Travisher options...

[Scott M Perry]

Hi, all -I'm getting back into chairmaking after a bit of a break. A lot of relearning going on, largely with the help of Curtis Buchanan's and Peter Galbert's sites. They both speak lovingly of Elia Bizzarri's travishers, saying that the 4" radius is perfect.Now, years ago, I made a travisher with one of Drew Langsner's blades:trav.jpgTurns out the radius is a little less than 3". I'm pondering now buying a larger radius travisher to augment this one. Have it down to two options, and I'm wondering if folks have used either/both and have any sage words for me.The first is Elia's: Elia's Travisher The second is from a guy in the UK, which has a little larger radius yet: http://travisher.com/ So, anyone have opinions on these two tools?Thanks for your thoughts.Scott

[Sean Hughto]

I have both. I prefer Mursell's. It clogs far less and is easier to control. It is especially good in harder woods. As they say, your milage may vary.

[Brian Loran]

I have Mursell's. Great travisher! A real pleasure to use even scooping out seats in hard maple!

[Scott M Perry]

Thanks for the opinions, guys. I've gotta say, something organic about the Mursell travisher is very appealing to me. Think that's what I'll be going for.

Scott

[lowell holmes]

I have two travishers, one is from a popular online tool vendor that cost about $100 and has a 2 1/2" radius blade. It is at least five years old.

The other is a custom made travisher that was made by a participant in a Windsor chair class I attended. It has radius of 5.22 inches. I seldom use the 2 1/2" radius travisher since I acquired the other. I like that way it will shave the wood without tear out. It is like a low angle spoke shave in some respects.

I know nothing about the Mursell tool, but it sounds interesting.

[Scott M Perry]

Thanks for your thoughts, Lowell. The one I made has worked well for the few seats I've saddled; however, in the intervening years, I've developed a taste for a more refined seat. My travisher leaves a bit of a raw edge to it, which was fine before, but now I'm wanting something more elegant. The Mursell travisher, besides looking like it'd be a treat to use, has a 4-3/4" radius, which (I think) would be good for just about the whole seat. Where it's not steep enough, I have my homemade one. Where it's too steep, I have spokeshaves and scrapers.

I need to sell another lens to afford all this. Yikes.
Scott

[Marty Studer]

I have two of elia's travishers as well as some of the other tools he makes. The travishers are very easy to use, sharpen and fit the shield style of seat very well, even the steep rear wall of the seat. I would highly recommend them.

[Wallis Hampson]

I have Elia's. I enjoy using it every time i pick it up. I cant imagine having a problem with it but he is close and responsive if you should.

[Joey Chavez]

Probably a silly question, I have never ordered from a foreign company. If you want to order a Mursell do you order from their website and let the credit card handle the currency exchange or is there a U.S. company that sells them? What is the approximate cost in U.S. dollars?

[Brian Loran]

I was lucky enough to have someone over the pond buy mine and bring it over when they came to visit me in the states. Your best bet would be to call or email him to confirm he will ship to the US. Probably have to work out some extra shipping costs...

[Dave Schwarzkopf]

He does ship to the States (for a very reasonable fee) and Visa took care of the exchange rate for me, (for a 1% foreign transaction fee). If you're curious about the exchange rate, xe dot com is pretty spot-on.

For the travishers, I have Mursell's, Elia's, and one made by crown planes. I can't say I reach for one over the others, just depends on the radius I'm cutting. Between the three brands, I'd put Mursell and Elia's towards the top, but would be hard pressed to choose between them if I could only have one.