Which spokeshaves?

[Bollox]

An upcoming project I am planning requires spokeshaves to clean up both concave and convex curves. Anyone have a recommendation for both types?
I love the Veritas, but really would rather use the money elsewhere if I can get away with an Anant, Kunz or (modern) Stanley.
The other thing to keep in mind is that I havent used a spokeshave in about 25 years, and my tuning skills will take a while to develop!
Thanks
Mike

[vaking]

I am no expert on spokeshaves. I have a Stanley spokeshave with replaceable blades and it works fine for my little need. But then again - Stanley hand planes work fine for me too, I don't have Veritas planes either. I guess it all depends on how much you will be using it, how particular you are, etc. I am sure that at my level of spokeshave skills - I would not even tell the difference between Veritas and Stanley.
My rule of thumb - when buying anything that I am not an expert in - skip the cheapest offer on the market but stay within the lower end of the spectrum. When it is time to graduate to high end products you will know exactly what to look for.

[Bollox]

Thanks Alex. That was kind of my feeling - I dont think I'll be using it that much.

By the lack of replies I'm guessing there arent many spokeshave nuts out there!

Mike

[atgcpaul]

I think a recent Fine Woodworking has a small blurb on spokeshaves. They
liked the Veritas a lot but they are pricey. In the most recent issue, in the
back, they describe how you can improve on the Stanley type. I've seen that
a lot of people like the Stanley's but in most magazine reviews they don't get
good reviews because most of the blade beds are painted over and this allows
chatter of the blade. I have a used one but I haven't tried it out yet. It
needs tuning. I guess it really depends on how much your time is worth.

Paul

[Rob R]

i was going to do "a" project that required a spokeshave. there was all kinds of stuff to read, and i quickly found out that:
the new stanley spokeshaves are pretty much no good--unless you have time and skills and so on to make them so--i wouldn't have a clue what to do and don't want to learn

the veritas stuff in general is outstanding but pricey.

i wanted great results from my first time at handtools.


SO: i bought the spokeshave with the metal body that runs about 50$. it works great. if i had to do it again, i'd buy the same shave. it was a joy to use.


rob

[sacherjj]

SO: i bought the spokeshave with the metal body that runs about 50$. it works great. if i had to do it again, i'd buy the same shave. it was a joy to use.

Do you have a brand name or source that you would be willing to divulge?

[germdoc]

I recommend this shave for casual users--sturdy, easy to adjust, can be configured for convex or concave work. Available at Lee Valley.



I also have a number of antique spokeshaves, which I'm quite fond of as well, including a 16" behemoth. Some real bargains are to be had on Ebay for good user spokeshaves--you might check out Patrick Leach's excellent review on Stanley spokeshaves for more info on antique models:

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~alf/en/leach-spoke.txt

[Rob R]

Do you have a brand name or source that you would be willing to divulge?

GREAT IDEA!! sorry, it's the veritas model from lee valley discussed above--with pictures by Germdoc. been a great little shave.

rob

[Bollox]

Thanks guys. Thats the Veritas I was looking at, and given that it will do both concave and convex the price isnt much different than buying one each of the others.
Mike

[wassaw998]

I got a Kunz from Highland Hardware - it was one that the FWW article did not like much, and I have to agree. It was cheep, but, IMO - a waste of my money.