Spokeshave advice

[Rob_H]

I'm building up my hand tool collection whilst the rest of my workshop is mothballed until we move into our new house in January (hopefully) and one of the tools I'm looking to buy is a good quality spokeshave. Any advice on what to go for?

 

[Wiley Horne]

Rob,
Chris Knight did an extensive review of shaves several months ago on these pages. His account will be of great help to you, if you will do an archives search.
As a result of Chris' posting, I bought an LN Boggs shave and could not be more pleased. I also use LN's little bronze shave, modelled on an older Preston shave--it is excellent too, but if I were shopping for one shave it would be the Boggs shave. Have been using it recently to shape tapered legs for a table. Here, the legs were captured between bench dogs. But this shave has great balance for one-handed use when you want to hold the work in one hand and the shave in the other. And it can serve as a very short-base smoothing plane.
It ships with an A2 blade, so if you consider an LN shave you want to be sure your sharpening equipment will handle A2 (see the other on-going thread on this matter). I find A2 will get every bit as sharp as O1, or Japanese steel for that matter, but it matters what you're using to sharpen it.

Wiley

 

[Anonymous]

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[Philly]

Rob
I, too, would recommend the Lee- Valley shaves. Really nicely built, good irons and supplied with shims to close the mouth down tight for tough timbers. A good price for the quality of tool!
The Cliftons look nice but have mouths wide enough to fall through PP........ :lol:
Hope this helps
Philly

 

[MikeW]

Hi Rob,

Like Wiley, I have the Lie-Nielsen (LN) Boggs shaves. Wonderful, sturdy shaves. Great feel to them in use. I can recommend these without reservation.

I have not owned the Lee Valley (LV) ones, but if you want an adjuster version I would get these without hesitation. At the wood shows where I have used them they have been easily adjusted and work well.

Take care, Mike

 

[Alf]

Any advice on what to go for?

What d'you envisage using it for?

Cheers, Alf

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

Alf asks a good question.

While we wait to hear the answer, I will put my vote in for two shaves, one new and one old.

The new is the LV LA Spokeshave - adjustable from tight curves to flats and very comfortable to use.

The old is the Stanley #53 - adjustable mouth that alters from a rank to a fine shaving in seconds.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[bugbear]

The new is the LV LA Spokeshave - adjustable from tight curves to flats and very comfortable to use.

It's great on convex and flat work. The blade is too long for tight concave work.

I own one, and love it - as far as it's applicable.

For concave, I switch to the other extreme - a Stanley #63 (sweetheart, 50 pence, meep)

Link

BugBear

Mod Edit for long url

 

[Rob_H]

Thanks for the advice everyone.


Alf,

I want to make some chairs to go with a farmhouse kitchen table - been following the articles in GWW recently and I'm getting all ambitious. I need to get a drawknife too.

 

[Alf]

I want to make some chairs to go with a farmhouse kitchen table - been following the articles in GWW recently

Eh? I admit I've found it difficult to read GWW in recent months, but I'm sure I wouldn't have missed a series of articles on chairs. Have I? :|

Cheers, Alf

 

[Rob_H]

The Sam Maloof article this month, and the chair necessities article the month before. Not really a series, Alf, but you get what i mean. It has made me think about trying my hand at some chairs

 

[Alf]

The Sam Maloof article this month, and the chair necessities article the month before.

Ah, that s'plains it; not getting it from this month and totally mis-laid the month before's. #-o Thought maybe you meant PPW, which has had one or two chair making articles in the last year. They're more your average country/Windsor/Welsh Stick type though, not Maloof-esque.

Cheers, Alf