Boggs spoke shave.

[59jazz]

I'm currently gearing up on various hand tools for building necks, and have been using files for shaping necks. I used a straight blade spoke shave on the first few neck I built, years ago. But while watching the DIY network today, there was a brief segment on the Boggs curved blade spoke shave. Looks like it would work for shaping neck blanks....Anyone work with one?

 

[BassBilodeau]

I'm working with a 50 years old straight blade spoke shave to make the back of my necks. Then I finish the shaping with a rasp and orbital sander (grit 60). With these tools, I can do the back of a neck in half a day or so.

I don't think a curved spoke shave would be much better. It's just my opinion, I'm curious to read other's opinion.

 

[Jazzdogg]

I usually do my initial shaping with a bandsaw, followed by patternmaker's rasps, spokeshaves, and vixxen files.

I like the Brian Boggs spokeshaves a lot, and although they excel at taking fine cuts in dried hardwoods, I find their throats are adjusted so fine that they clog when shaping green wood (not an issue in instrument making); I use home-made open-throated spokeshaves in greenwood chairmaking, but the Boggs 'shaves are fantastic once the moisture content declines.

I use Flat-soles spokeshaves the most, and use convex curved-sole 'shaves far less often - but when you need one, nothing else will do. I haven't used the Boggs concave 'shave, and don't anticipate buying one, but I'll keep an eye out for students using 'em at school and see how they feel in use.

 

[powerbass]

I have never used this tool but looking at it online looks like it was designed for chair making, shaping spindles which are pretty small in diameter. It may not work on a bass neck since it is considerably wider that chair spindles. I have used flat soled spokeshaves for neck shaping - the spokeshave is for removing wood fast, then rasps, then files, then hand scrapers, then sandpaper. I like using hand scrapers, they remove file marks fast and they are great for shaping as well.

 

[59jazz]

Gentlemen, thanks for the info.......I'll just stick to my current procedure.

 

[abarson]

I can't say anything about Boggs, but my first neck I carved with one of those old dual blade spokeshaves, with a flat and convex blade. It worked okay.
Now that I have a Stanley #51 (flat), I don't see any need for the convex. It was fantastic on neck 2, which only needed sandpaper thereafter.

 

[johnnymiz]

sorry, i'm late to the party, as usual
i have these:
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=49142&cat=1,50230&ap=1
lee valley makes some really great stuff that is reasonably priced
carved the neck on my kid's bass with the convex one