Stanley spokeshave, with springs?

Went to the Tractor Fest this morning...walked through almost a mile of vendors....among the treasures I picked..
Attachment 415280
You can just barely see the handle....spent $5 on it, too...
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Iron is stamped as a Stanley Rule & Level Co. iron....not much else in the way of markings...but..
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There is a brass thumbscrew. The "frame" it sits in is hinged....and there are springs in the "sole" of the frame...needs cleaned up, and sharpened.

Then there was this, for $10..
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Why a ten spot? Well.....
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When there are 8 bits out of 8 bits...North Bros. #41, one patent date. Needs a drop of oil, and buff it out a bit.....and this was just 1/2 of my haul, this morning.

So....why the hinged frame, with springs?

Steven, the spokeshave is a Stanley #54 (or copy of one). It differs from the Stanley #53 in having straight arms.handles, when the #53 is arched.

The blade is secured inside a frame, which acts as a lever cap. The frame moves back-and-forth, which opens or closes the mouth. The spring adds tension to the frame/lever cap. There should be a small lever cap screw to control the adjustment.

This is the best design I have seen for a spokeshave, bar none. It enables the spokeshave to be set up for a coarse shaving and then changed to a fine shaving, and vice versa, in seconds. I have the #53, which I prefer.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Nice. Except mine has no checkering on the handles, and no hanger holes. Bolt to hold the iron in place is a slotted round headed one. The thumbscrew is not a knurled one, looks like a brass bugle head, with a steel bolt through it....it does have a little knurling around the thin edge.

Logo is more of in a circle. Seems to be from way before the SW era.

These are designed to make available a more closed mouth to help prevent tear out, though you'll find in cap iron threads that mouth aperture is supposedly completely irrelevant to the matter.

Be the judge in your own shop.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Charles Guest

These are designed to make available a more closed mouth to help prevent tear out, though you'll find in cap iron threads that mouth aperture is supposedly completely irrelevant to the matter.

Be the judge in your own shop.

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The ability to change the mouth is very helpful when working on curved details. It can help control the blade's depth of cut.

jtk

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Charles Guest

These are designed to make available a more closed mouth to help prevent tear out, though you'll find in cap iron threads that mouth aperture is supposedly completely irrelevant to the matter.

Be the judge in your own shop.

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Mouth size is irrelevant ... with a chipbreaker closed up, or with half-pitch cutting angles. However, a spokeshave does not have a chipbreaker, and with the exception of HNT Gordon spokeshaves, have a common cutting angle. Spokeshaves rely on the depth of cut and, especially, reading the grain to control tearout. A small mouth helps set these up.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Ok....I will sharpen the iron up, and see how it works...and see what "setting" works the best....and go from there...