Technique Technique

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facing up, much like low-angled bench planes. This low angle made it very Body good at working end grain. Frog Blade screw Shavings from a wooden 3spokeshave emerge behind the . Cap screw Handle Metal spokeshaves As the Industrial Revolution Sole Working 4moved on, so did the design of the spokeshave. Wooden bodies gave way Blade to metal bodies, with the blade’s facing down and set at an angle closer 4 Cap iron with to 45°, much like a smoothing . In operation the shavings from a 5metal spokeshave emerge from the front of the tool. spokeshaves Where to find a spokeshave Spokeshaves are one of the most 6commonly available secondhand and can be found in antique Every toolkit needs at least one spokeshave but they shops, car boot sales and online auctions. A quick eBay search finds need to be mastered, as Michael T Collins explains hundreds of them, in all shapes, ages, sizes and prices. What is a spokeshave? having wooden bodies, made from The Collins Dictionary defines a or boxwood, to iron bodies. All of my spokeshaves are pre-WWI, spokeshave as: ‘Noun: “a cutting or As the name implies, they were 7the most common being the Stanley tool consisting of a blade with originally designed and became an 51 and 151 (a & c in image 7) and all a curved handle at either end; orig. indispensable tool to the wheelwright acquired on the secondhand market, used to shape spokes, but now used in shaping the wheel spokes from my most recent find... for trimming and smoothing rounded hub to wheel tenon. But chairmakers surfaces”.’ also used them in the production ...a very nice Record No.051 with a 5 6 But they are so much more than of spindles and rails and even 8round sole (left) ➤ this simple sentence. In this article I bookbinders made use of spokeshaves will look at both wooden and metal for feathering the leather on spines. A spokeshaves, the history, where to buy 1 them, what to look for, how to hone The traditional wooden-bodied them and, lastly, how to use and get the 1spokeshave has a blade that lays flat straight razor. It was held in place with most out of these indispensable tools. to the work surface and sole. It cuts tangs that were a friction fit through B in fine, smooth strokes. Often, the tapered holes (usually ). These, History wear plate on wooden spokeshaves more often than not, became loose Some of the earliest wooden needed to be repaired with iron, brass with constant use and by the mid-19th C spokeshaves date from the 15th or boxwood (a hard-wearing century the tangs’ friction fit became century but probably existed well commonly found in moulding planes), threaded with round knobs, making before this time. While they do not thus extending the life of the tool. them easier to adjust and longer D look like planes, they function in much lasting. the same way and, just like the plane, The profile of the wooden The blade was set at a very low 7 8 over the years they have evolved from 2spokeshave’s blade is much like a angle, maybe 2° or 3° with the bevel

54 www.woodworkersinstitute.com Crafts issue 53 55 Technique Technique

I have a simple, shopmade WHAT TO LOOK FOR 14T-shaped that I use to hold Wooden spokeshaves need to have sound wood – worm holes the iron flat and secure while flattening and cracks put me off straight away. They need a well-fitting the sole. iron – no slop in the tangs’ friction fit – because of the way the tool is adjusted (by tapping the tangs), this is generally one of To hone the bevel edge I run the the first things to go. 15blade along the whetstone. The bottom of the iron should be parallel to the wear plate of the tool – if the spokeshave has a curved bottom, then the When I first started sharpening blade should still follow the curve of the ware plate. 16wooden plane irons, I needed 14 15 The blade is the next area to closely examine. All too often, a way to keep the blade at the correct due to the age of the tool, there might be excessive corrosion angle. I developed a simple technique. and pitting, or the blade has been honed to the point where First, position the blade at the correct the cutting edge is concave and no longer parallel to the wood angle and then raise the stone so mouth – this happens as the majority of the work is done in There are no good solutions to repairing a badly worn that the tangs rest on a flat surface. the middle of the blade. If the tool does not have a wear plate wooden spokeshave. Adding a new wear plate is relatively Then, with forward motion only, keep the wood may also show a considerable amount of wear. Both easy and sharpening the iron is fairly straightforward as the tangs in contact with the base as these issues widen the gap between the blade and the wood, we’ll see later, but if the wood is too far gone, it’s probably you sharpen. Do not pull the iron making it hard to restore. beyond economical repair. If the iron is good and the wood backwards – it is all too easy to catch a You should be able to seat the cutting edge close enough to bad, consider making a new handle. I’ll leave that for a tang, flip the iron, and cut yourself. the body to get a fine shaving but still be able to set it coarse if future article. needed, just by tapping the tangs on the bench. Metal spokeshaves, such as the Stanley No.151, are very Using a spokeshave 16 17 The fit of the square tapered tangs in the square tapered common on the secondhand market and generally in much One of the biggest issues I had holes should be tight. If the tangs have rusted badly and then better condition than wooden tools. Just watch for excessive 17when I first started using a been cleaned up, they may be too small to fit tightly. To solve rust and pitting on the iron and sole, and make sure there is spokeshave, especially the metal type, this I have seen several methods – screws driven in from the plenty of iron left to hone. Otherwise, it is easier to bring a was how to hold it, mainly because side and wood shavings glued into the holes. metal spokeshave back into good working condition. of the location of the handles, which are positioned high in relation to the blade. When the tool is pushed Honing metal spokeshaves across the wood, there is a tendency The sole must be flat – here I am for the tool to roll forward when 10using a 1000 diamond stone to the blade catches, and so at times flatten the sole. There is no need to be it requires a firmer grip and is thus too aggressive. Remove just enough so more tiring on the wrists and fingers. 18 19 that the majority of the sole is flat and Retracting the blade and taking finer can rest evenly on a flat surface. Check shavings will lessen this tendency. for any nicks in the sole’s edge and file This is no different to a smoothing them off. plane catching the wood, except there The frog (the part of the body the is a much longer sole that prevents blade rests on) must also be flat and the plane pitching forward. Wooden occasionally I have seen bad castings 10 11 spokeshaves, with their low angle, are and bumps on this surface. Simply take not as prone to this. a file and flatten the bumps out. The two handles, either side of the blade, can be used in a push or pull The cap iron needs to be a motion (whichever suits the grain and 11perfect fit with the blade – a your position best). You can adjust the quick honing will flatten this. If you blade depth to take off as much or as 20 21 cannot flatten the whole of the back of little material as you need. It can be the cap iron, at least flatten the leading used to remove surfaces or areas that usually resolves these issues and your The Stanley No.151, with its edge. This will greatly reduce any other tools cannot reach. I would say technique will develop. 20double thumbscrews. chatter. that 80% of the time I am pushing I sharpen all my metal spokeshave the tool. Tweaking the tool This allows the blade to be 12 13 blades with a single 30° bevel. This The ways to advance the blade 21canted, thus enabling it to gives an edge with strength and In both the wooden and metal 19are the same on both wooden remove more or less stock depending sharpness. I have experimented with or freehand, and proceed as if it was a – for this I would recommend a file 18spokeshaves, most of the action and metal spokeshaves – from lightly on where on the wood the blade is adding a micro-bevel, as I do with my regular plane iron. as the blade is very thin and using a takes place close to the blade, with tapping the tangs/blade end to rotating placed. Obviously, the wood being cut bench planes, but have found that grinding wheel tends to overheat the the index and thumb keeping a firm thumb screws clockwise to advance needs to be narrower than the width there is very little difference in the To hone the curved spokeshave, iron, rendering it weaker. grip on the tool. The other fingers are the blade and anticlockwise to retract of the blade, or you will leave gouge cutting ability. 13I use successively finer grit paper To remove the blade gently tap the ‘feeling’ the angle and getting feedback the blade. The tang-held blades, once marks. glued to a large diameter . tangs alternately – hitting one too from the wood. advanced, are harder to adjust and If your spokeshave is chattering and The blades are a little too small much will cant the iron in the slot, Some woodworkers abandon their generally it is easier to fully retract and making a series of parallel cuts, it is 12to sharpen safely so I use a Honing wooden spokeshaves damage the fit and even break the tang. use because they complain that they start again. The friction-held metal generally a combination of things: the simple honing guide. This can then be If the iron is dull or nicked it may need Finesse is the key to working slip, tear and chatter. blades can be tapped on the side to iron is grabbing too much wood and mounted in my Eclipse honing tool, to be reground just like a plane iron with spokeshaves. A well-tuned tool and a firm grip retract. juddering across the surface and/or ➤

