Official Luthiers Forum!

I am a regular at Lee Valley but have not sprung for the high end planes, my 50 year old Stanley 60 1/2 does a great job. I have a couple of these http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=50232&cat=1,230,41182 miniature Block planes, one is modified with a radius on the sole for brace shaving. The irons hold an edge real well and the price was quite reasonable. I also have the chisel plane but have not found much use for it.

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

Holtey's planes make $3500 for one of my friend Konrad Sauer's planes look like a bargain

http://www.sauerandsteiner.com/gallery2 ... itemId=997

Steve

Beautiful planes, and very reasonable I'm sure, but the wife say's I'll have to stick with those cheap LN's and Veritas ones.
My Veritas mini router plane just arrived today - it's soooo cute! Intend trying it for rosette channels.
Also ordered a Veritas mini-block plane like Fred's, and will curving the sole (carefully) for bracing as he did - seems a bit of a shame, but that's what I need.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

I think I'm going to have to pick up one of those mini block planes: my mini router plane comes in handy so often I might as well get the block

Brian, any suggestions for other uses for the router plane welcome!
As well as rosette channel, I'm also thinking to use or to rout off the finish for the bridge/F/B area. (I'm too clumsy to risk using an electric router)

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

It's probably easier and safer to just use some form of scraper.

That's one of my favorite uses for it: I score the bridge outline, and then use the router plane to remove the finish. It's amazing how well and quickly it works if you sharpen the blade and set up the plane. BTW, I put tape on the underside of the plane to avoid scratching the finish.

Same here. They are inexpensive and the wood bodies are easily modified for specialized uses.

Sounds like a plan!

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

What I like about Lee Valley and their Veritas tools is that they are one of the few hand tool manufacturers that are innovating today. When I am looking for a tool I dont care whether it is a exclusive handmade plane or a vintage Stanley that has been tuned and brought back to life...if the tool is accurate and meets my needs and I can afford it, then it is an investment. If it is too precious to use and is a collectors item only, then the price to value motivation is completely different.

I have bought many tools that seemed to be necessary at the time but at the end of the day when I am building guitars I rach for the planes that are tuned to the way that I work, are as sharp as needed and while quite a few of them are fantastic Veritas tools, others are ugly but continue to perform.

I will say that because Veritas is focused on adding real value that even while they may seem expensive they are some of the best thought out tools that continue to pay off for me but that is completely subjective and personal.

http://www.veritastools.com/VirtualTour ... .aspx?id=0

...other than the fact that white people are "operating" the [probably asian made, asian designed]robots, i see little reason for the accolades. the chinese can push buttons too, and they don't demand $60/hr wages for doing so
i am in no way condoning asian made stuff; i always try to buy (used)USA/Canada/Euro.....but i maintain, the lee valley stuff is boutique priced for no good reason...

obviously you dont see or place a value on innovation, precision or other advances in technology. Most mass produced asian products are imitations of western designs and not very up to date designs at that. If it is just that you want cheap tools, refurbish eBay user tools, build a forge and fashion your own tools but you will never come close to the quality of a vintage Norris or Spiers plane (the Veritas of their time) or fully appreciate the advances that Veritas and others are creating that advance the craft. While most tools with time and effort can be tuned and their accuracy improved, that does not mean the original design provided the ability to achieve precision. The modern metals used in premium plane irons is an example of that.

While I appreciate a bargain on a tool as much as anyone else, my time is my most precious (and non renewable) resource and the investment in a well made tool that I will use for many years provides a far greater return on investment than any cost savings a cheap tool would provide.

when it comes to shaving or cutting wood, by hand...no. no i do not. you are correct.

A good tool only hurts once(when you have to pay for it), but a bad/cheap tool hurts every single time you use it. Eventually, you reach the limits of patience, and break-down and buy the good tool and toss that bad/cheap tool in the trash. In this light, the cheap tool cost more than the good tool cost, because in the end, you still had to buy the good tool and lost the cheap one.

It's hard to imagine the difference that minute changes in metals can bring to a tool, as well as manufacturing accuracy and quality control. Until you've used some really good, well-tuned planes and chisels, you'll never realize how much your current tools are holding you, and your level of workmanship, back.

And you don't have to spend a lot, most of the time. My favorite chisel came from LV, and cost a whole $10 or $15 at the time. Takes and holds and edge like crazy! The handle is some plain, nondescript wood and doesn't look like much, but me and that chisel can do some fine, fine work.....

My planes are also pretty basic and cheap, but I've spent hours and hours tuning them, so if I count my time, they've cost me more than any LV plane would have cost. If I'd have known the difference then, I'd have never gone with anything but the LV planes..... Hmm, if I remember correctly, LV didn't make planes back then, so maybe my ignorance is justified!