chamfer shave

Re: chamfer shave

mikew

>Hi Tony,

I'm of the opinion that nearly any tool can be made into a good user. It is to me a trade off of time vs money.

Well, that and being able to figure out what needs to be done in order to make the tool perform better than its price point. Which usually isn't difficult.

At the cost of the Kunz, you are not out a lot if it cannot be made usable (assuming it doesn't work well--which it just might). Also, if you are going to a Woodcraft or a Rockler, ask them to let you take it out of the package and try it in order to save bringing it back a day or two later if it doesn't work up to your expectations, or if you determine it isn't worth your time to make it so.

Tis what I would do if I wanted a chamfer shave.

Take care, Mike

Re: chamfer shave

James Watriss

>My opinion on the matter is that Kunx receives bad reviews for a reason, and that it's too easy to make your own good one. If your'e going to a Woodcraft or a Rockler, find the David Charlesworth books. In one of them, he describes in detail how to make your own wooden one using a blade that's manufactured by Hock. I built mine in about 6 ro 7 hours, from reading the book and experimenting. That's including the time it took to figure out how to hollowgrind the blade without watching it sail through the air. The blade costs roughly what the Kunz does, but it'll take and keep an edge for a lot longer. And you'll have fun making the thing.

After that, adapting it to chamfer work is pretty easy. Just make a pair of sliding, slotted V-guides for the front and back of the thing. And... bingo. Adjustable chamfer shave.

Re: chamfer shave *LINK*

John Todd

>or... if you're lucky enough to have either the LA or Regular Angle Lee Valley/Veritas adjustable mouth block planes, they sell a very nice chamfer attachment.


Veritas Chamfer Guide

Re: chamfer shave

James Watriss

>Wow... that's a pretty slick set up. If I didn't already have a Lie-Nielsen block plane, and a japanese chamfer plane, that lil gizmo would make it worthwhile to buy the LV block.

Unless I was chamfering a rounded edge. In which case, I'd still want to make a chamfer shave.

Re: chamfer shave

John Todd

>it works very well I think. Nice accurate fit and finish.

My experience with the #65

Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)

>Hi Tony

A few years ago now I had a yen to acquire a Stanley #65 chamfer plane. The only way I could do so was via eBay, and these seemed to go for prices that were clearly collector-related. I just wanted a working tool.

So I built my own chamfer plane out of some Jarrah scrap and an old Mathieson woodie blade (any blade could do, but this one does have the advantage of being thick and heavy). I had this inspiration about the design which involved laminating 4 pieces together (two central mirror-imaged bevels and 2 side pieces). The blade is attached with a butterfly-head bolt into a metal thread insert. The bed is 12 or 15 degrees, which gives me the option of a low cutting angle for endgrain or a HA blade for face grain. The whole thing took a couple of hours to build. There is a picture below.

Now that is only part of the story. Soon after I had completed the chamfer plane I won a Stanley #65 on eBay. It was complete (they are often missing the fences) but minus any Jappaning (so of little interest to a collector). I cleaned it up, even re-jappaned it, sharpened the blade, and .... What an anti-climax! After all that effort I discovered that the fences do not get close enough together to cut a bevel less than about 3/8" (I say this from memory), so it was useless for smaller width bevels (the #65 rides onto the fences - without this guiding the spokeshave at the end for the desired dimension, well, you may as just as well be using an ordinary spokeshave).

The #65 languishes on a shelf. Mostly bevels are cut with either the chamfer plane (or finished with it) or with a standard block plane.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Re: chamfer shave

Moses Yoder in White Pigeon, MI

>The Lee Valley block plane has a champher attachment.

Slower, but

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>You can use a marking gauge to scribe the limits of your chamfer, and then any old cutting tool will do it (I've done decent chamfers with a drawknife, hardly the most precise tool in the arsenal).

Different scale, but years back I put 1" or so wide chamfers on the posts that hold up the porch on the second floor of our (retired) tankhouse by:

1. Marking out the limits.

2. Cross-cutting the waste every few inches.

3. Knocking off the waste with a chisel.

4. Planing to the line.

Re: Slower, but

Frank D.

>I thought the same thing when I read this thread. Nothing wrong with a specialized tool for the job but they are pretty easy to do freehand when you mark them out (for small chamfers I just count the number of plane strokes). I use a pencil gauge because with a regular pin/knife gauge the marks often remain visible when you reach them with the chamfer.

Frank Desaulniers

Re: chamfer shave

Tony Zaffuto

>Thanks one and all.

Derek, your thoughts mimmic mine very closely. I like chamfer details, and mostly use one of my block planes to do so. However, this is an issue of "THE (perceived)NEED" for a dedicated tool!

The width of chamfer from the Stanley dedicated chamfer shave would be a problem and I would imagine the Kunz would be nearly the same as it is a "knock-off". I have been watching "_bay" for a vintage model but have not had luck and so the Kunz question. I can reasonably chamfer long grain, however when going cross grain, I find my cuts can vary, hence the desire to find a tool with guides.

The LV small block plane with chamfer attachment was under consideration. However I already have several block planes and so I was looking for a less costly method.

All in all, the strongest alternative may be to make a small chamfer plane. Saw an article several years ago in a woodworking mag that had a very simple to execute design using three laminated pieces for the plane body. Blade and heat treating is not an issue.

Further study required and if I decide to make the plane, this will be my first photo post! Again, thanks one and all.

T.Z.

Re: chamfer shave

Skip in Falls Church

>Hi Tony,

I don't know if this will be of any help but the chamfer attachment I bought for my LV block plane also fits on my Record 09 1/2 although it leaves a fairly open mouth. Since you already have several block planes it might be worth a try - or even a talk with LV to see if the attachment will fit one you have.

Skip

Re: chamfer shave

Tony Zaffuto

>Thanks Skip, I will probably email LV about the dimensions of their attachment.

Unfortunately, I don't have a Record 9-1/2. Got a couple of Stanleys, as well as several Stanley 60-1/2 and a L-N.

T.Z.

Re: chamfer shave

John Horobin

>The Kunz chamfer shave is not actually too bad - it just could do with a better blade and a bit of tuning. Funnily enough I put one of of my spare Record chamfer shaves on eBay recently (better quality than the Stanley one in my opinion) and there was no interest at all with only one bid.

John