Your Favorite Spokeshaves and why?
#31
Pablo said:


If that sucker had a tight or closed mouth it would mean that I would be wasting a lot of time picking its teeth, and that just wasn't going to happen.



Pablo, what a great description of what it's like to use a spokeshave with a mouth that's too tight. It definitely hit home. I was talking to Deneb at Lie-Nielsen this summer and his comment was something like, "It's a tool. Don't be afraid to reshape it to do what you want it to do." Glad to hear that to be true in the real world as well. On the other hand, taking a file to a L-N tool is a little scarier than doing that with an old Stanley 151.

Thanks for that reality check.

Steve
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#32
Pablo

Thanks for that explanation!

John
Formerly known as John's Woodshop
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#33
John's Woodshop said:


Pablo

Thanks for that explanation!

John





+ 1 ........ that was very interesting.

Steve
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#34
I have the Veritas Flat and round ones which I use extensively, they have the regular blades (not PM-V11). I recently re-handled them with some nicer wood, although the bubinga handles are nothing to sneeze at.

Regarding a use for each type, I have asked for the convex one for Christmas as the flat one really only works on convex and flat surfaces; the convex will work on modest inside curves.

Regarding the round one, I don't have the patience to use it to make final round spindles or legs, rather I use it to knock the corners off the blanks on the lathe before turning them round - avoids lots of tear-out, especially on ash.





Cocobolo and Honduras rosewood handles.
Richard D. Wile
Nova Scotia - Canada.

http://richard-wile.blogspot.com/
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#35
I have the Charles Brock Maloof Style Rocker plans and I intend to attempt one of those chairs this coming new year. I was thinking the set of veritas Shaves would be a great help with the shaping tasks of that project.

Thanks again to everyone for your input!
Formerly known as John's Woodshop
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#36
Pablo - I'm curious, given that you were using spokeshaves in a work environment, how often you sharpened the blades? What did you use? Do you have any opinion on the new PM-V11 steel (or others, for that matter) in spokeshaves? Thanks.
In Japan, there's probably a WoodNet equivalent where they're debating about Western chisels being a lot like Japanese plumbers. - AHill
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#37
AHill said:




I got the set. I use the flat and round one a lot, but the concave one far less often. I find the concave one doesn't make it any easier to make nice curved surfaces compared to the flat or a set of good rasps or scrapers.




My experience exactly!
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#38
John's Woodshop said:


I am in the market for some spokeshaves and I was wondering which ones you guys like and why?

Thanks!
John



LV round bottom for gradual inside curves. I use a homemade woodie with a Hock blade for just about everything else that needs a spokeshave -- or for any piece of wood that needs me to play with a fun tool. Hey, I don't make up the rules, I just follow them.
Best,
Aram, always learning

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery


Web: My woodworking photo site
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#39
henrypig said:


Pablo - I'm curious, given that you were using spokeshaves in a work environment, how often you sharpened the blades? What did you use? Do you have any opinion on the new PM-V11 steel (or others, for that matter) in spokeshaves? Thanks.




I think I probably sharpened the iron perhaps three times in two days or so when I was doing those eight hour spokeshave marathons. We had some sort of stone, always immersed in water, but I don't think it was a Japanese waterstone. Frankly, a lot of details of what I used to do have slipped from my memory. When I was younger I thought, "I will always remember this", but it just isn't so. I think the stone was probably some repurposed stone, possibly from a wet grinder of some sort.
I don't have an opinion of PM-V11. I'd never heard of it. I googled it just minutes ago, and from the Veritas literature it sounds nice. I didn't take the time to find out if they have irons for 151's, so I don't know. We just used stock parts. I never had any chattering problems, so I feel just fine with the irons that Stanley used to provide.
I broke one spokeshave a year. We were all very good at not dropping them; or throwing out a boot to break the fall, but we spent too much time over the target not to have the occasional mishap. The last one to break just came apart in my hands actually.
Jackhammer operators (which I've been) will know that when the palms of the hands bruise it doesn't show, but it hurts. That happened to me sometimes on big production runs, and it isn't pleasant, but I still loved making chairs! I wouldn't have traded it for any other job at the time.
I've never used any shave but the 151 and the Record equivalent. I don't like the look of the wood handled ones. I don't mean aesthetically, but I like to curl my fingers into that hollow underneath the handles. I feel this gives me control. The round ones look to me like their use would resemble handling round chopsticks, which is difficult. The 151 also has cool thumb "nests" at the after end of the shave. My index finger was extended onto that bridge portion the nose a lot for control.
A thicker aftermarket iron, which I'm sure are available, would require me to thin the bridge even more to give a good size mouth. I'm not sure I'd want to do that.
That's all for now.
Paul
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#40
Actually, I was wrong in the above post.
I've used Kunz and I have a German wooden one.
Thumbs down to both.
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