Official Luthiers Forum!

I bought two chisels from LMI. I never thought I would do that but they were beautifully handled with what looks to be tulipwood, and they hold an edge very well. They have replaced my marples chisels. Consider Japanese laminated steel chisels and do yourself a favor and get a set of Japanese saws that cut on the pull stroke. They go through wood like butter and keep me away from the power tools more and more. Another of my favorite tools is the japanese ganged saw rasp for shaping necks and LMI sells a hand made rasp that I bought one day just for fun. It is just an amazing rasp. Cuts very fast but leaves a nice clean surface.   It is the rasp I reach for.

I might add that in Robbie O'Briens DVD, "Building a Steel-String Guitar", he explains how you can build a guitar w/ fancier tools or use a more simplistic/economical approach w/o cleaning out your wallet.

You have already found the best tool of any mentioned thus far.....this forum. Ideas and knowledge found here far surpass the sharpest chisel or handiest clamp.

Two of everything I already have, 10 times the room, and at least 15 more routers, each set up for a specific task.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

Just in case there are other rookies like myself reading this (I am in my second year of building)- a few brief comments on my experience so far:

*Even if you come to guitar-building from fine-woodworking, the woods you meet here are HARD! Take time to learn to sharpen your tools including that new scraper.

*DO use some kind of dust collection.

*Don't buy cheap tools, you will regret it before you finish your first guitar.

Yes, the old addage, 'I'm too poor to buy cheap',certainly applies here...

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

[QUOTE=larkim]

And grab yourself a good leather strop, I got one from a flea market for $20.00au, it's a cracker. NOS from the 50's or 60's as supplied to Mens Barber Shops, it's marked "Genuine Horse Hide" and the brand is "Black Beauty"...am I having you on?? Naaaaaaaaahhhhhhh! Have a look for yourself just like the one Mum used to keep us inline .

Kim, did your mum know my dad?







Cheers

Kim[/QUOTE]

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Give me 50 cents worth of regular.
Check my oil too, if you don`t mind,,,

One big item-table saw-FWW rates the Ridgid Contractor as as close to cabinet quality you can buy and at $549. (I have one-bought before reading after using a friend's:it's all true) I think that a Porter Cable 310 is the only way to go on a laminate trimmer-"Cry when you pay for it and grin when you use it."For John K. I too have LMII chisels-beautiful,sharp out of the box but a real penance flattening the backs(the polishing rounded the back edges and mine were coated with lacquer) The chisels I like best are Ashley Iles English pattern bench chisels and the curved "glue clearing chisel from LMII is a bargain-it is a Ron Hock blade and does lots more fine paring than glue clearing. Counting the ones I just got from Paul,I have 30 cam clamps and if a sale on them came up, I would buy more.I'm a rookie on the guitars but I have similar gunstock experience and do some furniture stuff.Miketobey38780.0165740741

I just ordered a Clean Air dust collection system, even though I do alot outdoors on the weekends when it is nice, some of these other threads and good advice has freaked me out a little on some of these woods. So in all you do, be safe and spend some of your money on things that will protect your lungs and general health when sanding and finishing.

Mike
White Oak, Texas

Marples chisels are great... unless you get better ones. My old cheap Sandvik chisels are better. I bent the 1/4" Marples into an offset glue clearing tool using a little heat and a vise.


Kurt

John,

Not absolutely sure but I think LMI chisels are amde by "Henry Taylor".

Shane

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Canada

Buy a radio. Or even better, a CD player, with some Doc Watson in it.
It'll keep you sane during the monotonous moments, and inspire you to do better work.

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

seconded Steve! Doc and Merle Watson and any good southern acoustic guitarist, you folks of the south are spoiled by the quality of music and musicians that you have in your states! I'm just jealous! Serge Poirier38780.2992361111

Optivisor -- I find I am becoming more and more dependent on them

LMI chisels and what I was complaining about-but they are comfortable to use and sharp and beautiful

For a fretting hammer, I find that a small dead blow hammer with interchangeable plastic faces works WAY better for me than the typical fretting hammer like Stewmac sells. Go to www.hammersource.com. I'll try to upload a photo of mine here. It's the 1 1/4" size, and I use the hard nylon face for hammering frets. It works like a dream!

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/