Travishers

3.5″ RADIUS

Travishers are curved spokeshaves for carving chair seats, bombay chests, coopered panels and other concave shapes. The blades are made from 1/8″ thick O1 tool steel and bent in a 3.5″ radius, tight enough to fit in the deepest seats. Sporting a brass sole, the travishers will cut both hardwoods and softwoods, though hardwoods require significantly more effort. Get the 3.5″ radius if you’re buying your first travisher. Made in my shop by Seth Elliott, based on a design by Peter Galbert.

3.5″ Radius Walnut Travisher — $300 each

Proposition 65 Notice: Brass alloys contain lead, a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects, or other reproductive harm. Wash hands after handling.


12″ RADIUS

While visiting Dave Sawyer, professional Windsor chairmaker for over thirty years, I found he used a travisher with an 12″ radius to great effect on the front half of his seats. Final scraping of the seat was easier because the travisher’s curve closely matched the seat’s curve, leaving a flatter surface. While not as versatile as the 3.5″ radius travisher above, this flatter one complements it nicely. Made in my shop by Seth Elliott, based on a design by Peter Galbert.

12″ Radius Walnut Travisher — $300 each

12″ Radius Cherry Travisher — $300 each

Proposition 65 Notice: Brass alloys contain lead, a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects, or other reproductive harm. Wash hands after handling.


TRAVISHER BLADES

These are the same blades used on our travishers. They are made from O1 tool steel, professionally tempered to RC 60-62 hardness. Travisher Blades come with two counter-sunk holes for a #8-32 machine screw and a 30 degree hollow-ground bevel ready for honing. They are hand-bent, so they may have some twist and the actual curvature may vary. They may not work as replacement blades for our travishers, since each tool is fitted to each blade. Plans are not included, but are available with Claire Minihan’s video (link below).

Blades are also available with a 1/8″x3/8″x5″ piece of brass to make a wear resistant sole. The brass will need to be bent and shaped to fit your travisher body. Brass is easily bent cold around a wooden form, and can be cut and scraped with hand tools. WEAR A DUST MASK while cutting.

3.5″ Radius Travisher Blade — $50 each (free shipping in USA)

3.5″ Radius Travisher Blade with Brass — $60 each (free shipping in USA)

12″ Radius Travisher Blade — $50 each (free shipping in USA)

12″ Radius Travisher Blade with Brass — $60 each (free shipping in USA)

Proposition 65 Notice: Brass alloys contain lead, a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects, or other reproductive harm. Wash hands after handling and WEAR A DUST MASK while cutting.


Claire Minihan makes and sells beautiful travishers. She shows how to make a travisher and a wooden spokeshave in this video. Also covers blade-making and sharpening. Plans are included (the plans will need to be stretched if you are using my travisher blade, which is longer than the one she uses).

Tools & Supplies

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“The travisher was amazing! I was stressing about this tool, because there is so much information on the internet about how to use it, how it works different that you’d expect, blah, blah, blah. This tool was totally intuitive…”
– Brian Eve


Curtis Buchanan demonstrates sharpening a travisher in his laid-back manner:


Read instructions for using travishers.


Curtis Buchanan shows how to refine the shape of a seat with a travisher and spokeshave:

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