Hey Joe, a drawknife is like a spokeshave in that everybody scratches their heads until you see it in action.
That is one useful tool for the purposes you have found for it.
Sometimes antique tools are the only ones that will do the job.
I'm pretty impressed with your strut, glad you found some straight lumber at Lowe's--not an easy thing at Home Depot!

Also a great color scheme you've chosen.
Lyle