OldTools Archive
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263047 | Matthew Groves <grovesthegrey@g...> | 2017‑08‑22 | Are the cheap luthier planes worth it? |
Ed Minch and porch dwellers everywhere, Guitar-making question. I’ve got a buddy making an arch-top, and he’s borrowing a few gouges of mine. (I woodwork vicariously through others) He’s made a few acoustics and scads of solid bodied guitars. Even patented his own saddle-less bridge, too. (rayrossbass.com <http://rayrossbass.com/">http://rayrossbass.com/>) I thought for the underside of the top, what he might need is one of those convex bottomed luthier planes with the palm-knob, but I’m no luthier. I’m going to obtain one for him if further research indicates that’s the way to go. So, here’s my question: On ebay there are scads of them. Surely not made well. They span from $19 on up. Are these little planes an area where even cheap ones do the job 95% like a “nice” one? Or am I foolish to go the low-quality route in this instance? Any thoughts? Matthew Groves Springfield, MO |
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263048 | scott grandstaff <scottg@s...> | 2017‑08‑22 | Re: Are the cheap luthier planes worth it? |
> I thought for the underside of the top, what he might need is one of those convex bottomed luthier planes with the palm-knob, but I’m no luthier. I’m going to obtain one for him if further research indicates that’s the way to go. So Mathew He's going to carve an archtop instrument and wonders if a plane is going to be ready to go out of the box? Have to say it, the plane is not the hardest part of carving an archtop. Of course the little ones can be made to work! I made a pair of them work. Making a brass plane work is pretty straightforward, even if its a rough casting, which they aren't. HSS for blades is standard in the Chinese plane industry. Its hard steel, hard as a whores heart, but its good enough. You can make it work. There are new more glamorous ones around for about $40. ---Really-- cute styling. I am saving up my own money. lol yours Scott -- ******************************* Scott Grandstaff Box 409 Happy Camp, Ca 96039 scottg@s... http://www.snowcrest.net/kitty/sgrandstaff/ http://www.snowcrest.net/kitty/hpages/index.html |
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263049 | scott grandstaff <scottg@s...> | 2017‑08‑22 | Re: Are the cheap luthier planes worth it? |
Forgot the pix, doh I got a pair of wedged brass finger planes. The wedges would work. But I wasn't crazy about the angle of them, and besides, people who push them that way have tougher fingers than me. (people do use them the way they come, just not me) I like a little more cushion for the pushin. So I just made some oversized wedges to use as a palm handle, about an hour after I opened the box. haahahah http://users.snowcrest.net/kitty/sgrandstaff/images/homeplanes/fingerplane2.jpg http://users.snowcrest.net/kitty/sgrandstaff/images/homeplanes/fingerplane3.jpg yours again Scott -- ******************************* Scott Grandstaff Box 409 Happy Camp, Ca 96039 scottg@s... http://www.snowcrest.net/kitty/sgrandstaff/ http://www.snowcrest.net/kitty/hpages/index.html |
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263050 | Bob Page | 2017‑08‑22 | Re: Are the cheap luthier planes worth it? |
As Scott Grandstaff said, the irons in many of these planes are made of high speed steel (HSS). This steel is tough stuff. It requires some effort, but it will take and hold an edge for a long time. I've been told that HSS is the only plane iron that will hold up to pernambuco, a beautiful but gnarly wood commonly used for violin bows. All of the "regulars", A2, O1, even D2 and PM-V11 will not stay sharp when subjected to the microscopic spines of this South American wood species. Click on the link to see what pernambuco looks like under a microscope: https://ibb.co/dzoncQ">https://ibb.co/dzoncQ |
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263051 | Greg Isola <gregorywisola@g...> | 2017‑08‑22 | Re: Are the cheap luthier planes worth it? |
Hey: I'm afraid I can't speak to the quality of the ebay luthier planes, directly. But I've carved several archtops myself with the gear I have at hand. This includes mostly my set of bench gouges, but I do lean heavily on the convex-bottom planes at several points during the carving. I have a tiny flat-sole version I made myself out of rosewood, but for (nearly) out of the box performance at a medium price point, you can't go wrong with these two from Lee Valley: http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=57205&cat=1,230,41182 http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=67716&cat=1,230,41182 The smaller one is a real beauty to use, but the larger one is actually more useful. Think of it as a tiny scrub plane. I have mine set pretty rank, and it really hogs out material, at least relatively speaking on the scale we're discussing. It's a perfect follow-up after the rough gouge work. Greg Isola Alameda, CA |
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263052 | Ed Minch <ruby1638@a...> | 2017‑08‑22 | Re: Are the cheap luthier planes worth it? |
