How to Make a Spokeshave - How-to Woodworking Hand Tool From Oak

A spokeshave can be one of the most fun tools to play with, and it is so simple to make. this is a simple method for making a traditional spokeshave. this one was made from a piece of White oak firewood, and the first one was made of beach. how-to build with nothing but hand tools.
How to make a simple hand tool for woodworking projects.
You can find the irons on eBay from time to time or at your local antique store if you know what you are looking for. Check out Handtoolfinder.com for all the known locations.
or you can buy threaded irons here. www.highlandwoo...
Tools needed:
Long Nosed Pattern Marker: amzn.to/2hj3dc4
Hand saw: amzn.to/2gZx8bR
Chisel: amzn.to/2g1bh3T
Mallet: amzn.to/2gIMa5g
File and rasp set: amzn.to/2h7p4Cf
(optional) Spokeshave: amzn.to/2gv0eMw
Making a bow sander: • Making a Bow Sander Wi...
Round bottom Spokeshave: amzn.to/2fN5rhI
Flat bottom spoke shave: amzn.to/2gmuYlB
Tools I Use: www.woodbywrigh...
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[@cobberpete1]

A spokeshave to make a spokeshave. :D. Very nice.

[@WoodByWright]

I love the meta nature!

[@GPWoodworks]

This is cool! I have been wanting to make one of these for a very long time. This is a much simpler design than what I have seen so far. Thanks James!

[@WoodByWright]

got to love the traditional methouds!

[@blackfender100]

Very cool project thanks so much.

[@WoodByWright]

thanks Joe!

[@MyGarageWoodshop]

Wow.....that really does demystify the whole spokeshave thing. Really great and useful video, James!

[@WoodByWright]

thanks man. it is a simple tool that can be so much fun!

[@Makebuildmodify]

Oh man, I think I might want more hand tools now. Thanks!

[@WoodByWright]

lol that is always the problem

[@ianpearse4480]

Can't wait to try that one.

[@hollysmith562]

they seem a lot easier to make than I thought, they turned out nice

[@WoodByWright]

Very true. They are a simple tool that people overthink.

[@bothann]

I agree with Taylor. Simple, straightforward. I've been following your channel for a while now and find it very inspiring. Woodworking is becoming my favorite hobby but I do find it a chicken/egg situation where you often need the thing you're making. Keeps it fun, though. :)

[@WoodByWright]

LOl yup. thanks!

[@przybyla420]

A very nice looking spokeshave, too.

[@TheShavingWoodWorkshop]

Very nicely done James.

[@WoodByWright]

Thanks man! this was a fun little project

[@jackrichards1863]

Thank you.

[@adamscoolthings3316]

What a sharp chisel

[@WoodByWright]

the sharper the better

[@Thom4123]

Wow absolutely beautiful and I love seeing the shavings just curl and fly off awesome work

[@WoodByWright]

thanks. a spoke shave is one of my favorite tools to play with!

[@G-man45444]

Awesome video. I've been wanting to make one since ..... forever. You made it look so easy 👍🏼thanks

[@WoodByWright]

thanks. they are a lot easier to make then people think!

[@cwhummel]

nice spokeshave on spokeshave action ;)

[@WoodByWright]

thanks Chad!

[@veronder]

90k subscribers, thanks for the informational how to

[@WoodByWright]

thanks Matt

[@DrCRAZYde]

Nice work.

[@WoodByWright]

thanks man

[@LordKaladar]

Very cool!

[@WoodByWright]

thanks Walter. love making tools in the shop!

[@hizo64HH]

You make it look so easy!

[@WoodByWright]

it is. it is far easier than people think just break it into steps. don't expect perfection the first time.

[@bearkatwood6354]

Nice work James! My favorite tool.

[@WoodByWright]

thanks man! I need to make a few more now. I liked using them but have a new love for making them!

[@bearkatwood6354]

Well if you find you have too many, I would be happy to help try one out ;)

[@pascalsurprenant7249]

awesome good man those are pretty nice well made

[@WoodByWright]

thanks!. and a lot of fun to play with!

[@pascalsurprenant7249]

Wood By Wright teally apriciate all the reply in your channel not everybody does it and one big part i love this channel were full of great people in here.

[@NotonlyWood]

👍now I want to make one completely myself 😃 Forging the iron making the body I have lots of beech fire wood it looks awesome !!

[@WoodByWright]

now that would be sweet. Beach is hard to find around here. it is funny to think of someone calling it fire wood.

[@Nurk0m0rath]

Totally jealous. Where I live the only readily available hardwoods are red oak and poplar, unless you want to cut and rive or saw your own (even then, there's only a handful of species available).

[@elijahwilliams7975]

I am currently am working on one it's nice and really old

[@Al-ms6me]

basically a stick with a blade... I love it man... rustic as fuck

[@WoodByWright]

Sometimes the old ways are the best ways.

