Spokeshaves. Cool tools for curved work. By Craig Bentzley In case you haven t noticed,

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1 Spokeshaves Cool tools for curved work By Craig Betzley I case you have t oticed, there s a had-tool revolutio goig o. Well, actually, it s more of a had tool rediscovery. After decades of ejoyig the efficiecy of power tools, may woodworkers have come to realize that most machies simply caot fiesse work the way certai had tools ca. For example, there s a good chace you ve discovered the beefits of usig a well-tued had plae to remove the machie marks left by your thickess plaer. But uless all your work is straight ad flat, there s aother valuable tool you ll wat to add to your arseal: the spokeshave. Whe it comes to curved work, a properly set up spokeshave will perform a variety of tasks ragig from simple smoothig of arched edges to shapig of spidles, cabriole legs ad other curved forms usuited to had plaig. Spokeshaves are available i a multitude of cofiguratios, icludig models with cocave or covex blades ad models dedicated to chamferig. However, uless you re a chairmaker or have specialized eeds, straight-bladed models will hadle most commo jobs. I this article, I ll explai how to get a straight-bladed spokeshave ito good workig order ad how to put it to use. 40 woodcraftmagazie.com Dec/Ja 2011

2 Depth adjustmet screw Blade lockig kob Throat wear plate Cuttig edges A Adjustable shoe for depth of cut Moder bevel-up shaves have blade-lockig kobs. Blade depth is cotrolled either by adjustig uderlyig screws or the height of a frot shoe. B Bevel-dow spokeshaves have a sole that s flat (Staley No. 151 at left) or slightly covex (No. 151R). Kurled kobs adjust the blade i or out to set the depth of cut. Types of spokeshaves Spokeshaves ca be categorized ito two basic types based o blade orietatio: bevel up ad bevel dow (Figure 1). First is the traditioal bevel-up shave, origially maufactured with a woode body. If you frequet atique tool sales ad flea markets, you ll fid these tools i abudace, but be aware that most of them are wor beyod their useful life cycle, sufferig from misshape soles ad wideope mouths that compromise cotrol. At the very least, you ll Figure 1: Basic Spokeshave Types Bevel-Up Shave Frame with hadles usually have to istall a ew throat plate to close up the mouth. These old models also lack blade depth adjustmet screws, istead icorporatig frictio-fit tapered tags, which ca be fussy to adjust. With ew models available i both wood ad metal (Photo A), it makes sese to forego troublesome vitage shaves. Because of their lower cuttig agle, bevel-up shaves excel at rapid stock removal of straight-graied woods. They re also great at slicig ed grai. Blade lockig kobs Although the low agle teds to tear out areas of reversig grai, the mouth o most ew spokeshaves ca be set for a fie opeig to miimize the problem. Bevel-dow spokeshaves are the most commoly available. These metal shaves have a blade cofiguratio much like a had plae ad are maufactured with either a flat or slightly covex sole (commoly called a roud-bottom spokeshave) (Photo B). The flat-soled versios will hadle covex ad log, sweepig cocave Blade lockig kob Shoe-lockig screw Shoe-lockig screws Adjustable shoe Adjustable shoe Bevel-Dow Shave Frame with hadles Blade depth adjustmet kobs Blade Lockig screw Cap iro screw Blade Cap iro Blade depth adjustmet kobs Cap iro screw Lockig screw Cap iro Sole Sole Mouth Profile of roudbottom sole Photos: Paul Athoy; Illustratios: Chris Glowacki Dec/Ja 2011 woodcraftmagazie.com 41

