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  #1  
Old 01-18-2014, 11:05 AM
charles Tauber charles Tauber is offline
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Those new to guitar making often ask what tools they need to make guitars. There isn't a short answer.

At one extreme, it is possible to make a guitar using almost entirely machinery, where hand woodworking - person working wood - is almost entirely eliminated. Some of the machinery is large, high-tech stuff, often computer controlled (CNC). Many jigs and fixtures are employed for the repetitive work. This environment is suited to large, industrial manufacturers who have a lot of money to invest in their tooling and who produce a large quantity of identical instruments. Mostly, it isn't viable for those making small quantities of guitars.

At the other extreme, it is possible to make a guitar using literally no more than a handful of handtools, a fixture or two and a workbench. To do this requires pretty good woodworking skills with basic handtools. One will spend a lot of time person-on-wood. More often than not, those new to guitar making don't have much knowledge or skill with basic woodworking or handtools. Often novices ask what hand tools they need. The answers they get vary as much as those providing them. Good tools aren't cheap. Buying lots of tools one doesn't really need adds-up quickly, only to find that many of them gather dust on a shelf because they are rarely used.

For those on a budget, a bevel-up "jack" hand plane, such as that being demonstrated by well-known furniture-maker and educator Garett Hack, is a good start. As he describes in his video, it is quite versatile, being able to do the work of a variety of other planes. You'll want to add to that an adjustable throat block plane for smaller work. That'll take you a long way towards your needs for hand planes. They needn't be the Lie-Nielson brand he demonstrates, but buy good quality, once.

http://www.finewoodworking.com/tool-...orking-eletter

As far as learning how to sharpen and use planes, one can't go wrong in looking up Rob Cosman at robcosman.com.
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Old 01-18-2014, 04:40 PM
redir redir is offline
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I've never seen a plane like that. Looks like a beautiful tool to have, so versatile.
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  #3  
Old 01-18-2014, 06:58 PM
Ned Milburn Ned Milburn is offline
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Well stated, Charles.

Below is a link to a photo of the 6 planes I use. The rounded one was an ebony block plane from Lee Valley that I adapted to round footed plane for shaping my bindings.

The Veritas low angle 15" plane wasn't cheap but is worth every penny. I have it set now with a blade to make a 60 degree cutting angle.

Awesome to see Mr. Hack sharpening the blade free hand! If you believed some of the tool vendors' words, you'd have to have 100's of dollars worth of sharpening jigs before you are able to hone an iron properly.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=1&theater

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=1&theater
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Old 01-19-2014, 01:40 AM
charles Tauber charles Tauber is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ned Milburn View Post
Below is a link to a photo of the 6 planes I use.
Thanks for sharing. Obviously, you already know about bevel-up jack planes and adjustable throat block planes.

Quote:
Awesome to see Mr. Hack sharpening the blade free hand! If you believed some of the tool vendors' words, you'd have to have 100's of dollars worth of sharpening jigs before you are able to hone an iron properly.
I learned to sharpen free hand, but it does take a fair bit of practice to be good at it, else the angles are all over the place. I learned from Rob Cosman during several weeks I spent with him. He has some excellent videos on free hand sharpening and using edge tools (planes and chisels). Recently, he introduced an "angle trainer" - a magnetic device for helping novices find the correct angles: http://robcosman.com/tools_angle_trainer.php. (I haven't tried it, but it seems like a good aid.)

For those new to edge tools, time spent on Rob's site or with his videos will be well rewarded. One of the best educators I've experienced. I can't say enough about his skills as a woodworker or as a teacher. For example, watch his video on the 3-minute hand-cut dovetail. I've seen him do this in person a number of times. When not doing it "for effect" in three minutes, he teaches the skills necessary in great detail.
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Old 01-19-2014, 07:48 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by charles Tauber View Post
For those on a budget, a bevel-up "jack" hand plane, such as that being demonstrated by well-known furniture-maker and educator Garett Hack, is a good start. As he describes in his video, it is quite versatile, being able to do the work of a variety of other planes. You'll want to add to that an adjustable throat block plane for smaller work. That'll take you a long way towards your needs for hand planes. They needn't be the Lie-Nielson brand he demonstrates, but buy good quality, once.

