In the case of a spokeshave the most important steps you need to take care of are sanding, flattening and sharpening. Sanding

Spokeshave | STANLEY

Every single screw minus the adjustment knobs for the blade were machined with slots for a screwdriver on the Stanley -not so much on the Kunz. The cap iron screw is some sort of elongated machine screw with an enormous knob that just feels cheap! The Kunz’s mouth is garbage compared to the Stanley. The machining was erratic at best. If I wanted to, I’d have to file the mouth to make it sort of comparable. After receiving the Kunz first, I set it up and took it to an off cut to see what it could do. It was surprisingly good. However after receiving the Stanley, I was blown away by the difference!

In an ideal world, all spokeshaves would come perfectly flat out of the box, smooth to control and pristine. Unfortunately, reality doesn’t measure up, especially for more budget friendly options. Spend some time flattening and polishing the sole with sandpaper and you’ll make almost any tool usable. Sharpen By using the screws on the top of the spokeshave’s body you’ll be able to adjust the depth of the cut, making for bigger or smaller shavings depending on how much material you’re looking to take off. These screws should be easy to turn and feel sturdy. It’s important that you get a handle on them before digging into the wood as different spokeshaves can have slightly more or less intuitive adjustment mechanisms and you want to make sure you’re in complete control of the shaving size. Preparing a spokeshave

STANLEY Hand Planer, SpokeShave, Flat Base (12-951) STANLEY Hand Planer, SpokeShave, Flat Base (12-951)

Adjust the tool for the desired shaving size before getting to work and make sure that the blade is nice and sharp. Although the spokeshave isn’t as demanding as a drawknife and can be pushed or pulled, always go with the grain when shaving. There are four types of spokeshaves. The flat spokeshave, round spokeshave, concave spokeshave and convex spokeshave. The flat spokeshave is the most frequently used and the most versatile. The cap iron on the Stanley is much larger and covers more surface area compared to the Kunz. The Stanley’s is made of iron while the Kunz’s is made of cheap thin aluminum. The problems my particular sample had mostly involved poor drilling and tapping work. (Mostly; some of the design work is questionable too, particularly in regards to the iron's holder's shoulders not really touching the main body's cut-outs!) Due to those things, I generally felt like this tool could be described as being Stanley's blade, in a cheapie or counterfeit casting. I'm not saying that's what it absolutely is: that's just how I'd try to describe how it felt to me, when I was tinkering with it. The soles are dramatically different as well. The Kunz has a very wide nearly flat sole compared to the Stanley’s slightly narrower sole. The Kunz’s was flat in both the forward and side projection while the Stanley’s was flat only in the widest projection with a very slight rounded front to rear camber. This is extremely important to point out because if you have ever used a spokeshave, you will appreciate the slight rounded sole as it makes getting into inside corners that much easier and this was machined out of the box!!The handles of a spokeshave extend like wings from both sides of the tool and they’re an important part of maintaining control and stability when angling a cut. If the handles are too long they can be uncomfortable to work with but if they’re too short they’ll make it hard to judge the angle. Blade Overall, I managed to get the Kunz to do a good job, but the Stanley was easier to set up and it did a better job than the Kunz. If you’ve got a bit of knowledge on how to prepare and care for it, this Swpeet spokeshave will do its job just fine for a fraction of the price. Flatten the sole, sharpen the blade and wax between uses to avoid rust and you’ll find shaving with it is an enjoyable experience.

Stanley Spokeshave - 51 / 51R - Review - Find My Tool

This spokeshave comes with five hard and durable blades to be swapped out as needed. It will be easy to use, easy to adjust and you won’t have to worry about the blades getting dull or repurchasing for quite a while. The bottom of the tool is made from wear resistant material, aiming to give as much use out of the tool as possible. There were only four screws on this unit, and two out of the four gave me some initial hassles -- but the fixes were all easy to implement.

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Sign up to receive the long and short of it. The latest STANLEY product info, special offers, and more at your fingertips. Play around with it to get a hang of how to work it as the 2 wheel mechanism works the screws simultaneously modifying both the lateral and depth adjustment. After a bit of trial and error you’ll be ready to put it to good use. The Stanley is much heavier, making the work easier. The Kunz is very lightweight and I often had to fight it to get the shavings I was after.