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http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=32681&cat=1,50230&ap=1
Dose anybody use these to shape guitar necks? How well are they working for you?
Thanks

I have the Lee Valley shaves, but never use them. I use one of Dave's small spokeshaves. I got it originally for windsor chairs, but it's also great for guitar necks.

http://www.ncworkshops.com/

Got em but the only one I use is the straight one. I replaced the blade with a harder and heavier one and it works great when sharp. It's all part of a few other shaves, scrapers, rasps and files that I use for necks.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

They're ok. The round bottom one might be decent for neck carving, but I haven't tried it yet, and the spoon bottom one is good for doing concave surfaces like an archtop.

They're a bit small for neck shaping, for me anyway. I use something similar to the straight one, with the ears cut off, for brace shaving.

Pat

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

I prefer to use these contour planes for neck shaping (mostly the medium size one):

http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.a ... 50230&ap=1

I set them up with the blade skewed so I can take a fine shaving at the left side progressing to a thicked shaving at the right side. They cut really fast and easy, especially in Hog.

-jd

I have them and don't find much use for them. There always seems to be a better tool.

I've got a set of those somewhere, but never use them.
I've got a pretty good collection of regular spokeshaves, but also don't find them much use on necks, after some bad experiences with tearout. I usually use glued-up necks and the grain direction alternates, so this is a problem.

For neck shaping I like to use rasps, mostly, and a small block plane.
(I'm just taking a break from shaping a couple of classical necks right now, so this is fresh in my mind....)
For me:
Very useful:Nicholson rasp
http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=30288&cat=1,42524
I have a couple of smaller rasps that I got from LeeValley as well- handy around volutes and heel.
This Microplane is a great tool for preliminary shaping:
http://us.microplane.com/30010halfroundraspfor12hacksawframe.aspx
(Note- the larger Microplane tools with handles are not useful for me- plug up.

While I think of it, this is handy for working on slotted head exits, if you do the curved type:
http://us.microplane.com/30018roundsmallraspwhandle.aspx

Apron plane:
http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=46791&cat=1,41182,48942

I also like to use a few hard sanding blocks with sticky-back 80grit paper to help keep things straight (1/4" plexi makes great sanding blocks...)

Cheers
John

Well as spoke shavers..they are great, But we don't use spokes in luthier work much so basically they are a
in me opinion.

blessings
Padma

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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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I'm with Todd, I like them fancy french rasp thingies.

A guitar neck and two or three good rasps is as close to a zen state as I can think of.

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

Funny thing about the Auriou rasps. I picked up a 10" and 12" one a few years back before they shut things down. I saw a 12" one go on Ebay shortly after that for close to $500. I was pretty tempted to sell. Good to see they're back up and making rasps again.

The StewMac "Dragon" rasps are really close to the Frenchies.

Those cheap nasty Shinto jap saw rasps are pretty good for shaping necks as well, just don't waste ur moe in the one with the fruity front handle.

These are the go, the bigun...



Cheers

Kim

I agree. I have the and have not mastered their use and as such tend not to use them. I have the violin makers planes and love them.
For neck shaping I have resorted to an inexpensive full size spoke shave to hog most of the waste. Then I fine the shape with a 8" random tooth rasp. Next I use rolled sandpaper in decreasing grits like polishing shoes. Astrip about 18" long works great. If you have a 4" x 36" bench top belt sander, you can take it outdoors and run the neck blank up and down the end where the belt rotates. Lots of dust and lots of fun but a little wild to control.

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Greg
http://garibaldiinstruments.com/

Those are available from many sources. They are basically junk. You can maybe get them to work, but they are not a good tool investment. I bought a set years ago and never use them.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

I like the flat bottom one for radiusing fan braces.
It is easy to control the curve and It does it fast.
It also comes in handy sometimes in a tight place.
Just need to keep the blade razor sharp.
And have it set to take very thin shavings.

Hi Bob-

My small spokeshaves look pretty on the shelf for visitors. I bought a set used on ebay for cheap and still don't really use them.

For neck shaping you might want to try a set of these here - http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=63451&cat=1,42524. I bought the 2 smaller files and I want the 2 larger ones now. These work great and are really inexpensive. I don't use my good rasps as much now - these really are nice. I know $75.00 for 4 wood files may seem pricey but that is still cheaper than 1 good wood rasp. Good luck.

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John Lewis
Wannabe builder owned by 2 crazy dachshunds

John-
What's the trick to using those files?
I have a pair of them and I've tried using them for a few different jobs, but they are pretty well in the 'useless' drawer now, with those brass shaves... I can't get them to cut smoothly without grabbing.

I like the little hand-cut rasps from LeeValley, and I've got an Ariou on the list to replace my Nicholson rasp.


Cheers
John

I am quite happy with my StewMac dragon rasp. Another very good rasp is at "Tools for Working Wood." Look at their Gramercy(house brand) files/rasps. They are hand stitched. And, the curved saw handle rasp is very comfortable to use on a neck-think about the blend at the headstock.

I'm not sure why you are having the problem with those grabbing. They always cut smooth for me. I always hold mine at a 45 degree angle to the direction of push and push with light/steady pressure. They cut pretty aggressively so I had to learn a lighter touch than I would use for a rasp. I'm sorry they don't work for you.

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John Lewis
Wannabe builder owned by 2 crazy dachshunds

It's not your fault - no need for apologies!
Thanks for the hints.

I'll give them another shot one of these days.


Cheers
John

Todd-
What 'grain' (ie coarseness #) Ariou do you prefer - something similar to the Nicholson 49 or 50.... It's hard to translate from one system to the other, for me.