Hi!

I've very little experience in framing but trying my own small build. I was wondering how you finish the curved surfaces of curved braces? I have chainsawed the shape of the brace but have a very rough surface left and chiseling is a bit of a nightmare. Are there spokeshaves you can use? Or is a compass plane effective?

Many thanks!

Drawknife and spokeshave will work well. Compass plane would be a slow and expensive option.

Also, you can use a rotary sanding drum mounted on an electric drill for final finishing.

Or a gouge

Adze.

I would work crossgrain with a gutter adze and then clean up with a scorp and wish for a travisher for the finest finish

When I have cut curved braces or scoops on the bottom of rafters and floor joists, I used an axe first to blast away the bulk of the wood. Then an adze to shape it more and to remove the axe marks. Then a draw knife to shape it more and remove the adze marks. Then a curved bottom/sole spoke shave to shape if more and remove the draw knife marks.
When it is done it is usually very smooth and of a nice gentle arc.

Jim Rogers

I rough out with the chain saw then semi-finish with Adze then final finish with draw knife. Believe it or not, most people like the hand-made look.

Rough out, with portable bandsaw. Sand using a stationary spindle sander to the line. If the brace is too big for the sander, we attack it using a belt sander.

An easy way to cut the curve. Consistent, repeatable, efficient, and easy to clean up. I wonder if you could mount a chain saw and cut braces with a similar jig.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhPcsWsBNmY