Drawknife question

[bluegill]

I have a Stanley drawknife that i'm using to remove wood from a red oak board. It skips along the wood surface, creating an uneven surface and unevenly removong wood. Is it this drawknife which is the problem or is it my technique? I've tried holding the drawknife tightly and cutting close to the vice to reduce vibrations with no improvement. What gives?


This is what the drawknife looks like: http://www.woodcraft.com/images/Family/web5130.jpg

[Coo-wah-chobee]

          Try usin the drawknife upside down. It needs ta be very sharp ifn ya gonna use it on a board. I think ya would be better off with a good rasp or a very sharp scraper..............bob

[welch2]

I have had dull knifes do that ,or you may be holding it at to high of an angle.

Ralph

[1/2primitive]

Oh, Bob, flipping that one won't really help.     ummm.....I would call that a spokeshave........
     Sean

[welch2]

Yes it will Sean ,I do that a lot . I flip a drawknife upside down for finner work like tillering or chasing rings. I let the bevel lay against the wood and take my time. It works very well.

Ralph

[Jbell]

Ralph check out the link in bluegill's post it is showing a spokeshave. I think a quality rasp, scraper and block with sandpaper will remove wood the best from a board. A ferriers rasp will remove wood very quickly maybe to quickly for what you are doing.I usually use a drawknife for hoggin aff massive amounts of wood on staves once I get close to deminsions the rasp is my next choice. Although while chasing a ring I do turn my drawknife upsidedown like Bob said.

[George Tsoukalas]

Good pick up, Jell. That is a spokeshave.  bluegill, you may be going against the grain. Flip either yourself or the board around. Jawge

[DCM]

You spokeshave wants to be extra sharp, and set to take a very fine cut.  I prefer to angle the blade, one end being slightly proud of the other which doesn't contact the work.  There's a touch to a spokeshave that doesn't require a death grip.  Follow the lenght of the grain as well.  Very difficult tool for me to master and one I rarely use.  But it will take a lot of wood quickly.  I advise a rasp and scraper for a beginner.

[Coo-wah-chobee]

 Yup didnt look at picture. Its a spokeshave, Stanley not a drawknife like Sean and Jawge said. Neither is best on boards imo .....bob

[SimonUK]

Make sure the blade is the right way round. The side that you sharpen should be facing down towards the wood. Don't try to shave wide flat surfaces, it's best doing curved sufaces (like spokes!).

[bluegill]

Problem solved. I just got back from Home Depot with a Stanley surform rasp. Thanks for all the help. I'll post updates as I progress on my first attempt at making a bow.

[welch2]

Oops , my bad huh. Bluegill said drawknife ,so I didn't look at the picture.I figgered I knew what one looked like. 

I never had much luck with the stanleys myself .I got a few antique wooden spokeshaves and a bowyers edge ,that for some reason work for me.

Ralph

[bikermikearchery]

I may be the odd guy but a spoke shave is my favorite tool. It needs to be vary sharp and the blade set for the thinnest cut you can possibly get. shavings from my spoke shave are so thin you could read through them. Like tissue paper.

[mullet]

I've got a spokeshave I used a couple of times and haven't used in two years.I went back to my rasp and small meat cleaver.I use my draw knife to chase rings with the blade 90 dgs to the wood.

[venisonburger]

I use a spokeshave exclusively, like said above make sure it's very sharp and don't set it with too much blade sticking out, if you get chatter (the rough surface) then raise the blade up, don't force it either, pull it towards you letting the tool cut, I often times start on the corner not on the flat surface in the center of the stave or board, angle the spokeshave to shave the corner pulling towards you, then move a little more towards the center and pull towards you, then move a little more until you've worked yourself across the wood, spoke shaves aren't really designed for really flat surfaces, remember they were used to carve spokes. Take your time and learn to use it and you'll reach for it every time, I do.
VB