The curved sole gives consistency to the shaping of the seat. The pic above shows that the tool cuts really well, but I badly need experience using it. So far, I’m able make a travisher to hog off thick shavings, which is great, but I haven’t yet acquired the touch for a fine finish. But with 4 chair seats to shape, I will get plenty of practice.
- While cutting cross grain, I make sure to skew the tool in the direction that will cut cleanest .
- I’ve never met a woodworker that was unwilling to share his experience .
- This gave me a wide range of different shots that I could base the design on.
- I’ve had a number of questions lately about travishers and inshaves.
- This is when folks start reaching for tools with a tighter radius.
The next job is to smooth the carved portion of the seat until there are no distinct bumps or transitions, leaving a surface ready for scraping. I was telling a guy in my shop about chair making and mentioned a travisher. He had never heard of one so I looked them up online to show him a picture, and there you were making them.
Blacksmithing & Toolmaking
They are sometimes referred to as “spoon planes”. The compact size makes it pretty nimble and versatile. I’ve used it occasionally as an intermediate step, but I suppose one could choose to leave the surface https://woodcarvingonline.com/ directly from the travisher. Working the tighter curved shaves is the equivalent of using a small block plane to flatten a plank. Yes is always cuts but it will be difficult to get the surface uniform.
I did a bit more refinement to get a consistent reveal around the throat. A finished travisher.Once the tool body was complete, I still had to sharpen the blade. Claire Minihan has already done that, and better than I could. With the blade razor-stinking-sharp, I re-installed it and gave the tool a test drive. I had to do a bit more fettling with the sole to get the proper reveal and curve (the sole must be angled slightly so you’re able to carve a dished profile front-to-back). So we met at Jim’s shop where we did the “blacksmithing part of the project.
Travisher Kit
I have a version of Pete’s travisher that Elia makes from a few years ago. I don’t know about the history of the tool but it works exceptionally well for refining the shape of the seat after initial chopping with the adze and then roughing with the inshave. https://woodcarvingonline.com/weekend-projects-making-a-travisher/ I have two travishers, one has a mild radius and the other has a much tighter radius. The learning curve for me at least was a long journey. I did get it to work well, Just don’t think you will pick one up and get to work on your first try.
