I received a question about the angle of my inshave handles recently. I thought that the difficulty that the inquirer had was a result of technique, but after some recent discussions, I realize that I was incorrect. Apparently, the inshave being sold by Highland is different than the one that I use. It seems that the handles of the Highland tool when measured off of the bench (as seen in the photo of my correct inshave) are too upright for seat carving. Simply put, they get in the way.
My handles are at about 120 degrees off the bench. I spoke with Doug Roper in California today and he said that he spoke with Highland about the problem and that they agreed to take the tool back. I hope that the problem hasn't affected too many folks, and I am going to look into finding a supplier with the correct tool geometry.
4 comments:
The inshave sold by Drew Langsner has an even greater angle than yours.
I think its the opposite, greg, the angle is flatter to the bench with Drew's inshave... a good but expensive tool...
What I thought Peter was saying was that you need the angle to be greater than 90 degrees from the blade. Drew's seems 'flatter', in the sense that it is closer to 180 degrees to the blade. This gets your hands further away from the work, but almost makes it awkward to use. I think Peter's may be a better compromise between getting hands away from the work and being too high for controlling the cutting angle while pulling.
Drew's inshave is well made and comes very sharp, but the bevel angle is too steep- won't let you get the right angle for the cut. I ground the bottom bevel shallower and now it cuts just fine.
I do the inshave work with the seat held vertically in the leg vise, pulling down instead of towards me, so the extra angle is not as much of a factor. I can get more force on the cut this way, and it's easier on my back. (I also do the gutter adze work with the seat held in this fashion, รก la John Brown.)
I have just broken my current inshave (after only 4-1/2 carved seats!) and was wondering if Peter has looked into which inshave has the appropriate geometry.
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