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Lee Valley – Spokeshaves

Sample Mirror

Recently I have been taking advantage of the booming Aussie Dollar. One of my latest purchases has been a couple of Spokeshaves from Lee Valley.LINK: Lee Valley Spokeshaves

I’ve made a few attempts at using a spokeshave in the past but could never get the results I was after, usually resorting to raps/files and sandpaper. This time around I thought I’d invest in some better quality shaves and see if I can get the results I knew I should be getting.


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Open the box you get a well protected spokeshave, a set of instructions and a yellow envelope holding a couple of plastic shims to close the mouth if needed.

The picture on the right is showing the Lee Valley spokeshaves compared to the more common Stanley 51/151’s (I think thats the model no’s) You can see how much nicer they are and the size difference especially the round bottom shaves on the Right.

Spokeshave


One of the biggest differences you will notice is in the thickness of the blades, the Lee Valley Blades are double the thickness of the older Stanley spokeshaves.
I am sure this goes a long way to help reduce chatter when shaving away. I find this also gave the tool and nice balance when in use.



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Out of the box I had no problems getting shavings from some scrap. Now I am able to take the cuts I always thought a spokeshave could, and if there is a problem using these I am sure its the user not the tools.

I can see these soon becoming my favorite tools for cleaning up bandsawn work and for refining the shapes on all kinds of work. 🙂

VALUE Rating: ★★★★☆

BUILD QUALITY Rating: ★★★★★

OVERALL Rating: ★★★★½

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