[@ceedubs369]

very nice project seems simple enough that even I could make one lol I will have to get a spoke shave iron and give it a try

[@WoodByWright]

sounds like fun thanks!

[@StavrosGakos]

Beautiful!

[@WoodByWright]

thanks man!

[@FredMcIntyre]

Nice work James!

[@WoodByWright]

thanks man!

[@KostasAnnikasDeftereos]

really great and beautiful piece man !!! i have one spokeshave that has the one handle great i didn't know that is so easy to make one thanks for sharing !!!

[@WoodByWright]

the best part is if you mess up one then you just make another. lol I made a third one the other day and from log to finish was about 1.5 hours.

[@KostasAnnikasDeftereos]

that i thinks is the most important !!! no cost ha ha h ah!!! and is not a lot of time ! the problem for me is that i like the old one because is very very old !!! but tools need repair i suppose !!!

[@ShogunJimi]

fun - I might have to CNC one of those -

[@WoodByWright]

+Shogun-Jimi lol sounds like fun.

[@BCdesign1]

Awesome James!another project added to my list!!

[@WoodByWright]

thanks man!

[@robertbrunston5406]

Thank you James, good video.

[@WoodByWright]

thanks. and any time!

[@FeralBoyKnives]

Very cool

[@WoodByWright]

THanks man! a joy to use too.

[@opasworkshop8373]

good work James I didn't know those old spokeshaves were that simple to make I might have attempted this years ago LOL.

[@WoodByWright]

thanks! one of the most simple tools you can mkake.

[@robertevans6481]

cool going to look into the irons for them, maybe one day i will make one.

[@WoodByWright]

good luck both ot\f the ebay listings I was looking at were gone!

[@Allenrobinson9]

awesome stuff. Cant wait for the tuning and sharpening video. All the product you recommended (including the diamond stone) is on the way.

[@WoodByWright]

sweet man. looking forward to what you do with them!

[@NearlyNativeNursery]

Super instruction. Thanks for the great video. All the Very Best!

[@WoodByWright]

+Jim Rodgers thanks! My pleasure.

[@johnfithian-franks8276]

I have to say that I like the "Beach" wood on much better than the other one, it looks so much more refined and if I was using those I think I would get much more pleasure out of the beach one. I also find that the nicer the tool the better it seems to work, it might be all in my head but it seems to make a difference, perhaps I take more care without realising it.

[@WoodByWright]

I completely agree. I just don't want the fancy look to scare off new woodworkers. but a nicer tool always makes you focus more.

[@mitchwoodwork]

Nice one James - you beat me to it by about a month, so I'll have to think of something else!

[@WoodByWright]

LOL the internet needs more info on spokeshaves. I did not touch on the threaded versions!

[@woodworks3585]

Brilliant work James. I really liked this. Thank you for sharing..........Shared.

[@WoodByWright]

thanks man! glad you liked it!

[@poja82]

Another masterfull video

[@WoodByWright]

thanks!

[@Cactusworkshopchannel]

Looks great man! Awesome

[@WoodByWright]

Thanks! this was a fun project!

[@ESCAGEDOWOODWORKING]

A beast in his own 'Wright'....

[@WoodByWright]

LOL thanks!

[@ESCAGEDOWOODWORKING]

haha...

[@rick91443]

Really cool James. I just bought a spokeshave and haven't even began playing with it yet and NOW I want to make one like you did...Too much fun. Will check out addresses you listed below(that was my next question; the blades...) cheers...rr

[@WoodByWright]

unfortunately a lot of people had the same idea as you when this video came out and most of the traditional blades have sold.

[@mindyburns7536]

I wish I could find those irons so I can try and make a spokeshave but I can't seem to find them. I like to tinker with wood, but I also want to expand my makings. I mostly wanted one for shaving vine wrapped branches for canes and walking sticks, but I also want to use it for other things. Great video.

[@WoodByWright]

There are a couple links to help you with that in the description.

[@stevecollins9450]

Those are really nice, James. Now to find a blade :>).

[@WoodByWright]

that is the problem. since I have posted this all of them on ebay have disappeared.

[@LivefreeanddiyTv]

Pretty nice 🤓👍🏼

[@WoodByWright]

thanks man! it is a fun tool!

[@mrgrnjns1111]

Great video... Awaiting the next.. :)

[@WoodByWright]

thanks Jimmy!

[@sapelesteve]

Nice work James! Using a Spoke Shave to make a Spoke Shave.....Hmmmm..... :) Steve

[@WoodByWright]

Very Meta! LOL thanks

[@pedroclaro7822]

2:40 so you need a spokeshave to make a spokeshave 😂😂😂

[@WoodByWright]

Every time lol

[@pedroclaro7822]

I just had to haha

[@imortaldeadead]

Nice walk through. Wonder if we could do this with a piece of old saw blade, and two nails or screws?

