Preston Stringing Router

[JimReed@Tallahassee]

I was cleaning up yesterday and found a tote that was too heavy to lift. Among its treasures were a handful of old Preston shaves. I took one of them into the shop today to give it a test drive. It is a Preston #1396 Stringing Router.






The blade protrudes through the bottom. Here you can see it as a tiny dark square.




Here is a close up of the blade.



So I got out a piece of scrap cherry and went to town.

It cut quickly and was easy to control.



I quickly cut a groove that was as deep as it is wide.



And then I glued a piece of maple in the groove.



After four or five hours, I got out the Bedrock #603 and the LN low angle block to go after the waste.



Then I wiped it with turps to make it pop.



I was impressed at how easy it was. And I was double impressed at how good it looks. Now I need to find a project that needs a little stringing.

[barryvabeach]

Nice work Jim,  stringing works well on lots of projects, legs and table tops especially.

[Adnick]

Only have one Preston spokeshave but it's one of my go to shaves, wish I had a few more......

Andy-- mos maiorum

[enjuneer]

It looks like if you flip the fence around, you will be able to cut grooves near curved edges. It is a really neat tool. Thanks for sharing it with us.