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Thread: Making a Spoke Shave

  1. #1

    Making a Spoke Shave

    Hi,

    A week ago I had the pleasure of teaching a class at the Burlington Lee Valley store, making a Low Angle Spoke Shave.

    The shave was made using the Veritas kit. It is similar to but different from the popular Hock kit in a few ways. It does not rely on set screws in the base to control blade height, also, the thread posts are removable, allowing easy sharpening on a water stone.



    Depth adjustment with the Veritas shave is controlled on top of the shave, a lock and set screw control the depth with a simple set and lock of the screws. The depth screw is controlled with a brass insert that is tapped into the wood with a wood tap that is included with each kit.



    I had a class of 6 students, all with a wide variety of woodworking skills and interests. The pleasure of this kit is that you are making a very functional hand tool that also can be customized by shaping, filing, sanding and sizing for specific or general uses.



    Almost all of the work was completed using hand tools, with the exception of the drill press and a small router to clean out the throat plate location.

    The class also had the chance to go one step further, we customized the shave with a rosewood throat plat rather than use the brass alloy plate provided.




    And the results, I supplied the class with figured cherry and flame birch cut off’s from my shop..





    The proof is in the shavings….


    The class used a shellac finish and wax top coat.

    I have to thank the students for being so helpful and kind, Walter did not cut his hand in the class, he said it was an encounter with a jointer. I also had a father and son team, it was the son’s Christmas gift to his dad, they were a lot of fun!





    I have made about 4 of these now and I know I will be making more, and every one in the class said the same thing as well. A great kit, class and day, there is something special about making a custom hand tool that you know you will use.


    I would like to thank the kind and wonderful staff at the Burlington Lee Valley store, in particular Syl Lasby
    Take care,
    Jim

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
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    That's cool Jim. There seems to be a lot of students with smiles!
    Please help support the Creek.


    "It's paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn't appeal to anyone."
    Andy Rooney



  3. #3
    It looks like the class was very successful and the students were happy with the results. Having made and used a spokeshave from the LV kit, I know how well they work - I actually prefer the low angle to the Stanley.

    Congratulations on your successful class. I'm sure its success was due in large part to your knowledge, enthusiasm, and preparation.

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  4. #4
    Fantastic job Jim. Don't you just love teaching classes? I swear that I always learn as much as I teach. I did a LV shave class for our NH guild last March. Here are some of the steps and the finished product in Walnut.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Dave Anderson

    Chester, NH

  5. #5
    Dave and Jim - I notice that many shaves, including the older shaves, have a concave depresssion cut into the middle-top of the shave. Does that serve some purpose or is it just a "style" item? Any ideas?

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Henderson
    Dave and Jim - I notice that many shaves, including the older shaves, have a concave depresssion cut into the middle-top of the shave. Does that serve some purpose or is it just a "style" item? Any ideas?

    Mike




    Hi Mike,

    It about the "feel" in your hands. On the first one I shaped like you describe I found it to feel friendlier to my fingers and grip.
    Take care,
    Jim

  7. #7
    Mike, I feel that the curved surface on the top both acts as a design element breaking up the "blockiness" of the shape and it also, as Jim said, acts as a comfortable place to rest some of your fingers.
    Dave Anderson

    Chester, NH

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
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    Jim, Dave, give me your honest opinion now, does a wooden spokeshave perform better than a metallic one. I made a wooden one using the Veritas kit, but I still prefer the cast iron Stanley. The depth control is more precise and the cast iron shave seems more sturdy.
    The means by which an end is reached must exemplify the value of the end itself.

  9. #9
    Hi Zahid,

    They are two different tools really, The Veritas is a LA shave, commonly meant for coarser work than a metal shave. Now that can be debated, but the Veritas has no cap iron, while most metal shaves do, they choke the throat when trying to take heavier shavings. The metal shaves that I use are better for finer controlled shavings. The iron angle is also steeper on a metal shave than the Veritas Low Angle thus diffrenet applications and so on.

    Like using planes, there are many applications that can require more than one shave type.... each has it's strengths and weaknesses

    I hope others who are shave users will also mention their thoughts on this...but I own 8 shaves (three metal, 5 wood) and each is different.
    Take care,
    Jim

  10. #10
    My take on this is partially different than Jim's. I use both types of shaves (metal and wood) for both types of work. A lot depends on how tight the throat is. For really finnicky flat or convex work my go to shave is a low angle mini shave with Hock blade I made myself. For concave work I use either my LV metal shave with the the screw on wooden handles or my Millers Falls #1 cigar shave (also metal). I've always thought that folks who might use a shave a lot should have both the low and high angle types since this makes more difference than whether the shave is wood or metal. Each type excells on different types of wood and on different grain directions. I often use a heavily modified and tuned Record #151 for reversing grain and with the mouth set tight I can often go against the grain and not get tearout. Remember that a spokeshave is really a sort of chisel just like a plane is a chisel in a "holder". The same situations apply as with a plane, one size does NOT fit all, and differnet angles of attack work better or worse in different woods.
    As for how many shaves I have, lets just say "a few".
    Dave Anderson

    Chester, NH

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Plano, TX
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    Hmmmmm! something to think about. The Veritas is certainly more suited to thick shavings, only because it is hard to precisely control the depth of the blade. Plus due to the low angle the blade really bites into the wood. I have also noticed that the wooden shave has more flex/give to it, in that it will dig in further if going against the grain. The metal ones are heald so sturdily in place that the depth of cut remains unchanged, irrespective of grain direction, but the quality of the finished surface may change.

    So can I create a high(er) angle shave for the Veritas hardware, just to experiment.
    The means by which an end is reached must exemplify the value of the end itself.

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