Need hand tool recommendations

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Coach
Posts: 59
Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2011 6:16 pm

Need hand tool recommendations

Post by Coach »

For building with a pre-made kit, what hand tools do you guys recommend as far as planes and chisels go? What saws besides coping saw?

What types of planes do you recommend? Palm planes, block, etc.

What other hand tools are important?

If i could get recommendations, i'd look for the best quality i can afford.

I was looking at the Nerex Classic chisels from Lee Valley, which run around $16. Or should I go Stanley 750 instead? What sizes should i be looking at?

For inlays and binding, a laminent trimmer will be used.
phavriluk
Posts: 554
Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2012 9:49 pm

Re: Need hand tool recommendations

Post by phavriluk »

Familiarity with the process is needed....one of the longterm sponsors/advertisers on this forum, Bill Cory, has published two books on kit building guitars. They will help an awful lot in demystifying the process.
peter havriluk
Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: Need hand tool recommendations

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

Whatever you decide on, make sure they're quality hand tools. I've had surgery on both of my hands after my first build. The chisels wouldn't stay sharp.

Get a good sharpening system and keep them scary sharp.

I use my 1/2" and my 1/8" chisels daily, and no others. I chose Irwin Blue Chip vanadium. I also use the Irwin dovetail detail saw. I call it my shark. It's flexible enough to cut flush, but it cuts on the back stroke, so it cuts straight. Love it.

My favorite plane is an English Sheffield made 6" Stanley low angle, adjustable throat plane.

Get a couple of machinist 6" rulers (1/64" scale). You'll also need a 24" And 36" machinest rulers, same scale.

A good set of cabinet scrapers are a must. They need to be kept sharp to too. These are the only things I have trouble sharpening. Stewmac carries a scraper burnisher that even I can use to sharpen properly.

CLAMPS, lots and lots, and lots (did I say a lot?) of clamps. You can't own too many. I prefer the screw down bar clamps to the one handed squeeze bar clamp. Harbor freight is a good source for clamps. Small steel spring clamps are needed for the krrfing. Plan on using 1 per 2" of kerfing.
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
Coach
Posts: 59
Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2011 6:16 pm

Re: Need hand tool recommendations

Post by Coach »

Thank you Diane. That's precisely the info I'm after. I'm not new to guitar building, but up to now have done so without using handtools (partly because I didnt / couldn't invest in any. Any more suggestions?
MaineGeezer
Posts: 1711
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:14 pm

Re: Need hand tool recommendations

Post by MaineGeezer »

Diane covers it pretty well, although I'm not she stressed clamps sufficiently. <grin> Clamps. Lots of clamps. Bungee cord or a 10' length of latex surgical tubing can be useful for clamping odd shapes. I like the Irwin squeeze-to-tighten clamps, while Diane doesn't care for them; get what suits you. I'm wary of the classic C clamps because i find it too easy to apply too much pressure with them. I have a few though, for those occasions when something needs to be CLAMPED!!!!

A small block plane is essential. I've got an old one made by Sargent, I think, that seems to be one I always grab.

As Diane said, I good sharpening system is a must. If your chisels and plane irons won't shave hairs off your arm, they're not sharp enough. A honing guide makes life easier. Lei-Nielsen has a beauty for about a hundred bucks, but the $16 guide from Rockler is acceptable, especially if you work it over with some files to make sharp corners in the clamping grooves.

I've accumulated an assortment of chisels, but like Diane I seem to mostly use only a couple of them, in my case usually 1/4" and 5/8", sometimes 1/8" and 1/2".

A small square, a straightedge of some kind.

Glue....the major contenders are probably classic non-enhanced TiteBond, hot hide glue, and fish glue. Lately I've taken to using fish glue, as it has many of the desirable properties of hot hide glue with a much longer working time. There are several threads in this forum discussing the relative merits of glues, which are worth looking up.

Incomplete, but that may give you a bit more to go on.
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
tippie53
Posts: 7011
Joined: Fri Mar 03, 2006 7:09 pm
Location: Hegins, Pa
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Re: Need hand tool recommendations

Post by tippie53 »

Agree clamps
Harbor freight has a 6 in bar clamp for $2.99 and they are actually not bad I have about 100 of them but 30 should be good .
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
Kbore
Posts: 299
Joined: Sun Jun 25, 2017 3:58 pm
Location: St. Louis area

Re: Need hand tool recommendations

Post by Kbore »

I was watching a ANTIQUE STANLEY No.9-1/2 BLOCK PLANE
WITH ADJUSTABLE THROAT AND SMOOTH BOTTOM IN VERY GOOD CONDITION on EBay. It just went for $23. I'm a noob in guitar building but use the crap out of a block plane when woodworking. I have a lie-Nielsen low angle block plane and others so I passed on the EBay one. There are others and that's a going price for a workhorse of a block plane..
Measure Twice,

Karl B
Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: Need hand tool recommendations

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

All of my planes are older planes. My favorite is a Stanley 12-060 60 1/2 block plane, made in Sheffield England. I just picked up a very nice, old 60+ year old Craftsman jack plane that looks as though it was never used.
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
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