Official Luthiers Forum!

Ask 3 luthiers what tools they think a newbie needs you will get at least 5 opinions. What makes things easier for you is to see if there is a builder near you . I often have visitors here in my shop and gladly show what I feel are major tools and what are not.
I use many techniques and rely mainly on jigs but do have some hand tools. A chisel is only good if it can shave. I have been to a few shops that were tool museums. One friend of mine had some chisels that needed major attention.
Another builder I know uses a minimum of tools. It comes to what you master and the techniques you use. Keep your mind open and keep things simple
john hall

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

I have been tooling up for a couple years now and Ive sought assistance here - but also succumbed to "catalogue dreaming syndrome" or CDS
This is something the SM and LMI catalogue producers count on,,,
I probably bought more "goodies" than I should have, things that wouldnt neccesarily be essential to build guitars - but mabye would make it easier, and even sometimes would only be helpful in a "production setting" which Im definitely Not in! Some just turned out to be plain impractical....
Im all for Todd's suggestion, because if Todd makes a suggestion, its a suggestion worth making...... pretty much always...
Good stuff,,,,, and I think that such a thread could be a sticky, or mabye a section of the building forum on its own... mabye a Tool section?
Cheers
Charlie