After years of having only poorly made tools to choose from, woodworkers now have some excellent new spokeshaves at their disposal.By Christopher Schwarz
Pages: 84-89
Issue #140, April 2004
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Most woodworkers I know consider spokeshaves to be little more than wretched pieces of painted iron and steel. Thats too bad, because these miniature planes are wondrous tools in the right hands.
A pair of spokeshaves can be used to shape and smoothen any outside or inside curve (think cabriole feet). The outside of the chair, the arms and stretchers, as well as the spindles, can all be refined.
But for the majority of modern woodworkers, the spokeshave is an extraordinary substitute for an oscillating spindle sander. You can shape any part on your band saw and then remove the marks left by the saw blade with your spokeshave. The surface left behind by a properly tuned shave is ready for finishing; you dont even need to sand it.
Why is spokeshave so hated? There were three types of shaves available before recently: old wooden-bodied shaves, metal-bodied shaving shaves, and brand new metal-bodied razors that required major surgery before they could be used.
In the last decade, the rise of chairmaking classes has created a healthy demand for high-quality spokeshaves that work perfectly after only honing the cutter. Like all quality tools, these spokeshaves are considerably more expensive than the garden-variety tools. Are they worth it? To find out, we bought the current crop of metal-bodied shaves both the inexpensive ones (Stanley, Kunz and Anant) and the premium brands (Veritas and Lie-Nielsen) to compare them side-by-side.
Do you want to bevel up or down?
First, let’s talk about how these shaves differ. There are basically two types of spokeshaves. Those where the cutting edge faces the user, and those that face the work.
The bevel of wooden-bodied spokeshaves has always been facing up. It is similar to a block plane. This created a low cutting angle (usually about 25, depending on a variety of factors) that allowed the tool to move easily through the work and shave end grain with ease. The problem is that the low cutting angle isnt ideal for situations where the grain switches back on you tear-out can be a real problem. These tools can be very useful if you pay attention to grain and shape end grain. (For more on these wooden shaves, see From the Bench in the November 2003 issue.)
Another type of shave uses the bevel facing up against the work, similar to a bench plane. These tools have a much higher cutting angle (45). This makes it a bit more difficult to push the tool during the cut, and renders it almost useless for shaping end-grains. But the higher cutting angle makes the tool less likely to tear-out in tricky grain situations (though its not perfect, either).
All bevel-down spokeshaves used metal bodies until a few years ago. But then Veritas, the manufacturing arm of Lee Valley Tools, created a hybrid shave with a cast aluminum body and a cutter with the bevel facing up. (This tool is in our test, so you can see below how it performed compared to its metal-bodied half-brothers.)
The metal-bodied shaves also come with two types of soles: curved and flat. The curved soles can be used to shave inside curves because they are bellied from the front to the back. For outside curves, the flat-soled tools work well. Both are essential for outside curves and will be available in a well-equipped shop. The flat-soled shaves are easier to learn to use. So if youre buying your first shave, I recommend you begin with a flat-soled one.
Machining makes the difference. Take a look at the Stanley 151 spokeshave’s bed. It is just cast gray iron that has been painted. This causes a poor fit between iron and body. The result: chatter, screeching and cursing.
Do You Need an Adjuster?
With the metal-bodied shaves, there are two major types: those that have blade adjusters and those that dont.
A spokeshave’s adjustment mechanism is slightly different from a hand plane’s. A hand plane has one knob, which you can turn to adjust the depth of your cut. The adjusters of most spokeshaves used in this test have two knobs. One controls the depth of cut on the right side of the tool; the other controls the cut on the left.
This handy feature allows you to fine-tune the tool in some surprising ways. An edge can be corrected by increasing the depth on one side. You can also set the tool so that it will take a thin shaving on one side, and a fine one on the other.
However, I believe that the adjustment mechanism is designed in a way to make the tool simpler. The two-knob system will be more simple than any you’ll find on a bench plan.
Its worth noting that some vintage spokeshaves (especially those from the now-vanished Preston company) had a single adjustment knob for the iron. In my limited experience with these tools, I found them difficult to set for an even cut on both sides of the tool. So in my book, the two adjustment knobs are a real plus.
Adjustment knobs that fit tightly between the shaves and iron knobs are the best. This allows you to control the iron quickly and accurately. A knob that spins freely before engaging the iron can result in serious backlash, which is when the iron gets pushed up into the body of the tool as you work.
