Hello

Storebought or Homemade: Tell Us!
Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: Hello

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

You'll get a lot of answers to this question! First, I want to welcome you to the forum. There's a lot of helpful people here. I hope you have fun.

Tools! That's a subject and a half. I started from scratch and have been adding to my tools consistently for 3 years.

First and foremost, I advise you to buy quality hand tools. The cheap ones can actually hurt you. I've had to have both of my hands and thumbs operated on this past year, from damage as a direct result of cheap tools. You don't have to buy expensive to get quality.

I only use 2 chisels, almost daily. I finally bought Irwin Blue Chip with Vanadium.

1. CLAMPS!!!! Lots and lots of clamps.
2. Chisels. I have several sizes, but I only use 2 sizes, the 1/2" and 1/8". You'd be surprised at how much I use the 1/8".
3. I bought one of John Halls excellent inlay tools, but before I bought it, I used my dremel. Dremel is great to get you started.
4. BANDSAW! I finally bought a 10" bandsaw and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't use it.
5. Dovetail pull saw. Again, I bought an Iwin 7 1/4" Dovetail Pull Saw. I use this saw to cut the fret slots on fretboards. The .022" tang width works fine with the most common .023" tang on fretwire.
6. 1/64" steel machinist rulers. I have a 24" ruler as well as several 6" ones laying in strategic places around the workroom.
7. Clover Chacopy Paper. I also design and make clothing. I used this paper to transfer clothing pattern markings. When I started building, I used it as tracing paper to get my guitar plans onto the wood. Each packet has several colors, so you can use it on any color of wood, light or dark. It doesn't wipe off as easily as pencil or chalk, but disappears with a damp cloth or sanding. It won't dry out and is reusable. You can find it in a lot of places. Here's a link for you to check it out: https://www.walmart.com/ip/26775487?wml ... 3=&veh=sem
8. I love my old Stanley #60-1/2 low angle block plane with an adjustable throat. It was made in Sheffield, England. I found it on Ebay.
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
MaineGeezer
Posts: 1711
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:14 pm

Re: Hello

Post by MaineGeezer »

FWIW, you don't have to slot or radius a fretboard yourself. I think John offers that service, and I know LMI (http://www.lmii.com) does, for very reasonable cost. You ought to do at least one yourself though, so you can say you've done it.

Oh yes -- sandpaper. The more expensive stuff really is better.
Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
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