http://www.finewoodworking.com/tool-...orking-eletter
That is a really nice plane. Charles, have you ever made your own planes?
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Old 01-19-2014, 11:10 PM
charles Tauber charles Tauber is offline
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Charles, have you ever made your own planes?
A few wooden-bodied planes, yes.
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Old 01-19-2014, 11:44 PM
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In the late sixties I built a few guitars with just manual hands tools, sandpaper and a Sloane book. Made my own forms for side bending and even made some of my own tools such as clamps, purfling channel cutter, rosette circle cutter. Took a long time - don't suggest going this route.
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Old 01-20-2014, 12:56 AM
Tony Done Tony Done is offline
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Just a question for you hand tool guys. Do you just use hones or do you finish on a strop?
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Old 01-20-2014, 07:12 AM
Ned Milburn Ned Milburn is offline
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Originally Posted by Tony Done View Post
Just a question for you hand tool guys. Do you just use hones or do you finish on a strop?
I've been given a stop and some stropping compound and tried it several times, but I haven't found it to give me a greater edge than just working with fine grit paper or a stone. Other people with different technique may find different results.
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Old 01-20-2014, 08:59 AM
charles Tauber charles Tauber is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tony Done View Post
Just a question for you hand tool guys. Do you just use hones or do you finish on a strop?
Over the years I've tried all sorts of things, including a leather strop, with and without compound. These days, when I use a Tormek to sharpen - mostly just turning tools - I finish with the leather wheel and compound that it comes with. The reason for that is that the grinding wheel isn't fine enough to get edges really sharp. (The wheel is "graded" to change its courseness, but still only less than about 1000.)

Using water stones, I don't find a stop adds anything to the finish off of an 8000 stone. Using sandpaper on Lee Valley's Power Sharpener, I don't find a strop adds anything to the finish off of it's 1200 grit sheets.

I haven't found any harm in using a strop, but I also haven't found it to add much most of the time. A power strop makes things shiny, but not necessarily sharper.
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Old 01-20-2014, 11:44 AM
arie arie is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tony Done View Post
Just a question for you hand tool guys. Do you just use hones or do you finish on a strop?
i usually use an Arkansas stone and Gesswein stoning oil for final.

imo the belt strop should stay in the barber shop but one backed with a wooden board would be where i'd go if i wanted to try one out.
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Old 01-20-2014, 12:04 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by arie View Post
i usually use an Arkansas stone and Gesswein stoning oil for final.
Granite tile and sandpaper for me with a homemade honing guide.
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Old 01-20-2014, 03:32 PM
Tony Done Tony Done is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by charles Tauber View Post
Over the years I've tried all sorts of things, including a leather strop, with and without compound. These days, when I use a Tormek to sharpen - mostly just turning tools - I finish with the leather wheel and compound that it comes with. The reason for that is that the grinding wheel isn't fine enough to get edges really sharp. (The wheel is "graded" to change its courseness, but still only less than about 1000.)

Using water stones, I don't find a stop adds anything to the finish off of an 8000 stone. Using sandpaper on Lee Valley's Power Sharpener, I don't find a strop adds anything to the finish off of it's 1200 grit sheets.

I haven't found any harm in using a strop, but I also haven't found it to add much most of the time. A power strop makes things shiny, but not necessarily sharper.
Thanks also to Ned and Charles for the "pro" info.

I wouldn't grace what I do with the name woodworking, but I do like using good basic hand tools for the modding and repair jobs I do. (Inset gripe - the short life expectancy of modern hardware store files.) I use a rotary strop for the final finish, an old rag mop now fused into a solid lump with polishing (white grade) compound; I've also used a leather wheel. I finish honing on an old soft black razor stone of British provenance, which is very easy to use, but I think I still get it a bit better with the strop - like a cutthroat razor on a fine-edged knife.
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  #14  
Old 01-20-2014, 07:39 PM
charles Tauber charles Tauber is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by arie View Post
i usually use an Arkansas stone and Gesswein stoning oil for final.
I was very happy to retire my oil stones, including black and white Arkansas stones, some years ago and have never looked back. The black, in particular, did a fine job, but I hated having oil get everywhere.

Quote:
imo the belt strop should stay in the barber shop but one backed with a wooden board would be where i'd go if i wanted to try one out.
If one is going to use strop, A wooden backing or a power strop/wheel are the way to go for plane irons and chisels.

Last edited by charles Tauber; 01-20-2014 at 07:50 PM.
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