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Favorite Things Luthier, What are some of yours?
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Author:  Bruce Dickey [ Thu Apr 02, 2009 9:32 pm ]
Post subject:  Favorite Things Luthier, What are some of yours?
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I love these Olson General Purpose Blades for my 14 Delta, 1/4 inch, work like a charm and last forever, even cutting 4 inch solid mahogany necks. $10-12 bucks

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Dunlop Turbo Tune String Winder, handle has a pin puller too. Use a cordless screwdriver and you are uptown, I'm told. Got this today. $7

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Tried 'em all, found my fretboard treatment, soft luster, conditions and looks great. They don't leave my shop dry or dirty. I got mine at an antique store $12

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13.65 at Ace Hardware Chuck in your cordless, go slow, rechuck if needed for the final little bit of a jack install for an acoustic. Not a drill, it's a reamer, cuts on the side as it progresses through the endblock. Nice clean holes. $14 and cheap, lasts forever

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Grab the end with your teeth, and stretch. Snip off the tip with scissors to make it square again. This gives you the tiniest amount of CA you ever saw, talk about control. When you're done, squirt the excess back in your bottle, invert, and purge any ca in the tube by forcing air in and out, leave it tip up to dry and it'll live to work another day. I can usually get a couple months out of one pipette. If it plugs up, I start over, they're cheap. Mine were really cheap, a medicine man gave me a big ol' sack full. Cheap $, I have no idea where you can get these, maybe a drugstore or lab?

Okay, time for bed, can't wait to check this thread tomorrow about noon.
Author:  old man [ Thu Apr 02, 2009 9:42 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Favorite Things Luthier, What are some of yours?
Those are pretty nice, Bruce, but my favorite thing about building is all the scantily clad women that keep hanging around my shop. [uncle]

Ron
Author:  Jim_H [ Fri Apr 03, 2009 1:43 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Favorite Things Luthier, What are some of yours?
My favorite tool is a scary sharp chisel. You can do almost anything with a sharp chisel. :D
Author:  Sam Price [ Fri Apr 03, 2009 3:41 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Favorite Things Luthier, What are some of yours?
My flexcut skew and cutting knife, chisels and Stanley planes...
Author:  Mattia Valente [ Fri Apr 03, 2009 6:30 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Favorite Things Luthier, What are some of yours?
- My Doolin-style form bender with blankets. Works a treat, easy to index, what's not to love?

- My assorted planes - from the Steve Knight woodie (purpleheart jointer plane) with its fantastic, thick A2 iron, to the oldie but goodie Record, and Union #5 1/2 and #6, and my most used, the Lie Nielsen adjustable mouth low angle block. Great little tool. For brace carving let's add some brass fingerplanes to the mix as well.

- My set of Blue Spruce paring chisels and pair of skew chisels. Wonderful balance, great steel, a pleasure to hold and use

- My pair of Herdim hand-cut rasps. Great stuff.

- My Wells/Karol rosette jig. Great little tool, although I should re-make it in something more durable than scraps of ash

- My Williams/Fleishmann binding jig. Works a treat

- My Vac-U-Clamp vacuum guitar vise - ultimate workholding tool for all manner of fiddling, and by far the simplest way to fix a guitar when routing for binding.

- Mr 16" Cattini bandsaw. I'm never going back to living without one.
Author:  Pat Foster [ Fri Apr 03, 2009 8:30 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Favorite Things Luthier, What are some of yours?
Old X-acto spokeshave with the wings cut off for carving braces

Jet 10-20 sander

Stanley Sweetheart #65

Shop-made crosscut sled for the TS

Wells/Karol rosette jig

OLF

Pat
Author:  Bruce Dickey [ Fri Apr 03, 2009 8:35 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Favorite Things Luthier, What are some of yours?
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The Go-bar, mine are 5/16 hardwood dowels. One of the best techniques of gluing wood ever found.

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The German Klemmsia Cam Clamp. Another one of the best techniques of gluing wood ever found.

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String Action Guage, I keep it close, it has a special place in the window ledge.

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Highland Woodworking’s Narex Chisels Earns Best Value Chisel in Fine Woodworking’s Evaluation, I found this article looking for a pic of one of my chisels. $8 for the 16mm, you can get a set of 4 at $27, read this review I found: http://www.prlog.org/10097575-highland-woodworkings-narex-chisels-earns-best-value-chisel-in-fine-woodworkings-evaluation.html I just know I enjoy it and it works well, and holds an edge. I was demonstrating stropping with rouge to a bunch of 5th Graders recently and cut myself on a back stroke. Blood always enlivens any demonstration.

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Lee Valley stocks this Hirsch chisel, I use it for brace ends mainly. Clears the knuckles and just nice to have for certain angles of cut in addition to straight chisels. Reminiscent of glue clearing chisels and I admit trying it for that, but a piece of old spruce brace works better.

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Anyone besides me use the Saddlematic? One must be careful to get on the 12th fret for gluing the bridge. Measure twice glue once! It is not foolproof, and I highly recommend using a ruler too, but this is one of my favorite Luthier tools when it's time to glue a bridge.
Author:  David Collins [ Fri Apr 03, 2009 8:58 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Favorite Things Luthier, What are some of yours?
Best tool in the shop?

