Anyone ever use a "central forge" brand spokeshave...I found a set pretty cheap online(steel construction with carbon steel blades) and was just wondering if they were junk or not....I did a search and didn't see anything so I thought I would ask...

oh and I took a trip to Lowes today looking for a spokeshave (they are impossible to find in this town), and left with a new 6 1/2" Stanley plane and a stanley microplane....just thought I'd share

I think the main thing with a cheap spokeshave, like any tool, is that it won't stay sharp as long. So that just means you'll get good at sharpening :)



fyi...

http://www.myspace.com/dubyafunk

spokes shave is a pretty basic tool, I have Stanley ones and new ones I just polish the bottom to get rid of mill markes and hone the blade, I actually prefer softer steel on a tool like this since it is easy to rehone it and can be done quickly. High carbon stuff is nasty when it looses its edge to hard to sharpen I take those to the sharpening service.

I haven't used a spokeshave since my first bass. I went to microplanes after that and never had problems with tearouts or needing to read the grain to know which direction to shave. I now use the belt sander with 120 grit and it's much better and I find I have more control than both of those other methods. I put up my Veritas low angle shave on ebay because I haven't used it in 2 years.

The newer stanley spokeshaves are not very good at all. You need to tune them for reasonable performance. The issue is not the blade, but the blade receiver, the gaping mouth and the sole. After working on one of these myself, I did get better performance but ended up ditching it after finding a good cheap old shave and doing some minor tuning on it. This old shave is cheap and really nice to use.

However, I'm going to give my belt sander a go on the next neck I make after reading about Wilser's success with his. Good stuff Wilser, thanks for sharing.

wilser....

are you using a stationary belt sander or a hand held?

are you using a stationary belt sander or a hand held?

I reckon a hand held would be too difficult. The way I see it, is that you want complete control, both hands on the neck to maneuver it over the belt.

wilser....

are you using a stationary belt sander or a hand held?

Yeap. Stationary. I wouldn't dare bring a handheld to a neck. The key is to use a medium fine grit belt so it doesn't take too much in a pass. I use a 120 belt. First try was with an 80 grit, but I found it took too much too soon for my taste. When I get some cash I'm gonna get a pneumatic drum sander and try that. It should work even better.

Also, the sander doesn't leave an even surface. What I do is take one of the 80 grit 3x24 belts from my old handheld belt sander (they're good for SOMETHING!) and shoeshine sand to get a good arch and even out high spots.

I bought one for about $12 on ebay.

lowsound

The newer stanley spokeshaves are not very good at all. You need to tune them for reasonable performance. The issue is not the blade, but the blade receiver, the gaping mouth and the sole. After working on one of these myself, I did get better performance but ended up ditching it after finding a good cheap old shave and doing some minor tuning on it. This old shave is cheap and really nice to use.

However, I'm going to give my belt sander a go on the next neck I make after reading about Wilser's success with his. Good stuff Wilser, thanks for sharing.

You are right new Stanleys are crap to begin with, I regrind the base and rehone the blade but now it is good.

I am trying Wilsers methode but the results are not quite there yet I cannot get the technique right yet.

I put up my Veritas low angle shave on ebay because I haven't used it in 2 years..

Did you sell it yet, if not I might be interested.

Did you sell it yet, if not I might be interested.

I have a few different spokeshaves, the Veritas included. Although this is a good spokeshave, I got the similar results from an old Stanley that I tuned. I found the benefits of the LV is the lower angle, tight mouth, it's slim, solid (minimal or no chatter) and the improved blade. But for the money, I prefer the cheap old shave.

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I am trying Wilsers methode but the results are not quite there yet I cannot get the technique right yet.



Did you sell it yet, if not I might be interested.

For some reason the belt sander method worked great for me from the first try. I got the idea after reading the book "Clapton's Guitar" about Wayne Henderson and his long wait list. He uses this method and I thought it was a great idea.

The spokeshave is on ebay and has a couple of bids, so I'm pretty sure it'll sell.

I used to use the micro planes a lot but they don't work well for me on the harder woods. Possibly they get dull? Have you had to replace yours? I am just starting on a Wenge and Bubinga neck and I know the microplane will be useless on that. What do you think?