[@WoodByWright]

Sure that would be fun to play with.

[@imortaldeadead]

Wood By Wright how important are the two...I'm going to call them the lags... was just looking at the saw blade I've been cutting up and think I could cut a piece with the lags and bend them, or just do it with the nails or screws

[@WoodByWright]

The newer styles have threaded rods that extend up through the top and have a nut on top that holds them in place but if you can just bend them up without cracking the steel that would be far more traditional.

[@dwolfer2315]

Saw steel is basically spring steel. That type is almost impossible to bend. The only way I know of to do it is to heat it till it is red hot almost white hot them slowly, very slowly bend it. When you have both of them bent then you will have to heat both ends again to red hot and quench them quickly in cold water to re-establish the hardness of the steel. It can be done but not very easily.

[@tropifiori]

When you make your sharpening video, please show a close up of the blade. If you could give dimensions and show the bevels, I think I would like to try to forge the blades. Thanks Frank

[@WoodByWright]

I will try, but there is no such standard and they come in a very large variety. I have some as small as 2" across and some up to 5" across, some are only 1/4" across and some are as much as 1", the angle can be as little as 15 degrees and as much as 45. the pitch from the mounting rods is most often 90 degrees but sometimes that can vary 20 degrees up or down. if you make something inside any of those ranges it will work.

[@frankingram3382]

Great video James. Can you use spoke shaves on wide boards or narrow and round only? I don't have one because I don't know how to use one. God Bless my friend.

[@WoodByWright]

you can use it on wide boards, but a plane works better there. the spoke shave gives you better control side to side where as a plane would have a tendance to roll off of thin stock.

[@frankingram3382]

Thanks

[@theosmits1141]

3:40-3:45 I can't be the only one that heard that? lol great job though will definately try to make one

[@WoodByWright]

LOL thanks!

[@as-lr8mb]

nice work. what kind of marking instrument did you use to freehand your pattern with?

[@WoodByWright]

that is a long-nosed marker. here. amzn.to/2hjExD8 thanks for watching.

[@johnnybear9400]

Hey James, this was great. Can you tell me what the board was that you used to saw the firewood to length. Do you have a video on how to make one of them? Thanks man, Johnny

[@WoodByWright]

that is called a bench hook. it is just a stop to hold the wood from sliding away from you. I really should do a video on that sometime. thanks!

[@TJSWOODWORKINGSHOP]

Very nice bro i like it awesome job your very good my brother you the man sir :)

[@WoodByWright]

thanks.

[@TJSWOODWORKINGSHOP]

YOU ARE WELCOME BRO :)

[@coryhaynes8755]

what was that marker thing you were using to draw out the handle shape. I've seen diresta use it too. I'd like one. killer work by the way

[@WoodByWright]

Thanks! That is a pattern marker. here is the one I used. amzn.to/2hj3dc4

[@bbrachman]

James: Can you tell us what kind of marker you were using? I have been looking for the 'proper' name that kind of tracing marker with no luck. Thanks.

[@WoodByWright]

here you go. it is by fast cap. amzn.to/2vvukIm

[@jeffloitz1682]

Nice spokeshave build James! Two questions for you. First, what was the marker you were using at 3:18. Second, for your bow sander, how much longer do you recommend making the bow compared to the sand paper loop? I am thinking about making a longer one for sanding a hatchet handle.

[@WoodByWright]

Thanks Jeff. the long-nosed marker is from fastcap. this one amzn.to/2h6wKse the bow is about 1/2" to 1" longer. we ended up making it 1" longer but not gluing in the caps. the shortened it tell the fit felt good.

[@jeffloitz1682]

Thanks for the link and tip for the bow sander!

[@sethwarner2540]

never had a spoke shave, so yeah, i get how you have fitted the blade to the wood but finding or making the blade seems the trouble. ideas?

[@WoodByWright]

+Seth Warner I have links below to a few places where you can get new ones, other then that it is keeping an eye on eBay for when they pop up or your local anteque/ flee markets.

[@anaporymataverdepory2977]

Muito legal gostaria de obter umas 2 peças dessas como devo obter

[@dalejones4186]

Great job. what grits of stones do you use? i am trying to find the right set. Thanks

[@WoodByWright]

thanks, I use these amzn.to/2gAJnef the Extra course, Medium-fine, and the extra extra fine.

[@MarkNiceyard]

Would have been good if there were moving close ups of the finished product to see the complete thing from different angles.

[@WoodByWright]

thanks for the feedback. I show more on the second channel.

[@taylormaxwell875]

cool and simple build. I also love your other videos. You mentioned you could get these irons for very cheap on eBay. What key word or sellers do you buy from because I just looked and I cannot find any cutters/irons like that for anywhere near that cheap. Thanks

[@WoodByWright]

to be honest when I listed there were two listings with several irons each, but both are gone. so I don't know how common those listings are. I just searched got Spokeshave blades. I usually find them at MWTCA meets, and these were given to me.

