Official Luthiers Forum!

OK why didn't anyone tell me how fun it is to use a hand plane? I used a block plane I have had for a while but never used to trim my uke taper on the sides and it was so cool to see the little shavings! Heres a pick of my bench which I keep in an organized mess for productivity


yes it is a cheap horrible stanley with disposable blades..but I still had fun I think I may have caught TAS I plan on upgrading planes to LN or LV oh and thanks alot Hesh because of you I am eyeing those blue spruce chisels. I only need a few right?.....right???????? hmmm a 1/8 and 1/2 should do maybe a 1/16 what do you guys think? and you blue spruce folks and LN folks chime in which is better?

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Zac

Anchorage Alaska

Finshed my 1st! See #1 here

Yep Zac buddy there is something very special about using a very sharp, well set-up plane and a very sharp, balanced chisel. To me it the most fun that I have while guitar building.

I don't have my new BS chisel yet but I will be sure to let you know what I think after using it a bit. I also really like the LMI chisels too so the BS has some stiff competition to win the gold here.

You don't need many chisels for guitar/uke building and I typically will only use 2-3 during a guitar build with the 1/2" being the biggest.

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"Air Chisel"???

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Horton, MI

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Hey Zac, I enjoy using my old Stanley block plane a lot
for braces and sides and whatever else. Just keep it nice and sharp and it will work
just fine for years. BUT, I too, wouldn't mind trying a nice shiny gold
Lie Neilson sometime !!

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

Tony my friend that is a pretty cool video - did you shoot it?

I SO agree!

My "best" chisels without a doubt are old boxwood handled chisels that I bought for 25 pence ($0.50c) on eBay. The steel is wonderful, and there's the pleasure of a lovely handle to look at and hold too. Its very easy to pick them up, as nobody seems to want them! Yes, I do have some modern beech handled chisels, and some plastic handled ones too, but they are nowhere near as good as the old ones.

Recently I treated myself to a new Clifton smoothing plane. Expensive, but what a great tool. Good tools do make a difference. (I know, like a guitar, an expert can make a cheap one perform well, but one certainly gets a head start with a good one). There's nothing more satisfying than seeing neat curls come up off a plane. This photo is of the back of a uke fingerboard (double sided taped to the bench) which I planed down from 1/4" to 1/8" with the Clifton plane. It was so much easier than using my old Stanley plane!





Its surprising how much of a pile of curly wood that comes off 1/8" !

Oh yes... and one of my most favourite things with chisels and planes is the ritual of sharpening them.

Rod