Favourite tool/piece of equipment?

[Nick]

You are viewing a re-constructed thread by the ANZLF recovery team. For more information click here.

"Originally Posted on:Wed Sep 22, 2010 6:26 pm"


As I was wacking a sizeable amount of wood off a neck blank tonight the thought came to me that there's a fair bit of my work that sees some time on the old belt sander. Infact I use it quite abit and have become reasonably proficient on it now, there aren't too many bits of wood on one of my guitars that hasn't been rubbed over the appropriate grit belt at some stage of the build! It no longer scares the crap out of me when I put an expensive bit of wood near it or a bit that is almost finished. I have other bits of gear that I wouldn't be without (scrapers, thickness sander e.t.c) but I think the belt sander gets used the most in the shop and does the job well. I know they aren't a necessity & that other tools would do the same job but I have one so use it.
This got me to thinking, I wonder what others see as their most versatile or useful tool or piece of equipment that they currently have access too?

[Kim]

Drill Press, indispensable for me.

Cheers

Kim

[kiwigeo]

Chisels, block plane and Japanese saw. I could still build if all the other tools and machinery disappeared.

[liam_fnq]

A shed.

I've just bought a house that doesn't have one. Haven't touched a bit of uke/guitar building kit since I moved in.

I'm beginning to think the house might own me.

[DarwinStrings]

Hmmmm...difficult...most versatile...I guess I have to agree with Kim and go with the drill press but like you Nick I do use the belt sander for lots of things.

The newest tool in my guitar making kit is a 62cc chainsaw I have to say that it is very meditative to be swinging on the end of one of those things ripping a log of Ironwood or other up. I find that while cutting with it everything else in the world seems to disappear. Have been looking at 92cc models now

Jim

[Allen]

I'd be lost without the tablesaw. I just love the sliding table and very large mitre gauge bolted into the cast iron. Though my adjustable vacuum clamp is getting a hell of a workout now that I've got it up and running. The students love it too, and would sourly miss it if it wasn't there.

[ozziebluesman]

Well i'm with Nick regard the most useful tool in my workshop. It sure saves a shitload of elbow grease with I don't have much of left nowdays. I use three different sanding belt grits on the belt sander and can manage precise work using the tool. Would not like to do without it!

Cheers

Alan

[P Bill]

I need them all ,hand and power .I think using a stationary or hand held grinder/ sander requires the most skill and focus .The outcome is not certain and can happen very fast .

[Hank]

Getting close and personal with my trusty old cabinet scraper at the moment, fridges are pretty handy too,

[Nick]

Hank wrote:
fridges are pretty handy too,

Beer fridges are a necessity Hank (although a good stock of quality single malts to wet the new guitar's head is important too!) So we'll take those as read

[Puff]

If the indulgence of magnification, good lighting and the bench can be givens too please: 'The Lathe'.
Picked up the metal bits sometime in the early 70s. Wood lathe parts. Two pillow blocks with a three speed pulley between them; plate and sharpening stone on one end and the normal wood turning stuff on the other, four foot steel rails, tool rest and tail stock.
Made a frame of 6x2 pine and added a one hp motor with a three speed pulley.
Where the sharpening stone was has spun bowls, banjo pots, sound wells, resonator backs in wood , resonator tops from cooking oil and coffee cans, resonator cones from aluminium printing plates, and radius dishes. It also does duty as a disc sander-with a leather strap around its perimeter for 'stropping' blades, and buffing station.
Between headstock and tail it is a lathe, a thickness sander and an inflatable drum sander.
Other than that its tail nether-region serves as the base for the router table and the Fonly base sits nicely between the rails.
After that it would be the replicators but that is another chapter.

[DennisK]

Hmm, tough question. Single most loved tool... probably the block plane. Nice little $30 Anant, no need for those crazy expensive things. Also good friends with my cheap 1/2" chisel, Tajima 265 pull saw, hand crank drill, Stephen Boone finger plane, and cam clamps.

I really like the idea of scrapers, but I'm so terrible at sharpening the thing, I don't use it very often. Also annoying that it turns my fingers black, and then spreads all over the nice smoothed wood Mad Actually any tool steel seems to have that effect, the scraper just gets the most skin contact. Must be one of those weird unlucky body chemistry things like how guitar strings turn some peoples' fingers black.

[rocket]

A number5 Stanley jack plane, great for jointing plates, when the blade has a fine edge i love to hear that timber sing with each stroke of that plane, spruce especially, then the Ibex finger plane, great for arching a plate, the blades in these little planes seem to hold their edge for a long time. Cheers,, Rod.

[Dominic]

I like my table saw best but it is a close call. My Festool Kapex drop saw is also great. With these two I can make very accurate jigs, square up neck wood, tail and head blocks without a jointer. Plus easily and accurately turn out special benches and drawers, the downdraft table and any other workshop kit I can think of. With good blades I can cut glue ready joints such as the scarf joint and the kapex leaves a beautiful finish on any cross cut.
But I also use my disc/belt sander very often. And I get a real thrill out of thinking up new ways to use vacuum for holding and pressing. And my shiny NX60 block plane is so beautiful for close work, and....

Dom

[matthew]

Dozuki saw has to be my all time favourite. Then my new HNT Gordon smoother. Then a fresh cut glass scraper. Dennis, you tried that yet?

[DennisK]

matthew wrote:
Dozuki saw has to be my all time favourite. Then my new HNT Gordon smoother. Then a fresh cut glass scraper. Dennis, you tried that yet?

Nope, never heard of a glass scraper, but it sounds intriguing. Just take a piece of glass and scrape with it, and score and snap off the end when it gets dull? Or do you grind it smooth too? Probably fairly thick glass though, right? Wouldn't want to risk snapping it in use...

[matthew]

normal window glass, cut a 2" strip then cut 1" strips off that, snapping them along the cut line with a slightly curved cut.

One of the edges is very sharp and will scrape beautifully. you do have to be very careful not to snap the glass and cut yourself, so don't make them too big, but you never need to sharpen a scraper and you can shape them in a number of ways.

[Joe Sustaire]

I'll have to give the glass scraper a try Matthew.

And sounds like your sure getting some good use out of that lathe Puff. Mine just sits over in the corner gathering dust, have to change that.

Thanks,
Joe

[DennisK]

Very cool! I'll definitely be trying that. No more struggle with sharpening, and no blackened fingers either Smile I think there's a big pile of scrap glass down in the basement, so free and easy too. Many thanks for the tip.

[Dave]

I used to use glass scrapers at work they are excellent as you get a brilliant shaving - completely forgot about it till I saw Matts reply
Happy days

[Dennis Leahy]

My quick reply would be my 14" bandsaw. I just can't imagine doing without it.

If I did not have a drill press, I'd rig a contraption to hold an electric or (AC or battery) hand drill.

My dozuki saw may be the most indispensable, non-powered hand tool.

Dennis

[matthew]

btw you can't easily scrape a surface flat with glass like you can with a steel scraper, but for curved work they work very well, especially on hardwood. Great for scraping the fingerboard/neck joint, backs of necks, insides of curved plates and ribs, scroll cheeks and headstocks, and i imagine getting the glue off rosettes etc. Please be careful though, keep them small. Picture frame glass is too thin

[Pete Howlett]

Knife - french sabatier veneer... you guys are too wedded to your power tools and machines. Luthiers in Paracho can nearly do an entire build with one.

[Puff]

Hand pressure held sandwich of wood, glass, wood - ripped down blind slat or the like - makes things a bit less hazardous. About the only good use found for PVA 'wood' blind slats

[matthew]

a length of duct tape around one edge does the same thing. But if you're careful, not really necessary.