3 Cap iro should cotact otches. Also flatte ier edge C of cap iro. Flatte the sole o 100-grit sadpaper o a deadflat surface, usig firm, short side-to-side strokes. D If ecessary, file the screw slot to allow the capiro shoulders to cotact the body otches. curves, but you ll eed a roudbottom shave to get ito tighter curves such as the akle area of a cabriole leg. The steep cuttig agle makes bevel-dow spokeshaves the best choice for workig figured woods. I geeral, they re used for fie shavig, ot gross stock removal. The veerable Staley model No. 151 ad its various imitatios are readily available ew ad used. Blade adjustmet o these models is very user-friedly ad allows you the optio of skewig the blade slightly to take heavier cuts o oe side of the tool ad fier shavigs o the other. Blades: Bigger Is Better The blade that came with my secodhad spokeshave was totally used up ad could ot be advaced ay further to take a shavig. This was actually a blessig i disguise because it gave me a excuse to replace it with a thicker, aftermarket blade. Thick replacemet blades by IBC or Hock Tools are available through Woodcraft (woodcraft.com). The thicker IBC blade (top) will replace a stock blade (bottom), reducig chatter ad closig up the mouth i the process, which helps reduce tear-out. Tuig a spokeshave Cotemporary bevel-up spokeshaves whether wood or metal rarely require as much tue-up work as their beveldow couterparts. Sice the blade o a bevel-up shave serves as a large portio of the sole, make sure to flatte ad polish the etire uderside of the blade. Also, ease a blade s sharp trailig edge with a file or hoig stoe to prevet it from scarrig your work o the backstroke. The wear plate o a woode bevel-up shave should be as smooth as possible, as should the adjustable shoe o a metal bevel-up shave. Whether you buy ew or used, most bevel-dow spokeshaves do t come ready to use. For oe thig, the castigs o iexpesive models ofte suffer from poor quality ad sloppy machiig. This may mea a out-of-flat sole or a blade that does t seat properly, cotributig to cotrol problems ad chatter marks o your work. Blades may be improperly sharpeed or, i the case of a old shave, sharpeed so ofte that little usable blade is left. Fortuately, it s ot difficult to 42 woodcraftmagazie.com Dec/Ja 2011

4 E Flatte a icosistet blade bed with a mill file, usig a series of overlappig diagoal strokes. perform a complete tue-up, rewardig you with a tool that cuts smoothly ad clealy. For this article, I purchased a used Staley No. 151, typical of those foud at flea markets. I bega by disassemblig the tool ad puttig all the parts i a rust-removal bath for a few hours. The I flatteed the sole by rubbig it aggressively side to side o a piece of 100-grit alumium oxide sadpaper affixed to a graite slab (Photo C). I followed up by polishig it i the same maer usig fie emery cloth. To polish a roud-bottom spokeshave sole, I back up emery cloth with a piece of 1 4"-thick cork ad scrub with a side-to-side motio. Next, you'll wat to atted to the cap iro. To miimize blade chatter ad to prevet chips from jammig uder the cap iro, the bottom of its leadig edge eeds to make solid cotact with the blade. Flatte that sectio usig the same techique used to flatte the sole. Also smooth ad polish the top of the cap iro s leadig edge to allow chips to break away clealy ad smoothly. O some shaves, the ears o the cap iro wo t cotact the shoulders o the body as they should. I that case, elogate the cap iro screw slot usig a chaisaw file as show i Photo D. To avoid legtheig the slot ay more tha ecessary, check the fit frequetly with the blade iserted. O a metal-bodied spokeshave, the blade bed ofte requires some work. Heavy, ueve japaig or bad castigs ca prevet a blade from seatig solidly agaist the bed, ivitig chatter i use. With sloppy japaig, you ca ofte scrape away the pait blobs. A out-offlat castig ca be smoothed ad leveled with a mill file, workig i the diagoal fashio as show i Photo E. Check your progress frequetly, ad cotiue filig away high spots util the blade does t rock while i place. Fially, the blade eeds to be flatteed ad sharpeed. Because it's so short, a blade ca be hard to hold for sharpeig. Istead of usig a gridig wheel, I suggest sharpeig with hoig stoes. Begi with as coarse a grit as is ecessary to restore the edge ad the move through progressively F Screwig a spokeshave blade to a wood extesio allows the use of a hoig jig. fier grits. For bevel-up blades, maitai a agle of If you work primarily i softwoods, a 20 agle works fie. For hardwoods, a agle is best. Whe hoig the blade o a bevel-up shave, the posts ca get i the way. To do the job, pich the blade at both eds while straddlig a arrow stoe ad rubbig the blade back ad forth ad sideways. Alteratively, take diamod paddles to the bevel. For bevel-dow blades, maitai a agle of about 25. To help with hoig the bevel, I made a simple plywood blade holder that fits ito my hoig jig (Photo F). If the back of the blade is rough, I ll hoe it usig a progressio of waterstoes, fiishig up by polishig it with 8000 grit. Adjustig a spokeshave As with a had plae, you ll wat to adjust a spokeshave to take a cut that s appropriate for the job at had. But settig a spokeshave ca be tricky. Ulike a had plae, a spokeshave provides very little sole to serve as a sightig referece. Dec/Ja 2011 woodcraftmagazie.com 43

