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Saturday, July 30, 2016

Using a Spokeshave for Woodcarving

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                                                      By Jim Hingst 

                                                       @hingst_jim


Back in the day of wagon wheels, the wooden spokes of the wheel were shaped with a tool called a spokeshave. This tool rounded the wooden rods. Even though few have little use for wagon wheels, spokeshaves are useful tools for furniture makers and woodcarvers. If you have need for a rounded edge when carving a sign, it is a great tool to have in your arsenal. In the photograph below, I used the spokeshave shown to carve a uniform and smooth curved outer edge. The tool itself is very similar to a plane. The blade is adjustable to control the carving depth. In working with the tool, grasp the two handles of the spokeshave and pull it toward you along the surface of the wood. Just like any other carving tool, you need to keep it sharp. If the blade chatters, it is a good sign that the blade is dull.





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About Jim Hingst: After fourteen years as Business Development Manager at RTape, Jim Hingst retired. He was involved in many facets of the company’s business, including marketing, sales, product development and technical service.

Hingst began his career 42 years ago in the graphic arts field creating and producing advertising and promotional materials for a large test equipment manufacturer.  Working for offset printers, large format screen printers, vinyl film manufacturers, and application tape companies, his experience included estimating, production planning, purchasing and production art, as well as sales and marketing. In his capacity as a salesman, Hingst was recognized with numerous sales achievement awards.

Drawing on his experience in production and as graphics installation subcontractor, Hingst provided the industry with practical advice, publishing more than 150 articles for  publications, such as  Signs Canada, SignCraft,  Signs of the Times, Screen Printing, Sign and Digital Graphics and  Sign Builder Illustrated. He also posted more than 400 stories on his blog (hingstssignpost.blogspot.com). In 2007 Hingst’s book, Vinyl Sign Techniques, was published.  Vinyl Sign Techniques is available at sign supply distributors and at Amazon. 


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