Do I need a spokeshave? Something else?

Perhaps a curved card scraper? It might not remove material quickly, but the round profile would get into the concave parts well.

-- Dan, Rochester, NY

If you are just trying to clean it up a wire brush in a die grinder works well ( and will even sculpt/remove a good bit of wood if you lean on it. It follows the contours well and won’t gouge out chunks. Use a full face shield if you do this cause it may fling some wire frags! You can get wire wheels in many different grades from very soft to very stiff and aggressive. I use these for all my live edge projects and really like them. I have used both air and electric die grinders and the electric seems more aggressive and a little less user friendly.

-- " I'll try to be nicer, if you'll try to be smarter" gfadvm

Thanks for the replies guys.

In the second photo in my post, I want to remove more material from the slab at the top. I will probably remove 1/2” or more, tapering that to where it meets the top surface.

I expect that a curved scraper will be perfect for getting into the tighter sections. Would a wire wheel be able to remove that much material?

One of those coarse/twisted (‘knotted’) wire wheels will remove a lot of wood fast in a die grinder. Go with the grain and expect to sand unless you like the textured look (I personally like that look). Try it on some scrap, I think you’ll like it but remember the serious eye and face protection!

-- " I'll try to be nicer, if you'll try to be smarter" gfadvm