But do you even need the adjustment knobs? Adjusters were not available on the two Lie-Nielsen tools we tested. Instead you set the depth of cut by applying slight pressure to the back of the iron while tightening the cap iron. The deeper the cut will be, the more pressure you apply. The cutter will make a uniform cut across the entire length of the iron if you apply pressure to the middle. The cut will be deeper if you apply pressure to either the left or right side.
Ive seen beginning spokeshave users struggle with this technique. After learning a trick that allows you to adjust the tool on a flat surface, and spending an hour working with it, it becomes much easier.
Bottom line: While the adjustment knobs don’t improve the tool’s performance, they can be a great help for beginners. These two knobs can be used to set the tool in the same way as a hand plane. You can simply place a light-colored background on the sole of your tool (many people use a piece of paper). You will see a thin line of black coming from the sole by increasing the iron’s projection. Then retract the iron back into the tools body by turning the knobs counterclockwise the same amount. You can now start cutting on a scrap piece of paper and moving the iron in small, identical steps. You’re done when your tool produces beautiful, wispy shavings.
This is much closer to the truth. Note that the bed of the tool is fully machined. This is what you pay for with a premium tool such as the Veritas. The excellent fit between the body and iron translate into excellent cutting action. You will also notice the machined edge on the cap iron’s front. This helps the shavings escape.
A Big Hurdle
You won’t be able to make anything that looks like wispy if your iron doesn’t have the right edge. And sharpening a spokeshave beguiles many first-time users.
In general, spokeshave blades are shorter than plane blades and chisels, so they dont fit in most honing guides you can buy. These irons can be sharpened without a honing tool, but it is possible to freehand sharpen them.
If you use a honing guide to sharpen, I highly recommend the Veritas Small-Blade Holder. This ingenious little jig clamps into your honing guide and holds any spokeshave blade in place with a couple of strong magnets. This jig is available at Lee Valley Tools (Item #05P32.03), and it’s well worth the money.
Choosing an Tool
The differences between premium and inexpensive tools came down to the quality of the raw materials and how precise the tool was machinated. Bronze or ductile steel are the best tools. They can withstand a fall from a bench without breaking. The less expensive tools are made using gray iron, which is more brittle and can crack if dropped onto a concrete floor from your bench.
A2 steel is a harder alloy than A2. The irons of the more expensive tools were thicker and had a longer life span. Less expensive tools have thinner irons made from high-carbon steel or other alloys that arent as durable as A2.
The biggest difference between the expensive and inexpensive tools was the machining well-milled surfaces allow the tools parts to fit together snugly. A precise fit between the tool, the iron and the cap iron results in a tool that will not chatter and is capable of taking a heavy cut with ease. If any of those parts doesnt mate with its neighbors, the tool will screech, skip over the wood and leave a rippled surface.
The three less-expensive tools have little if any machining between these parts. They were cast, stamped, and painted. These expensive tools feature a machined bed, precision-milled irons and capirons. The underside is where shavings escape. It is worth the extra effort.
And while its possible to soup up the inexpensive tools by altering the bed and replacing the iron and the cap iron, I consider that time and expense to be excessive. Make sure the tool works straight out of the box.
Our Picks
The Anant, Kunz, and Stanley are the most expensive tools. I cannot recommend them. They require too much work to become usable.
If money is the most important factor in your decision, I recommend you hunt the flea markets for a vintage Stanley 151 spokeshave or similar model. You will need to do some research. For a few links to get you started, visit Magazine Extras on the website. These vintage tools were better made than the modern ones and generally require less tuning. You likely will want to upgrade the iron, and Hock Tools sells good replacement irons (hocktools.
com).
More praiseworthy machining on the Lie-Nielsen Boggs Spokeshave. This tool is a bit different in that the cap iron contacts the iron at more points than other tools. This gives the iron stability, which allows for fine or coarse cuts.
The Veritas Low Angle Spokeshave is perfect for chairmaking or work that involves shaping end grain. The smaller Lie-Nielsen shave excels at fine small-scale work. This shave is not meant to be used for excessively ripping off material, so it’s a great second shave.
The Veritas and Lie-Nielsen Boggs Spokeshaves have the best all-around performance. Both tools are durable, well-made and excel at fine work.
The Veritass adjustment knobs make it easier for beginners to learn, but as I said earlier, the adjusters dont ultimately improve performance. These two toolmakers have done everything right, so they both earn our Editors Choice awards.
Download a PDF of a side-by-side spokeshave comparison:Spokeshaves Side By Side
From the April 2004 issue #140
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