[@KarlBunker]

Woodcraft.com (www.woodcraft.com/category/ht142-01/spokeshaves.aspx} and Lee Valley (www.leevalley.com/us/hardware/page.aspx?p=49710&cat=1,50230&ap=1) carry similar blades, but with threaded tangs, and not cheap. On eBay you can set up a search so that they email you when there are new listings that match. That's what I'm going to do,

[@michaelhogan4660]

On ebay you might try searching using "10 cm edged plane"

[@WoodByWright]

thanks!

[@MiceNine9]

I made one this week with one of these $8 irons ((www.woodcraft.com/product/153920/woodriver-replacement-blade-for-woodriver-spokeshave.aspx). Honestly, I'm not thrilled with the quality, but for my first spokeshave, it does the trick. Also kind of nice because you can remove the posts from the iron for sharpening. It takes M4 metric threaded posts, which they conveniently don't tell you. Found some thumb screws for $0.60 each at my the local hardware store, and a piece of brass bar stock for the toe for like $2.

[@BDM_PT]

Hi there from Portugal, Nice spoke-shave :D Q: How do you keep your diamond stones do clean? Obrigado(Thanks)

[@WoodByWright]

they don't get dirty. I just use window cleaner as the lubricant.

[@BDM_PT]

Me too but they got dark grey in 2 weeks.

[@thatilluminati_3421]

Wash them in some water

[@WoodByWright]

Just be careful to dry them thoroughly. but clean is not necessary. just look at paul sellers. he does not even wipe them off.

[@abbykirby1710]

James, where can you get the irons?

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

you use to be able to get them on eBay quite often but now you have to watch for them. I will some times find them at antique stores and estate sales but not all that commonly. you can buy them new. but they are different with adjustment screws. www.highlandwoodworking.com/hock-wooden-spokeshave-blade.aspx?a=1367

[@joaorodrigues4009]

What's the ratio on the linseed oil / beeswax mix? Thanks!

[@WoodByWright]

depends. a lot of different people like different mixes. for my past wax I like 2 parts wax to 3 parts oil.

[@joaorodrigues4009]

Thank you! :)

[@reforzar]

Did you make the second spokeshave using the first? #spokeshaveinception

[@WoodByWright]

LOL the first was made with rasps but with how easier they are to make I could not stop at one. and I love going metta on my tool making!

[@chrisbreite2502]

You said you could find the irons on eBay fairly easily. How do I search, as I'm having trouble finding them?

[@WoodByWright]

+Chris Breite that has recently become alot harder and the prices are normaly around $10+ now I serch for spokeshave iron or irons or some times blades.

[@willemkossen]

So you need a shave? I would like a wooden spokeshave. All i have is a metal stanley. Pennies a piece, gotta get me some blades. Pennies but probably big money shipping :/

[@WoodByWright]

shipping is always the problem LOL

[@willemkossen]

What i see on ebay costs about 20€ per blade and then about 10€ shipping. I also see complete spokeshaves for about the same money. I'll pass. I have my stanley and dont use it often. Maybe one day i find a cheaper option.

[@josephknightcom]

If you'll present the end-product at the beginning of the video we will be able to better follow the purpose of each step.

[@WoodByWright]

I personally hate it when other channels do that. plus the statistics don't back it up. every time I have done that the viewer watch rate dives off in the first 30 seconds.

[@josephknightcom]

Wood By Wright of course it does, those people are finding out that video is not for them; Or that the quality of the end product doesnt interest them. I would have skipped this video too had i seen this result ahead. Had you made the finer spoke shave here, i would have been hooked. Bring it and you wont have to worry as much about tricking people into watching the whole thing.

[@willman76]

where can I get some of those irons?

[@WoodByWright]

well before the video there were a few on eBay but apparently several people have snagged them all. I also find them and antique stores and MWTCA meets.

[@TheMakiwerem]

elsö

[@dwolfer2315]

It has been 10 months since this video has been placed here. Has anybody found an inexpensive blade since the few you say on e-bay? I am on disability and cannot afford the ones from the two stores mentioned here. So anybody, HELP. :)

[@WoodByWright]

I have talked to people that have gotten box lots on eBay or bought them single there. you have to setup a few notifications and wait.

[@heathobarr1666]

Check out the replacement blade for the Woodriver spokeshave at Woodcraft.

[@rossanctuary5238]

Shoot i gotta give up on woodworking. Cant afford a plan

[@TheMakiwerem]

first

[@WoodByWright]

yes you are! LOL thanks!

[@walterrider9600]

thank you

[@WoodByWright]

My pleasure Walter!

[@donnymcarter]

Nice work James!

[@WoodByWright]

thanks man!