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Just wish I got to use it more often. :D
Author:  Link Van Cleave [ Fri Apr 03, 2009 9:32 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Favorite Things Luthier, What are some of yours?
David,
Maybe if you got some decent help you could use that thing more often ;)
I know, I know, good help is hard to find.
Link
Author:  truckjohn [ Fri Apr 03, 2009 9:51 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Favorite Things Luthier, What are some of yours?
Superglue.
Author:  npalen [ Fri Apr 03, 2009 10:10 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Favorite Things Luthier, What are some of yours?
Receiving payment!
Author:  David Newton [ Fri Apr 03, 2009 10:10 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Favorite Things Luthier, What are some of yours?
The romantic in me wants to say my little palm plane, or my 3-cherries chisel, but in truth, it has to be the Solius de-humidifier.
Author:  Bill Hodge [ Fri Apr 03, 2009 11:31 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Favorite Things Luthier, What are some of yours?
My beautiful lovely supportive Wife!

Everything in my shop (except the spiders!).

Being in the shop creating.

OLF and it's participants.

Exotic woods of all types.

Increasing in knowledge and skills.
Author:  WaddyThomson [ Fri Apr 03, 2009 12:01 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Favorite Things Luthier, What are some of yours?
Extreme levels of intense frustration! gaah

Extreme levels of intense satisfaction! bliss
Author:  Mike Collins [ Fri Apr 03, 2009 4:52 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Favorite Things Luthier, What are some of yours?
My 75 year old Stanley low angle plane!
My 16-32 sander!
all my routers!!

All of my woods !
My shop !dusty ,unorganized-I love it !!

But most favorite is the enjoyment of making guitars !

No matter how many mistakes I make !!

Mike
Author:  kaguitars [ Fri Apr 03, 2009 5:00 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Favorite Things Luthier, What are some of yours?
The curls that come from bracewood when I'm planing against a shooting block.
Author:  Hank Mauel [ Fri Apr 03, 2009 6:40 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Favorite Things Luthier, What are some of yours?
My grandfather's curved, in-cannel chisel that I use to ramp the slotted headstocks. It has to be from the late 1800's and the steel they used was great! It even has his initials stamped on the tang before it enters the handle. I also have a couple of his straight chisels and nothing made today can touch them.
Author:  Hank Mauel [ Fri Apr 03, 2009 6:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Favorite Things Luthier, What are some of yours?
My grandfather's curved, in-cannel chisel that I use to ramp the slotted headstocks. It has to be from the late 1800's and the steel they used was great! It even has his initials stamped on the tang before it enters the handle. I also have a couple of his straight chisels and nothing made today can touch them.
Author:  Joe Sabin [ Fri Apr 03, 2009 7:37 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Favorite Things Luthier, What are some of yours?
I love my Stanley block plane. I probably use it more often than I should, but there is such a great feeling as it curls off slices of wood.
Author:  Bruce Dickey [ Mon Apr 06, 2009 2:26 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Favorite Things Luthier, What are some of yours?
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James Orr brought this up on another thread and I have to heartily agree. Just hadn't used mine lately. I'm still learning the technique for sharpening too, it's an artform.

This set is a Veritas, four scrapers for 19 bucks did I read that right? full set of stuff shown is 92.

[url]http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&cat=1,310&p=61448
[/url]

Hank, what is an in-cannel chisel? I haven't a clue?
Author:  Michael Dale Payne [ Mon Apr 06, 2009 4:06 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Favorite Things Luthier, What are some of yours?
Dang that would be a hard list to limit. My newest favorite is
Attachment:
Nut_Slotting_Gauge_Detail.jpg

my new string height gauge. It really seed up nut slotting and saddle height adjustments for me
Author:  ChuckH [ Mon Apr 06, 2009 4:14 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Favorite Things Luthier, What are some of yours?
I love the smell of a new guitar.
Author:  Alain Desforges [ Tue Apr 07, 2009 8:39 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Favorite Things Luthier, What are some of yours?
My two, most often used favorites are my bandsaw (how did I ever live without you!) and my thickness sander...

I do love my Wells/Karol circle cutting jig as well as my fingerboard fret sled (with Shane's awesome blade). I'm also very fond of my fingerboard tappering and crowning jigs that I shamelessly stole from Sylvan Wells. I've cut down production time dramatically using them.

My next major jig (and hopefully the last) will be Doolin'/Fox type side bender.
Author:  Terence Kennedy [ Tue Apr 07, 2009 9:56 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Favorite Things Luthier, What are some of yours?
This has made life much easier for me. A vise that actually works!

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I also love it when someone like this walks in and says "Can you fix my Viola?"

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Terry
Author:  Hank Mauel [ Tue Apr 07, 2009 11:03 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Favorite Things Luthier, What are some of yours?
Bruce Dickey wrote:
Hank, what is an in-cannel chisel? I haven't a clue?


An in-cannel chisel is a curved chisel with the cutting bevel on the inside of the curve. Curved gouges and chisels these days have the cutting bevel on the outside of the curved radius...what was called an out-cannel in the old days. The beauty of this chisel is that it cuts a smooth, straight, curved trough which is just what's needed to ramp a slotted headstock.
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