56 www.woodworkersinstitute.com Woodworking Crafts issue 53 57 Technique

your grip on the tool is too loose. A light touch and wrist action are essential to good working skills. All these techniques will come with practice.

With the flat-soled metal 22spokeshave try to maintain three points of contact – if you are shaping 22a 22b 23 a convex profile (22a) then the blade will need to be retracted, and if you are shaping a concave profile (22b) advance the blade. Sometimes you may Direction of cut need to rock the spokeshave to get the with the grain desired cut. Alternatively use a round- bottomed spokeshave. Positioning the blade Some woodworkers will hold 23the sole of a tool up to the light and look for the iron protruding. While 24 25 this is a tried and tested method, I use the same technique I do on my planes, using my index and middle finger and passing them backwards over the mouth and blade. This method is quicker at gauging the depth of cut. Safety note: Do this very carefully. Start with the blade fully retracted and advance it a little at a time until you can just feel the blade. Alternatively, and this is less risky, lay the spokeshave on the wood with the blade retracted. Adjust the blade so 26 27 that it just touches the surface. Push or pull the spokeshave across the wood. Use the spokeshave as you If no shavings are made, advance the 26would a plane, going with the blade a little and repeat until it is just grain as much as possible. taking shavings. I typically secure the workpiece in Skewing the tool gives a the vice at a comfortable angle. This 27slicing action, producing those allows me to bend at the elbows while familiar curls. You can even slide keeping my forearms and spokeshave the spokeshave left and right as you as a single item, in much the same way advance it forward. This doubles the as using a where the hand, wrist slicing action. and forearm are fixed. 28 The combination spokeshave Whenever I need to clean up 28(d in image 7), with its double you have to learn experientially. If 24an edge, particularly a curve, or blade, can be used on a variety of you have never used a spokeshave refine the profile of a template, surfaces and removes the constant you are going to need to learn some the spokeshave is one of the first tools changing of tools as you move from fundamental skills. Realise there’s a I reach for. one surface to another. This is where learning curve – results will not be The spokeshave is not designed to this tool excelled for the wheelwright perfect, and you will make mistakes, remove large amounts of wood – that’s and the chairmaker with its ability to but you will learn from them. Working the job of the saw, and round or flatten surfaces with little wood is a progression and it takes – so fine setting is required. effort. time and patience for these skills to A tip: As with a plane, the So, buy yourself a nice secondhand be developed. But, over time, these adjustment screw should be turned so spokeshave, tune it up and start to skills will become second nature and that it is positioned ready to advance. discover the joy of using one of the develop into good habits. This way the action of using the tool most versatile tools ever made. The spokeshave is one of those tools does not cause the iron to slip back. There’s an old proverb: ‘Tell me that, once you have mastered, you and I’ll forget. Show me and I may might consider to be one of the finest Figure 25 shows the correct remember. Let me do it and I will tools, able to work wood in many ways 25direction to work the grain. learn.’ To really learn woodworking that other tools cannot. ■

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