Microplanes work fine on wenge and bubinga, it just takes a little longer to get your preferred shape, and yes, Microplanes do get dull. Have replaced my MP's a number of times, especially the round course, which I replace about every 3 months.

Maybe it would be better to start with rasps or spokeshaves to get a rough shape (a really rough one) and then move to microplanes. In that way most of the hard work would be done with rasps and then more finer work with mp before moving to sand paper or whatever. Microplanes wouldn't suffer too much using them like this.

rasps are a bad idea on wenge. they can take big chunks out without even trying. tear out is a big problem with rasps on wenge, too.

That rosewood topped bass with a wenge neck was carved using coarse half round and flat microplanes (it was carved about a year ago, before I started using the belt sander). From what I remember it wasn't that troublesome.

What is the issue with having a smaller or larger mouth size? Shavings sliding back down?

What is the issue with having a smaller or larger mouth size? Shavings sliding back down?

It's like on hand planes. With a larger mouth opening you can take more aggressive cuts, but are more prone to big tear outs. With a smaller mouth opening you can take finer shavings and it also helps with difficult grain.

It's like on hand planes. With a larger mouth opening you can take more aggressive cuts, but are more prone to big tear outs. With a smaller mouth opening you can take finer shavings and it also helps with difficult grain.

Ok, so like the leading edge of the mouth is helping hold down the wood?

Ok, so like the leading edge of the mouth is helping hold down the wood?

exactly, keeping it down while the blade lifts it up.

exactly, keeping it down while the blade lifts it up.

Yay, I learned something today :)

And what about the angle of the knife?? blade (de las cuchillas)?? I read on some forum that the angle of how the knife/blade of handplanes and spokeshave have something to do with the quality of the cut... that and your technique.

And what about the angle of the knife?? blade (de las cuchillas)?? I read on some forum that the angle of how the knife/blade of handplanes and spokeshave have something to do with the quality of the cut... that and your technique.

(it's blade)

Not really the quality of the cut. Different angles are for different types of cut or grain structures. A low angle is prefered for end grain and side grain, while a high angle is generally for figured woods. There's quite a bit of information on the web about planes (a spokeshave is a type of plane) and the book 'The Hand Plane Book' is an excellent resource for the plane enthusiast.

My experience is that good cuts with a hand plane has less to do with technique and more to do with having a well tuned plane and using the right type for the wood at hand. Oh, and don't forget a well sharpened and honed blade!

interesting thread...here's what i use...old horse-shoe file left over from my wrangler days...moves a lot of material in a hurry & is an accurate method of keeping true to the design in my experience
use it for profiling my neck backs as well
probably not as quick as other methods but i'm just hobby shoping so time is not usually a factor...plus the hand work is a kind of meditative medium for me
haven't had any problems with tear-outs using it even though the purpleheart seems to be a little bit "chippy"
i get it close with this & then go to a sanding board with 40/80/120 grit for finish work
http://s127.photobucket.com/albums/p122/meandi_photos/acoustic%20photos/bass%20photos/lam15.jpg

best to all

I like to shape bass bodies the same way I shape chairs; I do primary shaping with a band saw, followed by a combination of Nicholson patternmakers' rasps (#49 and #50), and spoke shaves, followed by carving tools.

My favorite factory-made spokeshaves are the small brass spoke shaves and the Brian Boggs models from Lie-Nielsen. I've also made spoke shaves out of wood (using blades from Ron Hock) with which I have been very satisfied (photo).

jazzdogg...that is a beautiful piece of work in your avatar!!

i have a stanley spokeshave that i spent a lot of time tuning up on my first two guitars and they were fine. i sprung for a lie-nielsen spokeshave and i absolutely love it. i prefer using the spokeshave to remove most of the material. after that i go to rasps and files then on to sandpaper by sanding block and fingers around the volute.

i dont have anyway of controlling large amounts of sanding dust so i try to stick with planes and shaves for neck shaping.

i do need to come up with a shave-horse of some kind for this job.

jazzdogg...that is a beautiful piece of work in your avatar!!

Thanks! I'm very fortunate to be spending the last half of my life doing the things I enjoy most: making furniture, teaching woodworking, and playing music :D