# Spoke Shave



## rwyoung (Aug 3, 2008)

I bought the large, low angle, spoke shave kit from Lee Valley as one of my Xmas gifts using a universal gift card from my parents (Xmas cash). The kit has been setting on the counter for a while and I decided today was the day to try and assemble it. Lee Valley supplies the blade, posts, adjuster nuts and some brass plate. I supply the wood and elbow grease.

Well, this time I did use some power tools. :crayretty much just the table saw to rough a blank to width and length, the drill press to get the shank holes square and an oscillating drum sander to clean up some on the handles.

But the blank was prepped for thickness by hand (1" down to 7/8" and that went pretty easy. Actually prepped four blanks just in case I screwed up... The wood is "hububalli" otherwise known as snakewood. Not the easiest stuff to work with, it can be both chippy and stringy in the same piece! But for the most part is is reasonably hard and seems to work well with hand tools.

Cutting the "ware" (that's the deep pocket under the blade) was done by hand and the rough shaping of the body was done by hand with a back saw and chisel. The oscillating drum sander was used just to clean down to the line. After that I went back with a card scraper to get finial finish. 

So far it works reasonably well. Since I've never really used a spoke shave very much I'm not entirely sure how it is performing. I can take a thick shaving in a controlled fashion and I can take a thin shaving but I don't have the feel yet so I loose the attack angle. Just takes practice I guess.

The Sharpie marker is for scale.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Rob

Nice tool 

It's funny you are working with the new tool, I was working this week on some new walking sticks for the grad kids ,see below ,making 4 of them plus some other items with them.

Diamond Willow Sticks (walking stick)

Diamond Willow Sticks - Rockler Woodworking Tools

diamond willow sticks, Crafts, Clothing, Shoes Accessories. Great deals on eBay!

It's one of many spoke shaves I have on hand  it's a fun tool and you can make a real mess,, real quick in the shop.. 


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rwyoung said:


> I bought the large, low angle, spoke shave kit from Lee Valley as one of my Xmas gifts using a universal gift card from my parents (Xmas cash). The kit has been setting on the counter for a while and I decided today was the day to try and assemble it. Lee Valley supplies the blade, posts, adjuster nuts and some brass plate. I supply the wood and elbow grease.
> 
> Well, this time I did use some power tools. :crayretty much just the table saw to rough a blank to width and length, the drill press to get the shank holes square and an oscillating drum sander to clean up some on the handles.
> 
> ...


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## gal turner (Mar 3, 2010)

Hi Rob, saw this on LJ and made a comment there. Learning the use of the tool is a bit of work, tho enjoyable. It does take practice & your hands/brain have to be in harmony. Us old folks skew the blade , so that we can take a bit bigger bite on one side then a shallow cut on the other. Helps with control & keeps one from hogging out material. Keep on practicing


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Rob... nice work.. once you get the hang of using a spokeshave, you'll love it. Especially nice for tweaking work. Working with odd and difficult shapes is where it will stand out as a great performer. Depending on the shave itself, it can be used for everything from hogging out material to scrapping. 
Typically LV will ship the blade relatively sharp, but still in need of a good honing. Once you get a scary sharp edge on the thing, keep it someplace handy, you'll be reaching for it more than you think...

bill


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## drasbell (Feb 6, 2009)

Nice job. I don't have or used one but wouldn't mind owing one.


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