Spoon Bits
Putting 17th-century high technology to work

Synopsis: A lot of folks object to having to tune up new tools, writes David Sawyer, but he finds that this is a great way to learn all about the tools and make them truly your own. He describes how a couple of sets differ and explains how they cut and how to tinker with them to adjust the tang or true up bits. He talks about what value the reamer has and how to modify it to your purposes, and how to make a chair using just the spoon bits. Side information by John D. Alexander covers the “incredible” duckbill spoon-bit joint.
For the last couple of years, Conover Tools has been selling a set of eight spoon bits and a tapered reamer in a neat canvas roll. They are copies, made in Taiwan, of a fine old set in Michael Dunbar’s Windsor chairmaking toolkit. The bit sizes are…
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