Alf
Established Member
Some readers with exceptionally good memories may recall, when I reviewed this kit in January, that I floated the idea of trying another one with a round sole, possibly in bone, and maybe trying out the WoodRat for some of the tasks. Well I finally got round to it. I haven't photographed every step, just the "new bits", so you might want to refer back to the original post. Purist neanderthals may wish to hide their eyes from the Woodrat related sections. The only reason this is on the Hand Tools board at all is because it's the making of a hand tool. :lol:
One of the things that caused me some difficulty first time round, was holding the blank at the necessary angle for cutting the ware, so I left extra length on the blank to take a couple of screws this time round, and made a simple T-shaped jig to screw it to.
Now while this would help if cutting the ware by hand as before, I really designed it more with using the Woodrat in mind. One end was cut to 45degs, and the other at 90, and the cross piece moved from one end to the other depending on whether I wanted a cut parallel to the surface of the blank, or at an angle. I could have just used the 90deg end and clamped the jig at an angle in the 'Rat of course, but having the angled end meant I got more gripping area on the jig.
First I cut the wear. It doesn't actually work out at 45degs as I had thought, so I angled the jig slightly.
The 'Rat worked very well, although I later got the same "step" issue as I had with the first shave. So maybe it should have been at 45degs... As it was I ended up tweaking it with chisel and file which rather defeated the object of using the 'Rat. #-o
I then switched to the square end of the jig and routed out the blade recess, which was quick and painless.
The newest thing to me was working with bone. I bought a piece of ready cleaned and bleached bone from a pet shop; this one cost me about £1.60.
It works rather like a very dense hardwood; filing and scraping well. It certainly tested my old hacksaw though. It also smells abombinably; I really felt quite sick.
What with that and being entombed in a dust mask and the air filter whirring away like a jet aircraft in the background, it's not a task I relish repeating. :roll:
The resulting cut was not the neatest, and I realise I need a new hacksaw that actually retains the tension on the blade. :roll:
After some lengthy work on the resultant piece with chisel, file and belt sander, I was ready to cut a recess to insert it into the spokeshave blank. I opted for a 45deg angle, which really made more area of bone "plate" on the front of the shave than was necessary, but did give plenty of glue area.
After a certain amount of tweaking and trimming, and filing of the back edge to 45degs, the oversize bone fitted the recess snuggly.
Having got the mouth opening reasonably satisfactory, I marked up the plate and blank so they'd go back together in the right place once the glue was involved.
I used a two part epoxy to glue the bone in, which I hope'll be okay.
The belt sander came into play again, to remove the excess bone.
And then a block plane did the initial rounding of the sole; both the wood and the bone.
More nefarious use of powered sanding devices cleaned up the curve in a flash. In fact almost too quick... But I got away with it. 8-[
More rasping, filing, sanding and finishing later, and it's done. Time for a trial run, and it's looking good.
Walnut and bone, finished with shellac and wax.
Conclusions? Bone is diabolical to work and very hard, but makes a great wear-resistant sole. Having done one I'd really like to try another, now I know what I'm aiming for a little better, but that'll have to wait for the Tuit. As for the WoodRat; it worked very well, but not surprisingly for just the one spokeshave, it makes more time spent making the jig than it does making the cuts. As I say, once I get a second wind, I'll probably take another shot at it. I'm a bit disappointed by the walnut; I had all sorts of trouble with it splintering, and frankly, it looks a bit boring. Also I wasn't as careful with the shaping and so forth as I'd have liked, simply because I wanted to get it working to see how good or bad it was. But it may suffer from the curse of the usable prototype - the impetous to do a "better" one is largely gone. Hmm, I wonder if a chamfer shave is possible...? :-k :wink:
Cheers, Alf
NB: In the interests of full disclosure, I should say that in this case I bought the kit! I have made every effort to not let this affect my review, and I hope this is self-evident, but you, the reader, will always be the final judge...
One of the things that caused me some difficulty first time round, was holding the blank at the necessary angle for cutting the ware, so I left extra length on the blank to take a couple of screws this time round, and made a simple T-shaped jig to screw it to.
Now while this would help if cutting the ware by hand as before, I really designed it more with using the Woodrat in mind. One end was cut to 45degs, and the other at 90, and the cross piece moved from one end to the other depending on whether I wanted a cut parallel to the surface of the blank, or at an angle. I could have just used the 90deg end and clamped the jig at an angle in the 'Rat of course, but having the angled end meant I got more gripping area on the jig.
First I cut the wear. It doesn't actually work out at 45degs as I had thought, so I angled the jig slightly.
The 'Rat worked very well, although I later got the same "step" issue as I had with the first shave. So maybe it should have been at 45degs... As it was I ended up tweaking it with chisel and file which rather defeated the object of using the 'Rat. #-o
I then switched to the square end of the jig and routed out the blade recess, which was quick and painless.
The newest thing to me was working with bone. I bought a piece of ready cleaned and bleached bone from a pet shop; this one cost me about £1.60.
It works rather like a very dense hardwood; filing and scraping well. It certainly tested my old hacksaw though. It also smells abombinably; I really felt quite sick.
What with that and being entombed in a dust mask and the air filter whirring away like a jet aircraft in the background, it's not a task I relish repeating. :roll:
The resulting cut was not the neatest, and I realise I need a new hacksaw that actually retains the tension on the blade. :roll:
After some lengthy work on the resultant piece with chisel, file and belt sander, I was ready to cut a recess to insert it into the spokeshave blank. I opted for a 45deg angle, which really made more area of bone "plate" on the front of the shave than was necessary, but did give plenty of glue area.
After a certain amount of tweaking and trimming, and filing of the back edge to 45degs, the oversize bone fitted the recess snuggly.
Having got the mouth opening reasonably satisfactory, I marked up the plate and blank so they'd go back together in the right place once the glue was involved.
I used a two part epoxy to glue the bone in, which I hope'll be okay.
The belt sander came into play again, to remove the excess bone.
And then a block plane did the initial rounding of the sole; both the wood and the bone.
More nefarious use of powered sanding devices cleaned up the curve in a flash. In fact almost too quick... But I got away with it. 8-[
More rasping, filing, sanding and finishing later, and it's done. Time for a trial run, and it's looking good.
Walnut and bone, finished with shellac and wax.
Conclusions? Bone is diabolical to work and very hard, but makes a great wear-resistant sole. Having done one I'd really like to try another, now I know what I'm aiming for a little better, but that'll have to wait for the Tuit. As for the WoodRat; it worked very well, but not surprisingly for just the one spokeshave, it makes more time spent making the jig than it does making the cuts. As I say, once I get a second wind, I'll probably take another shot at it. I'm a bit disappointed by the walnut; I had all sorts of trouble with it splintering, and frankly, it looks a bit boring. Also I wasn't as careful with the shaping and so forth as I'd have liked, simply because I wanted to get it working to see how good or bad it was. But it may suffer from the curse of the usable prototype - the impetous to do a "better" one is largely gone.
Hmm, I wonder if a chamfer shave is possible...? :-k :wink:Cheers, Alf
NB: In the interests of full disclosure, I should say that in this case I bought the kit! I have made every effort to not let this affect my review, and I hope this is self-evident, but you, the reader, will always be the final judge...
