The Joy of Using a Spokeshave That You Made

 “Traditional methods endure because they always have worked and they always will.”

Roy Underhill, The Woodwright’s Eclectic Workshop, 1991

There was a day several years ago, when I pulled out two blanks of wood from my wood cache, one was California laurel and the other was black cherry. I had two small Hock tool spokeshave blades, I made the laurel blank into a flat sole shave, the cherry blank got a rounded sole. Both have an East Indian rosewood wear plate and both use set screws to adjust the blade’s depth of cut.

I used both shaves to refine the heel on a neck for a steel string acoustic guitar that I am making, the above photo shows the laurel shave in action on the neck shaft, the cherry shave is on the bench next to a carving knife with an extra long handle. That knife I also use to shape the heel of the neck.

It’s pretty fun to use a tool that you made, and that it really works!

So, take time today to get out into your shop and make that hand tool you have always wanted!