Help w/ 1st spokeshave purchase

Re: Help w/ 1st spokeshave purchase

Ernie Miller Topeka

>Save your self dissapointment! buy them All you will save on shipping in the long run.

Ernie the Tool-Pusher speaks

Wendell @ Murphy, TX

>Ernie, are we having a contest to see how many new guys we can push down the slope this year that no one told me about? I've seen you "help" at least two in the past day. Man, I'm way behind!

Wendell

Re: Help w/ 1st spokeshave purchase *LINK*

Eric Hedberg

>Bill, I have way more spokeshaves than I need (just kidding), but if I had to start over with hindsight I'd start this way. The basic flat spokeshave is a good place to start. Get the regular angle to start (This is different than I would have said a year ago). The round bottom is a good second choice if you are getting into curved chair parts. The concave shave is a must have for round parts. You can live without it for a while, just don't try one if you don't intend to buy one ;-) Finally, I'd get the LA shave. With the Veritas kit, you can build it your way. I have both the kit and the black beauty and love them both. As far as brands, I'm Veritas biased. I appreciate their balance of performance/cost/look. Lie-Nielsen is excellent. If you like the premium look they are a good choice. I've attached the Popular Woodworking review to give you some unbiased background. Good luck! Eric (Patiently waiting for another Veritas spokeshave to be released)


http://popularwoodworking.com/features/tooltest.asp

Buy a Boggs

Ron in Kokomo

>The Boggs shaves are great The first one (Veritas) is really terrific

The new one Lie-Nielson is even better. I used the prototype in Brian's shop. What a revelation. Prodices a surface like an infill smoother

Or if you're buying used

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>A regular metal-bodied flat shave is how to start. The Stanley 51 (curved handles) or 52 (straight handles) is hard to beat. Some people like the 151, which has some knurled nuts for blade adjustment; I find it less graceful than the plainer one.

As with every other hand tool, sharpness is critical.

Re: Help w/ 1st spokeshave purchase

Doug Reynolds in Seattle

>I recommend avoiding the two Record models available from the Borgs. Brian Boggs wrote an article in FWW (?) showing how to rehab them. You get what you pay for as the old saying goes. That said, I suggest either the Stanley 84 or 85 types if you want vintage. I really like the LN Boggs version much better than the LN Preston models unless you are doing some fine work and/or have small hands. Veritas used to make a curved Boggs model but, no more. Anybody know why they quit?

Re: Help w/ 1st spokeshave purchase

Charlie

>Consider Stanley 53/54 which both have adjustable mouths, allowing you much better control over shaving thickness.

EBay is a great place to find these...

Re: Help w/ 1st spokeshave purchase

Christopher Fitch @ Memphis

>I have 3 LN shaves and 4 Veritas shaves plus two Cliftons.

For the money, I'd go with the standard angle Veritas shaves and get the set.

If that's too much to swallow at the moment you can try the low-angle shave. It's versatile and a good starter shave.

I like my LN's but I think the Veritas are just a good at half the price. And they look nice too..

Re: Help w/ 1st spokeshave purchase *LINK*

Dick L.

>All the previous suggestions are good. You might also consider a shave from Dave. Nice tools.


Dave's Shaves

Re: Buy a Boggs

kees

>Just curious, what makes it so much better?

kees

Re: Or if you're buying used

kees

>Hard to beat: a secondhand Veritas

(that's not the too smal concave Boggs veritas)

kees

Re: Help w/ 1st spokeshave purchase

kees

>I am not sure but Rob Lee posted the answer a long time ago.

Brian Boggs has the patent and had other ideas about the manufacturing. Brian says the way LN is manufacturing is more precise ! Yes, there are people who have another opinion;-)

Btw: I hardly use the concave veritas/boggs and working greenwood and halfdry for concave I use a scraper. For the packagedeal price ($ 150) a year ago I should buy the Veritas 3, but already bought would so I doulbled in that case:-(

Kees

Re: agreed

paul womack

>The low angle shaves cut wonderfully, but it's rather disconcerting having the body of the shave blocking your view of the cut. They're also (in their modern incarnation) not good at extreme concavity.

So Eric's purchase sequence of "normal angle flat", "normal angle round", "low angle" is excellent.

LV do excellent versions of all 3 tools (at least in Alf's gloriously written opinion)

conventional Lee Valley shaves

Low Angle

BugBear

Re: Ernie the Tool-Pusher speaks

Ned Bulken

>Now now,

Ernie is just facilitating us new galoots in our adventure known as hand tool using. yeah, that's it!

FYI,

Last night I took several rather severely twisted cherry boards and using only corded tools, got enough wood ready to build a jewelry box. I'm not a 'goner' yet. ;)