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#1
10-17-2018, 10:28 AM
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Tool shopping. Hand and power tools.
Where do you guys get things. What sites or places do you go NOT named craigslist or eBay? I’m in the Houston area. Looking at General small project tools that of course lean to guitar building. Also excluding Harbor Freight. I shop there and use their stuff for what it is.
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#3
10-17-2018, 11:47 AM
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FTR Stew MAC is great and sells quality items that I will purchase here and there,but pricey.
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#4
10-17-2018, 12:50 PM
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You'll need to be more specific than the general "hand and power tools". There are many different kinds, purchased from many different sources, depending upon the tool. Then there's the question of new or used?
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#5
10-17-2018, 01:11 PM
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The key is to not be in a hurry. I have been buying tools for 52 years. The process is unending.
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#6
10-17-2018, 01:54 PM
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#7
10-17-2018, 02:21 PM
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First, it all depends on what you are trying to do. If it's build a guitar, StewMac, LMI, Allied Lutherie, have the specialty stuff. You can buy hand tools from you local hardware store, to Lee Valley, to Lee-Nielsen depending on your needs and budget. You can get your power tools at the same local hardware store, or big-box chain, online (ToolUp and ToolNut are good sources).
Here's the deal - if you're building a guitar, buy the tools as you need them. This way, you're not buying sets, or bits, or power tools, that you don't need. Like a machinist, you'll likely have to make some of your own tools, jigs, and fixtures, and I found it best to tackle those things when the time comes. As to Harbor Freight: their bar clamps, spring clamps are just as good as Home Depot's. In fact, I bought some Irwin branded bar clamps that had the teeth on the bars strip on me, where it had not happened with the Harbor Freight ones. I use some Harbor Freight work lights in my shop. Measuring tools such as digital calipers, micrometers, thickness gages, are far cheaper than other places, which are mostly the same quality but re-branded, and for guitar making needs more than accurate enough. If after a build or two, you feel that such tools are beneath your caliber, or you've progressed to the point where you feel you need better, then you can upgrade, and either sell the old ones or pay them forward. Do I feel my Starrett digital calipers are better than the Harbor Freight ones? Of course. Do I think the Starrett one would help me make a better guitar? No, but I do enjoy using nice tools. I enjoy buying nicer woods and making guitars more however!
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#8
10-17-2018, 02:56 PM
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Highland Woodworking out of Atlanta.
They have a free "on line magazine" on their website and have provided me with some nice store credit by submitting a few short features that were published there. I have both #49 and #50 Nicholson rasps and a few other nice items for doing that.
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#9
10-17-2018, 02:58 PM
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Garage sales. Preferably older guys with a large shop downsizing into a condo.
 Older tools are usually better than new ones.
__________________
'77 Gurian J-R C series '82 Alvarez-Yairi DY-53 "Silver Harp" Ibanez AG-95 DBS 70s Ibanez 511
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#10
10-17-2018, 03:28 PM
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Tool shopping. Hand and power tools.
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Couldn’t agree more. I picked up a Delta standup drill press, Delta table saw, Craftsman 30 gal. air compressor and Porter-Cable power miter from garage sales. They are all in excellent condition and purchased for pennies on the dollar.
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Taylor V-Class 814ce, 717e BE WHB, 520ce, 454ce, 420 Cedar\Maple, T5z Classic Martin D18E Retro Cordoba C10 Crossover Emerald X20 Rainsong H-OM1000N2 Voyage-Air VAD-04 Custom Les Paul Hot Rod Deville 410, Fishman Loudbox Performer
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#11
10-17-2018, 06:25 PM
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Local hardware or general store, once you make money from it you can start upgrading the tools that wear out to more targeted luthier tools, if you want...
 Steve
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Cole Clark Fat Lady Gretsch Electromatic Martin CEO7 Maton Messiah Taylor 814CE
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#13
10-18-2018, 05:15 AM
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When u say handtools I automatically think of handplanes and to buy them u about have to hit up antique shops or eBay (you can also try timetestedtools.com ). U can find some newer cheap ones but they won’t be the same quality. For chisles the ones HF sells with wood handles can be turned into a good set but the newer Stanley ones would be good too.
For power tools that are small I’d do amazon. WEN is a cheap brand but I have had good luck with them. For bigger power tools you’ll probably need to buy them in person from a Lowe’s/Menards/Home Depot or the shopping will eat u alive It has been my experience that the tools that I use the most (hammer,tape measures, screwdrivers, knives etc....) need to be the best that I can afford because they get constant use and they will last. I try to look for American made stuff when it comes to tools that I intend to have for a long time, sometimes that means I must buy used (like the old 80’s craftsman branch grinder I hav that is American made). Last edited by Jcamp; 10-18-2018 at 05:31 AM.
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#14
10-18-2018, 08:24 PM
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Pretty much most of the early chinese made stuff had quality issues.
__________________
Something something, beer is good, and people are crazy.
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