Simple Spokeshave organization for your Shop

I have several spokeshaves laying around and most of the time I can’t get to them because they’re stashed someplace and not easily accessible. While I’m building my tool cabinet I thought it would be great to have a rack specifically for spokeshaves. And I have to say having completed this project and hung it my tool cabinet I am super happy with it. It was a fast and easy project to do and really helped me organize my shop. So, this is a project you could knock together really fast and it’s a great help to organize your shop too.

Tools and Materials

The materials needed for this project are a couple pieces of half inch to three quarter inch thick by about three inches deep and approximately 16 inches long Hardwood. Be sure you layout your spokeshaves before you start cutting the material not all are the same and you may have more spokeshaves or fewer than I have and may want to adjust the length. You also you need a Hey Cortana move down back which is going to be about 6 or 7 inches wide by about the same 16” length again check your spokeshaves before you do anything.

You can of course do this completely with hand tools utilizing a hand saw, drill, coping saw, and some hand planes. I chose to use my power tools which are the table saw, band saw, and a drill press. This really makes short work of the whole project. I also used my laser to put on some decoration in the back panel you could actually paint something on.

Layout

Laying this project out is probably a little bit more complex than some, but it actually it’s really simple. First draw a line in about 1 1/4 inches from one edge. Next, again depending on your spokeshaves, measure and mark a series of cross lines each about 2 3/4 inches apart. Use an awl to mark these centers so you’ll know where to drill.

Drilling

Cutting

With your holes drilled you’re going back and doing some additional layout. What you’ll need to do is to strike a series of lines that are tangent to the edges of the holes at a 45° angle. Using a combination square this is an easy process. With the holes drilled and the lines marked you can go to the bandsaw and cut away the waste material. You could also use a hand saw to make quick work of this. Once this is completed you may need to take a file and dress up the edges a little bit especially if you’re using a coping saw or a jigsaw.

Cutting the Rabbets

Now you have to cut the rabbets. With the parts still held together with two face tape it’s pretty easy to use a table saw and set the blade height to 1/4 inch, or the thickness of your back, and nibble away about another quarter inch by making several passes.

Routing and Sanding

Next you’ll need to separate the parts and grab your trim router with an 1/8 inch roundover bit. Round over all edges on the front both inside and outside. Don’t round over the back edge.

Sanding is the next step in this whole process. Sand all surfaces with an orbital Sander and 220 grit sandpaper.

Assembly

Because you’ve made the rabbets assembly is super easy. Just apply glue along your rabbets, add the back then tack in place with four or five 5/8 inch 18 gauge brads on each side. Give it a couple hours to dry and you’re ready to put a finish on.

Finishing

Lots of ways you can finish this particular project. I used boiled linseed oil because it’s easy to apply and dries relatively fast. I don’t expect this particular piece to see a lot of handling so boiled linseed oil will be a good finish. If you think you’ll be getting your tools out very frequently I would suggest you use of varnish.