Shop-Made Spokeshaves

There’s no better way to create smooth, even curves than using a tool designed specifically for that purpose. And you can’t beat the satisfying results when it’s a tool you’ve made yourself.

A spokeshave is the perfect choice for smoothing out a convex or concave surface quickly and easily. Buying a spokeshave is an option, but there's nothing like the look and feel of a wood-bodied spokeshave. And having a pair is best, one with a flat bottom for convex curves and another with a curved bottom for concave surfaces. The body of a spokeshave is nothing more than a piece of wood with a narrow opening at the bottom for the blade. This throat opening widens toward the top, creating a bed for the blade and clearance for shavings. Trying to create this shaped opening from a single piece could be a real challenge. The solution is to make each spokeshave from two parts, a narrow front piece and a wider rear piece. Using two parts makes it easy to create a precise opening and an angled bed for the blade.

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What You Get:

  • 7 printable (digital) pages of step-by-step instructions
  • 40 full-color exploded views, photos and illustrations
  • Full-sized patterns for the curved parts
  • Materials list and cutting diagram
  • Retail sources for hardware and supplies

Product Recommendations

We don't have any links to project supplies and hardware for this particular project yet, but here are some other products that might be of interest to you. (We may receive commission when you use our affiliate links. However, this does not impact our recommendations.)

Bessey Bar Clamps

Gel Polyurethane

Drill & Impact Driver

Titebond III Wood Glue