5 It s of little use tryig to set a blade by feel because a cuttig edge that projects far eough to feel will probably create too coarse a cut. The best approach is trial ad error, makig test cuts o a piece of scrap. Shaves with depth adjustmet kobs are easiest to set, but be sure to take up ay backlash after adjustmet by advacig the adjustmet kobs util they cotact the bottoms of the blade slots. Spokeshaves without adjustmet kobs require a differet approach. For these, place the tool o a flat surface, bottom out the blade, ad the sug up the cap-iro lockig screw, but ot too tightly. Tap the blade lightly (Photo G), secure the cap-iro lockig screw, ad make a test cut. I ow a umber of spokeshaves ad set them differetly. For some, I like to skew a blade to take a fie cut o oe side, ad a slightly heavier slice o the other. This creates a sort of two-i-oe shave that s great for prelimiary work. I follow up with a shave that s set to take fie, uiform shavigs for a more refied surface. Usig a spokeshave Usig a spokeshave requires cocetratio, especially if you re ew to it. Because the hadles are so log, begiers have a tedecy to grab them out at their eds. However, this type of grip will ot allow your wrists to cotrol the cut. Istead, I place my thumbs ad forefigers as close to the blade as possible, with the hadles simply servig as a restig place for the remaider of my figers (Photo H). Spokeshaves ca be pushed or pulled. It s a good idea to master both techiques so you G To set a shave that lacks adjustmet kobs, sug up the cap iro lockig kob, tap the blade lightly to advace it, the tighte the lockig kob. do t have to repositio yourself or your work frequetly. That said, I fid that pushig gives me the most power ad cotrol, especially with uruly woods. Eve the most highly tued spokeshaves ca chatter durig certai cuts. If this occurs, try skewig the tool as show i Photo I. Skewig the shave Shavig Kits Makig a woode bevel-up spokeshave from a kit is a affordable way to make a tool that s aythig but cheap. I ve bee usig mie for over 10 years, ad I love it. Dave s Shaves (cworkshops.com) offers a complete $65 kit, icludig a Hock blade, pre-marked woode blak, ad comprehesive istructios. It takes maybe a afteroo to build the shave. For those more adveturous souls who wat to build the body from scratch, a Hock blade with lockig screws ca be purchased directly from Hock Tools (hocktools.com) for about $36. With it you'll fid istructios for makig the tool body. 44 woodcraftmagazie.com Dec/Ja 2011

6 Figure 2: Shave With The Grai. Roud-bottom shave Flat-bottom shave Flat-bottom spokeshave Roud-bottom spokeshave lowers the blade s agle of attack ad usually results i a cleaer cut. It also helps combat resistace o ed-grai. Use a flat-bottom shave to cut covex areas, ad a roudbottom shave for cocave surfaces. (Bear i mid that you ca t cut a cocave radius that is smaller tha the radius of the spokeshave bottom.) Always work i the dowhill directio of the grai, as show i Figure 2. Tight radii are particularly challegig, ad you may have to work the shave i side-to-side slicig cuts to fiish the bottom of a curve. If you ca t perfectly smooth the tagecy poit where the grai reverses, you may eed to resort to a scraper. I ay case, you ll probably wat to refie the spokeshaved surface with a scraper ad/or sadpaper to remove ay chatter marks ad About Our Author Craig Betzley has bee restorig atiques ad buildig furiture for early 40 years. I additio to writig, Craig also teaches at guilds, woodworkig shows, ad at Woodcraft stores. to smooth everythig out prior to assembly ad fiishig. Oce mastered, the spokeshave is a idispesable tool, so joi the shavig revolutio. Chaces are, oce you lear to hadle the tool, you ll deped less o your oscillatig spidle sader. H For best cotrol, hold a spokeshave close to its blade, pichig it firmly at the base of the hadles. I Reduce blade chatter by skewig a spokeshave. Here, the shave is beig pulled dowhill with the grai. Dec/Ja 2011 woodcraftmagazie.com 45

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