Results 1 to 10 of 10

Thread: Draw Knife Cross Sections

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Dayton Ohio
    Posts
    909

    Draw Knife Cross Sections

    Found this information in a 1905 Rayl's catalog and thought I would share.
    Draw Knife Cross Sections - Rayl Co 1905.jpg


  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Longview WA
    Posts
    27,347
    Blog Entries
    1
    Thats cool, thanks for sharing.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Dayton Ohio
    Posts
    909

    Needs clarification

    Thanks Jim. Now if someone would just explain the differences we would all have a better idea on choosing best tool for the job.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Longview WA
    Posts
    27,347
    Blog Entries
    1
    It looks like the main difference is the amount of 'flat' for the blade to ride on while working.

    Kind of like the ways of a spoke shave.


    In comparing the blade to the work it might make more sense. For the shingle cutter one would want the long flat registration to make a controlled straight cut. Compare that to the carriage profile where a lot of the cutting needs to include curves and some nimble finessing of the blade.

    My impressions may be incorrect but it appears the "heading" and "hoop" shaves were for the coopering industry. With bottom bevels for very specialized cutting the inside tops and bottoms of barrels.

    Someone who knows more about this will hopefully steer us right.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Dayton Ohio
    Posts
    909

    Some thoughts

    I agree Jim. It looks like the Shingle, and carpenter are flat the whole way probably for flat cutting. The Wagon, Coach, and Carraige (carriage?) all have a clearance bevel. The Heading and Hoop each have a short back bevel. This would allow cutting into a hollow and give a back edge for registration. I suppose there are draw knifes made with a curved edge (front to back) but I'm not aware of them. I do hope someone who knows will enlighten us.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Indianapolis, Indiana
    Posts
    524
    Cool. The information about draw knives, yes, but more so the catalog from Rayl's in Detroit, at least for me. My wife's name is Rayl, and she is somehow distantly related to the Rayl of the Detroit hardware store.
    Michael Ray Smith

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Williamsburg,Va.
    Posts
    12,402
    The only cooper's draw knives I have seen them use are definitely not for cutting into hollow forms. They use other tools for that.

    Or,their choice of draw knives might be just the way which these particular coopers prefer to work. But,they were professional coopers,making beer barrels in London before coming to Williamsburg.
    Last edited by george wilson; 06-10-2014 at 12:56 PM.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Dayton Ohio
    Posts
    909

    Rayl catalog

    Michael, I looked through the 1905 catalog #21 for company information, but there isn't much. They do say this "We are old. We have been over twenty eight years in the one spot, and we are more interested in the reputation and the good name of The T.B. Rayl Co. than we are in any other earthly business." Inside the covers a owner wrote his name "Ivan E. Bixler Goshen Ohio 1976". Its strange, but the Rayl address or contact information is not listed anywhere in the catalog. I also do not see any company branded tools in the catalog. If you need more let me know.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Milton, GA
    Posts
    3,213
    Blog Entries
    1
    I am no expert on drawknives but I did take a Windsor Chair class recently and learned a little about them. I have won 5 on auctions in recent months. Just about everything I see at auction has a blade profile more like the carpenters or shingle models in the diagram. I have a drawknife I bought from Barr Tools that they call a "Carver's Knife" that has a profile more like the Wagon profile above. I think there are many more Carpenters, Carvers and Shingle drawknives which are still around or get made for todays buyers.

    The "big" difference I see in drawknives being bought and used in recent years is actually a small difference in the two profiles. Most blades are made like the Carpenters model but the treatment of the back/flat side is usually where one will find the difference. If the user wants to be able to turn the drawknife blade in the cut it helps to have a smallish bevel on the back/flat side of the knife. This design allows one to use the knife a little more like a small bandsaw blade with small teeth that allow it to turn in the cut. The knives with flat backs and no bevel are great at removing large chunks or strips of wood for the length of the piece of wood, more like splitting off strips of wood.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Longview WA
    Posts
    27,347
    Blog Entries
    1
    The knives with flat backs and no bevel are great at removing large chunks or strips of wood for the length of the piece of wood, more like splitting off strips of wood.
    When we used them on a ranch where I lived many years ago, we called them poll peelers. Mostly for peeling the bark off of fence polls and rails.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •