View Single Post
  #1  
Old 11-05-2011, 04:23 PM
musicadivine musicadivine is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 40
Default Japanese Kanna, chisels & Western Planes, chisels

Hello,

I am just in a process of ordering several hand tools for my years long wish of making guitars and some help would be very nice. I ordered some different DVDs & Books and I saw there are several ways to do things. Being woodworker for 18 years, I worked with power tools & laquers almoust exclusivly and it bacame something I would love to escape as soon as possible. I decided that I want to use hand tools moustly for guitar. I already bought some tools (Low angle Veritas Apron plane, Schneider brace plane, calipers, knives, scrapers, gouges ect.) few years ago when I helped in restoration shop for a while, but most important tools like Hand planes, chisels and saws I need to buy now. I decided to go moustly Japanese this time with Saws, spokeshave & probably chisels??, but I am not sure for planes??? I already have Veritas apron as small allpurpose. But I need plane for Jointing and plane for thicknessing the Spruce Top & Rosewood/Maple Back and sides.
If I understood properly, luthiers usualy use low angle Bevel up planes for Jointing and higher 40-55 angle, Bevel down Smoothing planes like nu. 4 1/2 for thicknessing. Any recomendation in Lie Nielsen or Veritas line what works the best? It's even more confusing as many come in low and normal angle version? Mybe any great allround plane? Or Anyone use LN no. 9 Mitre plane for both purposes?

Now my prefered idea - Japanese Kanna: I expect that it will take longer innitialy to get used of Kanna pull stroke and even more to setting up the sole and blade and also to learn how to use it. Is anyone out there who use Kanna for guitar making? Can you use it for Jointing & Thicknessing ect. Also I am not sure if Kanna (with Blue paper steel) can work great on dense tropical woods like EIR, BRW, Wenge, Padauk... I am sure it would work exceptional on spruce.
1 more - is it better to use Paring Japanese chisels instead of the one with hoops & which steel you recomend for luthiers; white vs blue Paper or toughter variation of White called YC3?

Anyway, I already got advice from Brian Burns that Japanese chisels are moustly too hard and fragile and planes very hard to master, but it's hard not to ask 1 more time, to mybe find anyone who use them with great success.
Any advice or experiences would be helpfull a lot, , AA
Reply With Quote