Popular Woodworking 2008-12 № 173, страница 56

Material difference. Ihe difference is more than material between a wood-bodied and metal-bodied spokeshave. Notice the difference in cutting angles - when assembled, the wooden-body's blade is close to parallel with the sole.

nowhere near as well. Take a minute to look at the two tools. The wooden shave's cutter is close to parallel with the sole and the bezel is placed up. It is the same configuration as the drawknife. The metal version's cutter is bedded at 45°. with its bezel down, in the same configuration as a plane and a drawknife used upside down. The wooden version's cutting angle is much lower, making it a true shave. This lower cutting angle is the reason the tool works so wel 1 on end grain, and cuts so effortlessly with the grain.

While you may have to hunt to find a good drawknife, wooden-bodied spokeshaves arc readily available. They arc not mass produced and do not show up in catalogs. Rather, they are made by individual tool makers, and have to be purchased from t heir web sites. Most of these shaves are as good as any shaves made m the past. My shaves were all made by Dave Wachnicki of Dave's Shaves.

There is another advantage in dealing with these individual makers. In the past, common-grade shaves were made of beech. Best grade were boxwood. Neither isa particularly pretty wood. Today'sshave makers work with highly figured woods, and their shaves can be spectacular. II you own a small piece of really special wood, they arc happy to make it into a shave for you.

Materials Matter

Some catalogs sell low-angled shaves with metal bodies. I do not like these. Chatter isa spokeshave user's biggest problem. A wooden body absorbs shock better than metal and reduces the tendency to chatter. I prefer to stick with wood.

Like drawknives. shaves were once part of every woodworker's kit. Having a wooden body and a lightweight cutter, fewer of them have survived. Of those that have, a large percentage are worn out. Because shaves wear quickly, 1 strongly recommend you not use an old shave. Put it on display as an artifact, but spare it. You'll be real happy with a new one.

While you can manage very well with just one drawknife, you will find that the more familiar you become with wooden shaves, the more of them you will want toown. I have about a dozen. It is more efficient to dedicate a shave for a certain job. The more jobs, the more shaves.

Spokeshave Setup

Unlike a drawknife, you have to set up a spokeshave. Most of today's shaves have a top adjustment, which allows you toset the tool without removing the cutter. Adjustment is usually made by turning a small Allen screw. If not, you will have to examine the tool to see how it is adjusted. The trick in setup is to cock the blade so it is higher on one side than the other. In this configuration, you have every setting you need. When you want to take a very light cut, move to the shallow side of the blade. To

makeadeepcut, move tothe deepend. Much of your work will be done with the medium setting in the middle.

The drawknife is designed to be pulled. A spokeshave can be pushed or pulled, depending on the job. However, 90 percent of the time, the tool is pushed. The only time it can be effectively pulled is when whittling very straight-grained wood. An example would be Windsor chair spindles.

A shave is a very lightweight tool. Unlike a much heavier bench plane, gravity is not giving you any assistance. You provide all the force needed to engage the cutting edge. Without sufficient pressure, the tool will either skate or chatter. When pulling a shave, the tool is controlled by your wrists, and any downward pressure is provided by your shoulders, way out al the far ends of your extended arms. This is sufficient when whittling, as little weight is required to engage the cutting edge.

However, most of the work you do with a shave is shaping, which involves cutting across grain. In this case, the muscles involved in pullinga shave are inadequate. When you push a shave, you can apply weight from your upper body down onto the tool. It is your weight that keeps the edge engaged and cutting.

Multiples. It's hard to stop at just one spokeshave; multiples allow you to dedicate specific tools to specific jobs.

Tricky setup. Set the blade so that it's a bit higher on one side; that way, by moving the tool left and right, you have every setting you need without changing the tool's setup.

Proper stroke. A spokeshave is, 90 percent of the time, used on the push stroke. However, if you have a straight-grained workpiece such as a chair spindle, it can be pulled effectively.

Blade higher on this side

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