which curved spokeshave for small work

[mickthetree]

I'm looking to get a curved spokeshave and have seen this excellent review by Chris Knight from 2004.

Anything to add to the mix since then or any personal preferences?

I'd really like to get my hands on a few different ones at my local Axminster but they seem to be out of stock of them all.

I need to add a fairly tight inside curve to the front edge of a box lid.

 

[AndyT]

This recent thread covered most of the options I think:

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/topic91936.html

 

[custard]

The reason I have loads of round bottomed spokeshaves is that the learning curve was particularly long and steep and I fell into the trap of thinking a different tool might be the answer. Yes, you can justify it afterwards by saying they offer a choice of radii, but that's probably a bit of post hoc rationalisation.

Spokeshaving a flat surface, or a shallow convex curve, takes a bit of practise but basically the challenge is just to enter and exit the cut smoothly, and to read the grain correctly so you knew which direction to plane in (not as easy as it sounds, especially when working on an arris or a curve), but after you've got that sorted you're off to the races. Spokeshaving a tight concave surface, and achieving a smooth entry and exit along with a constant thickness, chatter free shaving throughout the full length of the cut, well that's much harder. The workshop where I trained uses spokeshaves and drawknives extensively, so the bar was deliberately set high. Even with an experienced man at my elbow it took well over a hundred hours to get to what they considered a basic level of competency, at which point I realised I could get the job done with almost any of the round bottomed shaves I'd accumulated.

I guess the message is practise, practise, practise, and don't be too quick to blame the tool!

Good luck.

 

[mickthetree]

Many thanks for the thorough advice custard!!

 

[Eric The Viking]

It's a bit tangential (ow! what a pun!), but I've got a Quangsheng, Boggs-pattern one.

It came from Rutlands (branded Dakota) and actually has a steel body rather than bronze, but it's a lovely tool to use. It is flat-soled, but i've been meaning to get a second one and to make the sole of the current one convex, probably with a mixture of careful filing and emery cloth. The iron is excellent - holds a better edge and for longer than many of my other planes. It's also really easy to set up - much more so than I expected.

It sounds like you're in the middle of a project and need a quick-ish fix, otherwise this might be worth looking at.

E.

 

[mickthetree]

Thanks Eric.

I've done the task now with a combination of chisel, bobbin sander, straight soled spokeshave, but I would like to have a curved one on hand as I intend to do similar again.

I had some practice last night with the flat soled Stanley 53 I have following custards advice and got along quite well despite the blade looking like it needs some attention.

I'm popping to a local antiques shop tomorrow morning where I know they have a selection of old Preston ones. I popped into Axminster yesterday and the small Lie Nielson curved one looked the idea size for my small hands, but the curve was very slight. I suspect that might come down to me not having used a curved soled one before and understanding what can be achieved.

Part of the problem is also that I got some money from my folks for christmas which is burning a hole in my pocket That sort of money always seems to get swallowed up in mundane, everyday things so I thought it would be nice to actually use it for its intended purpose this time!