Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi -

What spokeshave is everyone using ?

1. Is the Kunz spokeshave any good for this ? I assume flat bottom ?
2. Is the Stanley one better ?
3. Are the wood ones any good ? Can I make my own, seems like a simple device
4. Is a spokeshave similar or the same as a drawknife ?
5. Can I use a drawknife instead of a spokeshave ?
6. Any other tools besides a spokeshave for carving the necks ? maybe just microplanes and files and rasps ?

thanks !
John

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It's this new idea from recent decades that everyone gets a participation award. - MUX

spokes shave and drawing knife are both good, but they are different though, the drawing knife tends to be a bit more aggressive (at least in my experience) you have to be careful with it and pay attention or it can dig in and take a much bigger bite than you want. i have a couple of spokes shaves, one is an older steel one (i believe it is stanely but im not sure) and i have never been able to get it set up to where it works well for me, im sure lots of people do though i just dont know what im doing with it to be honest, the other that i have is a little wooden one, no name, curved bottom but otherwise as simple as can be and i love it, works great. i cant speak for all the wooden ones though.

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~shad peters

http://www.flickr.com/photos/petersinstruments/
http://petersinstruments.blogspot.com/
http://petersinstruments.com/

Honduran mahogany neck:



Shaped by coping saw, 1/2" chisel, x-acto knife, and Flat Bottom Kunz Light Spokeshave from here: http://www.diefenbacher.com/Spokeshaves.htm. No rasp except for refining the headstock outline after sawing it out. Only change I'd like to make next time is to get a violin knife for the sturdier blade than the x-acto. But overall it was quite pleasant to carve.

The spokeshave is a little tricky to get the depth right, but once you do, it's quite nice. Slant the blade just a touch, so you can cut with different parts of the blade depending on how deep you want.

I have a few spokeshaves, but this is the only one I actually use. (Item b on the linked page)
http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.a ... 50230&ap=1
A spokeshave won't do the whole job, but it is handy for the main shaft section of the neck.
This is the best one I've found for the job.
Lee Valley sells a small draw knife which I hunger for, but it's not in the budget yet.
You're still gonna need chisel, a rasp or two, a good flat sanding board, some strips of various grades of sandpaper & a scraper or two. I like the straight one with one concave & one convex end. Like the one here. http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.a ... 41069&ap=1
Neck shaping is still my favourite job, after bracing & tuning tops.

I use a Canadian Tire Stanley that was less than 20$. After a good sharpen it has done the trick quite nicely for many years.

Carving the neck , against what I feared was one of the easiest tasks with the neck.
I tried to divide the future round shape of the neck surface in as many as flat surfaces as i could. I used a spokeshave with flat bottom starting on the edge and trying to do equal on both sides.
In the end I used sandpaper (not along the axis) to make the round perfect.

I recommend the Lie Nielsen curved Boggs shave. Not for glitz-its radius is larger than Lee Valley(if I recall, 5" for LN- 2" something for LV). It will serve as a flat shave and do most practical curves. The gentle radius provides the flexibility-just adjust how you "roll" the shave in use.

For me... I use a belt sander, a hand cut rasp, and a series of long flexible sanding sticks (think rasp but less of a bite). I find using the sanding sticks is a big plus in working out the rasp marks and not having to work so hard removing the scratches.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

Has anyone made a spokeshave using the Hock blades ? I am thinking about this - I like Hock blades - or the Veritas wooden shave kit ?

I assume blades size around 2 to 2 1/2 inches is what I would use - regardless of brand or type of spokeshave ?

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It's this new idea from recent decades that everyone gets a participation award. - MUX

While I tend to use something heavier these days, I've done necks a few different ways by hand.

I've used spokeshaves, rasps, chisels, belt-sanders, angle-grinders, and my current weapon of choice the Fadal on necks. My observations are thus

I don't like chisels for the carved parts of necks, I just don't think they're the right tool for the sort of tight curves you end up dealing with. Belt sanders, angle-grinders (with low grit sanding disks), and spokeshaves all work great as roughing tools and can all be used to get all the way to the sanding stage if you're very careful, but they all lack the control and finesse of a rasp. With a rasp, you can take a pretty deep cut or a very light cut, and you have excellent control of both depth and shape of your cuts.

If I were doing them by hand now, I'd pick a roughing tool from the spokeshave/belt sander/angle grinder set and finish up with a rasp. I have gone 'start to finish' with both the belt sander and the spokeshave, but they were much slower than a rasp once it got to the near-net stage.

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

Well durn! I've just been using the Stanley 151 I bought 35 years ago, since I never knew any better. I did pick up a beautiful Stanley 67 with both soles for dirt cheap at a flea market several years ago, and use it sometimes on the heel with the curved sole. Maybe time to upgrade?

I'd probably care more if I didn't have my Grizzly 1071 spindle sander, which does a great job of roughing heels.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

I like to use a sanding belt with around forty grit and shoe-shine sand to shape and then use 80 or 120 grit to clean up the gouges. a strip of metal at the bottom of the neck will keep it from wearing too thin.
It has worked for me.

Bob

John,
I've never used a spokeshave. Don't really need one as you can hog off most of the heavy meat of the neck using a microplane. Works like a cheese grater, and very effective. I use the flat one, and use long curving strokes the length of the neck. If you focus on one area you will create a hole. Here is a link to the microplane:
http://us.microplane.com/8snap-inrasps.aspx

For the heel and volute I use various chisels.

Once I get the neck down to within 2 mm of shape, I then use my dragon file that is a little less aggressive. Then on to 80/150/220 sandpaper. Hope that helps.

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Tracy
http://www.luthiersuppliers.com

I use a hermaphrodite spokeshave.

picture please

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It's this new idea from recent decades that everyone gets a participation award. - MUX

For fast shaping of the neck shaft I like a sharp drawknife, followed by either a scraper or spokeshave. Be careful with the drawknife if not experienced, they are agressive but easily controlled after some experience.

For the heel, I use the drawknife (again, very sharp) and chisels, followed by a rasp.

Chuck

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Me too. I've got BIG draw knife that my Great Grandfather made (he was a blacksmith, among other things). I carved a few necks with it. I had it REALLY SHARP, and cut all the way through a neck once. For me rasp works better.

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I didn't mean to say it, but I meant what I said.
http://www.brackettinstruments.com/

I made a Lignum one from the large Lee Valley kit. It's a great tool and my go to shave. I have the low angle and the more expensive flat bottomed Lee Valley ones and they are great tools as well.

If you are going to use a spokeshave, here is another vote for the large Lee Valley kit. (05P3330). I find the adjustment easier and more durable than the LV low angle spokeshave. It has a nice low angle and cuts beautifully. It takes a bit of work to make one, but as soon as you finish you'll want to build another. I've made 6 of them. I keep them set to different cuts so I can just pick up the shave that is appropriate for the cut that I'm looking for. And it's a great way to use up nice pieces of scrap.

I've made a spokeshave from the original John Gunterman kit with the Hock blade, curly maple and lignum vitae wear plate, and it's pretty much all I use. I love the thing. I made a couple more, too, in different sizes (Ron didn't offer the smaller blade back then) with scraps of 01 and tuner-type oval nuts rather than the knurled brass. Really easy and very cheap. Less than a dollar each.

Ron's blade kits are absolutely worth buying and there's a link to the original TeachShave instructions on his website.