How to Use Chairmakers' Spoon Bits
These tools are recommended by Michael Dunbar in his book "Make a Windsor Chair"
Using the tapered spoon bit:
When reaming a prebored straigth sided hole, the spoon bit is inserted into the hole and rotated in a clockwise direction with a carpenters' brace, until the desired taper is achieved.
When boring into solid wood, the bit should be started in the vertical position and after a "dish" has been created and the bit has begun to "bite" into the wood, the angle of boring can be changed by tilting the brace a bit out of the vertical line; in this way a tapered hole can be bored at any angle.
the Parallel spoon bits are primarily used for boring holes - either vertically or at an angle - to take the back "spokes" of Windsor chairs; thus holes may be bored in the seat, the curved back or the "stringers" and arms. The range of sizes should accomodate the majority of "spokes" regularly used.
Hand forged carbon steel, carefully heat treated and then hand ground to a fine edge. The spoon bit may be honed by using a slipstone on the inside of the cutting edge - never touch the outside edge!
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