From Tool to Toolbox

New Tool from Veritas

Have you ever been working on a project and wished you had a certain tool to make your job easier or more efficient? More specifically a tool you already know does not yet exist? The 'inventor' side of most wood workers I know have this happen to them all of the time; some wish they had a certain hand tool while others take the lead and go about building their own. I like you am no different and have designed and invented new and wonderful tool ideas here in my shop~ at least on paper that is...I'm really going to try to make up a few prototypes of some ideas I have rolling around the 'ol book shelf in my brain and will keep you posted when I do. One early morning last year I had one of these 'moments of clarity' and came up with what I thought would be a great extension of a common wooden bodied spokeshave. I thought about combining the mechanical advantages of a spokeshave set-up with the width of a draw knife. I thought that having a wider handle set up on a spokeshave and the ability to get a 'rowing' style grip would be beneficial to the piece I was shaping at the time.
Well needless to say I thought about the idea but never did get around to making one. Fast forward eight months and it seems that someone over at Veritas tools had a similar idea. ( ahh, just when I was getting ready to conquer the hand tool market! )
The new Veritas Large Spokeshave has just been introduced and I'd love to hear from you if you have one, used one or just your thoughts on the tool itself. I'm curious to see if it will indeed feel like a draw knife, having the extra weight and size but the luxury of fine tuning the iron for final smoothing as well as rough work.
Send me your thoughts...
Cheers!

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=62800&cat=51&ap=1