBay and I think it was about $50 with shipping I would part with.. I know Highland HW or WW now sells or sold them and the Fread's where more expensive than the Clifton's if I remember correctly...

http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1068

[Mike Henderson]

Have ye given consideration to makin yer own~?
A tapered bit of hard wood with a sharpened bit of steel set in a slot might do the trick.
Yep, that's what the John Alexander reference above is.

Mike

[Mike Henderson]

Mike,
I have a Clifton I bought about 5 years ago off eBay and I think it was about $50 with shipping I would part with.. I know Highland HW or WW now sells or sold them and the Fread's where more expensive than the Clifton's if I remember correctly...

http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1068
Thanks for the offer, Johnny, but I'm going to make one (or try). It looks pretty simple and I'm pretty cheap.

I don't expect to be making Windsor chairs for production so I can go slow with the reamer. Also, a shop made reamer *feels* more authentic and to the spirit of a Windsor chair (Windsor chairs always seemed more "country" - made by craftsmen with less sophisticated tools than their city brethren).

Mike

[Johnny Kleso]

Mike,
You may what to start checking eBay metal working reamers often..

I have won two super auctions with unused taperd reamers..
I'll post a pic a little latter..

I got both of these a SKF set of three for less than $25 and a Vermont Tool and Die Handyman Reamer for about $15
Both are unused, but not for sale :)

http://stanleytools.home.comcast.net/reamer/reamer-1.jpg

[Mike Henderson]

Mike,
You may what to start checking eBay metal working reamers often..

I have won two super auctions with unused taperd reamers..
I'll post a pic a little latter..
I need (want) an 11* included angle reamer. My problem with an eBay reamer is that the seller may not be able to tell me the included angle accurately.

I don't have any problems making one. I have the blade now and all I have to do is sharpen it and turn the wooden part. I'll take pictures to show the process.

Mike

[Kevin Clements]

Hello all,

Hey this maybe something I can finally help here. I attended a couple classes of Mike Dunbar, which I highly recommend! One of the best vacation I have ever had ! Since taking his class I have made many Windsor Chairs over the past 8 years.

First let’s talk tools. Let me start with "sometimes you get what you pay for". I purchased some bargain spoon bits from the usual suspects the first time around. When I got to class and tried out Fred’s spoon bits and reamer, I realized what a mistake I made, there was no comparison. I wasted my money on the bargain tools. I called Fred the very next day and placed an order.

Fred is also a stand up guy. I had not use my reamer for a while and discovered slight surface rust. I went to sharpen it I mistakenly rolled the edge. I called Fred to see about sending it back and to pay him to regrind the edge for me. He reground the edge, cleaned it up and did even charge me, he did even charge me the return postage. Can you get the level of service from Highland or the other big names ?

Now let’s talk spoke shaves. No disrespect to some of the spoke shaves suppliers out there. But $90 for a spoke shave is a little much. I did purchase a shave from Dave’s Shave. Beautiful tool. I decide to make my own and found info on the net. I purchase blades from Wood Craft Supply ( Hock Blades ) for $40. Took some scrap wood, in 15 minutes produce a shave just as nice as that $90 one. I have made several since.

Well that’s all I got for now, Time for me to return back to the wood rack.

Kevin Clements

[Kevin Adams]

Mike, it's not hard making the reamer. However, if you want one already done and reasonably priced, you might check out here:

http://www.handtoolwoodworking.com/tools.html

You may also want to check out:

http://www.windsorchairresources.com/

for some tips and other info on making chairs. Taking a course with someone is a great way to learn, but you could also try one of the books out there, especially Drew Langsner's book that is now back in print at:

http://countryworkshops.org/

I highly recommend Drew's book. If you don't want to purchase it, check your local library as they may have a copy. They do sell on ebay, but they had been at greatly inflated prices prior to Drew republishing it himself.

If you have any other questions about Windsor chairs, tools, etc., please don't hesitate to ask.

Take care,
Kevin