Matthew The plane body is just a tool for holding a blade. So it all depends on hiw well the blade is held abnd how good the steel in the blade is. However, these tools get used so little - most of the wood is removed with gouges - that I bet they don’t get sharpened but every few instruments. And the squirrel tail seels like a good idea, but most of the demos that I have seen use planes without. My daughter shares a guitar repair shop with a violin builder, and she has a couple of them she uses most. Perhaps if you got him 2 and sharpened the blades for him, it wouldn’t matter what the quality was. Here are some examples, although I have seen them at $800 each. A lot of planemakers like to make “art” out of these small guys and you will see animals (even rebates) turned into these guys. No affiliation, yada, yada, yada http://www.jimbodetools.com/cart.php?m=search_results&search=violin+plane by the way, love the maker name Otner-Botner Ed Minch |
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263054 | Dragon List <dragon01list@g...> | 2017‑08‑22 | Re: Are the cheap luthier planes worth it? |
c'mon, greg. you're such a tease. pictures? On Tue, Aug 22, 2017 at 11:49 AM, Greg Isola |
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263056 | paul womack <pwomack@p...> | 2017‑08‑23 | Re: Are the cheap luthier planes worth it? |
Matthew Groves wrote: > Ed Minch and porch dwellers everywhere, > > Guitar-making question. > > I’ve got a buddy making an arch-top, and he’s borrowing a few gouges of mine. (I woodwork vicariously through others) He’s made a few acoustics and scads of solid bodied guitars. Even patented his own saddle-less bridge, too. (rayrossbass.com <http://rayrossbass.com/">http://rayrossbass.com/>) > > I thought for the underside of the top, what he might need is one of those convex bottomed luthier planes with the palm-knob, but I’m no luthier. I’m going to obtain one for him if further research indicates that’s the way to go. > > So, here’s my question: > > On ebay there are scads of them. Surely not made well. They span from $19 on up. > > Are these little planes an area where even cheap ones do the job 95% like a “nice” one? Or am I foolish to go the low-quality route in this instance? > > Any thoughts? At that price, even considered as a kit, they should be fine. They're likely to need work, but it cannot be laborious, at that scale. I'd be inclined to try a couple, they're so cheap. BugBear |
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263061 | Cliff <rohrabacher@e...> | 2017‑08‑23 | Re: Are the cheap luthier planes worth it? |
You making a career of it or just a one or two? Therein lies the answer. Unless you just have a penchant for slick looking tiny planes. Then that's your answer. I made my own planes. Needed like two. Didn't use 'em enough to justify specialty irons ( not that there were any available in the 1970s), Hardened the edges by hammering the steel along the edge much like one might with a scythe. |
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263062 | Matthew Groves <grovesthegrey@g...> | 2017‑08‑23 | Re: Are the cheap luthier planes worth it? |
As always, a wealth of great info from the list. Thank you! My guitar-making friend isn’t at all wondering if these planes work out of the box. He’s not wondering anything. He’s been carving volutes and a bunch of other things. I’M the one who’s wondering about violin planes and how good is good enough. The redux of your feedback is that they’re all pretty much good enough. Thanks again everyone! Matthew Groves Springfield, MO |
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263092 | Greg Isola <gregorywisola@g...> | 2017‑08‑25 | Re: Are the cheap luthier planes worth it? |
Dragon List |
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263093 | Dragon List <dragon01list@g...> | 2017‑08‑25 | Re: Are the cheap luthier planes worth it? |
calling all happy campers...calling all happy campers. tiny planes on aisle-ola (see what didn't quite work, there?). super job, my friend. bill felton, ca On Fri, Aug 25, 2017 at 10:33 AM, Greg Isola |
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263094 | scott grandstaff <scottg@s...> | 2017‑08‑25 | Re: Are the cheap luthier planes worth it? |
> http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10202/Rosewood Plane1.JPG">http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10202/Rosewoo dPlane1.JPG > http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10202/Rosewood Plane2.JPG">http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10202/Rosewoo dPlane2.JPG > http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10202/Rosewood Plane3.jpg">http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10202/Rosewoo dPlane3.jpg > That is darling!! Hooray for the little planes!! yours Scott -- ******************************* Scott Grandstaff Box 409 Happy Camp, Ca 96039 scottg@s... http://www.snowcrest.net/kitty/sgrandstaff/ http://www.snowcrest.net/kitty/hpages/index.html |
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263095 | Ed Minch <ruby1638@a...> | 2017‑08‑25 | Re: Are the cheap luthier planes worth it? |
Beauty, eh? Ed Minch |
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