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 Post subject: Favorite StewMac tools?
PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 2:16 am 
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Looking to order more than just a scraper to combine shipping. What are some of your favorites? The buffer setup isn't an option right now or else the choice would be easy.


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PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 5:38 am 
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Shipping? Just get StewMaxx, you will be ordering stuff all the time. It will be like Christmas everyday!

Got to say I love the dragon rasp. And the setup gauge has been a game changer.

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PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 5:44 am 
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Bridge pin reamers (3 and 5), string spacing rule, fret end file,

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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.


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PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 6:13 am 
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+1 string spacing rule. I like their gauged nut files too the two sided, one gauge ones.

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These users thanked the author Hesh for the post: fingerstyle1978 (Fri Jan 19, 2018 1:07 pm)
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 8:07 am 
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+1 for Stewmaxx


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PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 8:39 am 
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+100 on the spacing rule. I also really really like the steel sanding beam too. That was a big step up in my fretwork. I also like the fret rocker. One more I can thing of is the dragon rasps. I got both the coarse and fine in the 10in length. Oh yeah and the fret end file is nice too.


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PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 9:11 am 
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All of the above, plus:

Their rabbeting bit and bearings. I like my LMI binding ledge tower and guitar cradle better than I like the StewMac ones (I've tried both), but the StewMac bit and bearings help me get the horizontal depth of cut just right.

Their table saw blade for cutting fret slots, along with their steel fret templates. If you use a zero clearance throat plate dedicated to this blade, it does a great job of cutting veneers for custom purfling.

Their bending iron. I started out with a handmade iron, then moved to a Fox jig, and I am getting back into hand bending. I love it, and their bending iron is a big help.

Their bridge clamps, both the Ibex and the steel ones with the extra adjustable foot. After monkeying around with other ways of clamping bridges (the 2 bolts in string holes thing), I am back to using multiple clamps through the soundhole, and I feel this is working better overall. It is easier with the right kinds of clamps.

All of their little bridge tools, like the Saddlematic, the Intonator, the tapered reamers, the chamfer tool, the bridge pin hole slotting saws, . . . They really have put together a lot of handy little tools.

I use the string action gauge a lot, and not just for building guitars. It is a great tool for setting a shallow, but precise, depth of cut on a router.

I am sure there are lots more little tools I am forgetting.



These users thanked the author doncaparker for the post: fingerstyle1978 (Fri Jan 19, 2018 12:39 pm)
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 9:15 am 
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Fret Rocker. Then string spacing rule.


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PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 9:39 am 
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Saddlematic, unslotted bridge pins.

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PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 10:12 am 
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Their guitar tech screwdriver kit. I love it and and use it more than I thought I would.

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PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 11:12 am 
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I’m assuming you guys are talking about the one on the left here. You guys must have built a lot of guitars to afford that sucker!

Seriously though I’m wondering if they’ve been hacked or something. A lot of their prices look whacky.

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PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 11:18 am 
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I use and love the 22 usd spacing ruler, but can’t remember how much it cost me back then. It’s a neat little time saver.

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PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 11:38 am 
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fingerstyle1978 wrote:
I’m assuming you guys are talking about the one on the left here. You guys must have built a lot of guitars to afford that sucker! ...


Unfortunately they were sold out:(

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PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 11:45 am 
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3 corner fret crowning file.... I have made a LOT of money with that one.

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PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 12:54 pm 
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doncaparker wrote:
All of the above, plus:

Their rabbeting bit and bearings. I like my LMI binding ledge tower and guitar cradle better than I like the StewMac ones (I've tried both), but the StewMac bit and bearings help me get the horizontal depth of cut just right.

Their table saw blade for cutting fret slots, along with their steel fret templates. If you use a zero clearance throat plate dedicated to this blade, it does a great job of cutting veneers for custom purfling.

Their bending iron. I started out with a handmade iron, then moved to a Fox jig, and I am getting back into hand bending. I love it, and their bending iron is a big help.

Their bridge clamps, both the Ibex and the steel ones with the extra adjustable foot. After monkeying around with other ways of clamping bridges (the 2 bolts in string holes thing), I am back to using multiple clamps through the soundhole, and I feel this is working better overall. It is easier with the right kinds of clamps.

All of their little bridge tools, like the Saddlematic, the Intonator, the tapered reamers, the chamfer tool, the bridge pin hole slotting saws, . . . They really have put together a lot of handy little tools.

I use the string action gauge a lot, and not just for building guitars. It is a great tool for setting a shallow, but precise, depth of cut on a router.

I am sure there are lots more little tools I am forgetting.


+1 on the bender. I've made 3 of them myself but was never really happy with any of them as I could't seem to get the temp right (usually not hot enough or too hot) and they weren't as stable as I'd have liked. I still a fox bender to get close but it's nice to fine tune the fit with that bending iron, especially with ebonies that don't want to get bent.


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PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 1:09 pm 
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Hesh wrote:
+1 string spacing rule. I like their gauged nut files too the two sided, one gauge ones.


Hey Hesh I've been eyeing one of those vs my current method, does that spacing rule work on fan frets or would it be too short after you cant the nut? I make my widths at the nut ~2" for myself because I have large hands and learned on a classical. 1.75" doesn't feel right to me. So 2" canted, especially in more extreme differences in scale would be quite a bit longer than normal.


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PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 7:34 pm 
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The razor files are sweet.

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PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 8:09 pm 
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The vise is great imo. It may be the single best thing I’ve purchased . I use it ALL THE TIME


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PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 8:17 pm 
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fingerstyle1978 wrote:
I’m assuming you guys are talking about the one on the left here. You guys must have built a lot of guitars to afford that sucker!

Seriously though I’m wondering if they’ve been hacked or something. A lot of their prices look whacky.

Image


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Got change for a zillion-dollar bill?

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wah
Wah-wah-wah-wah
Wah


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PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 8:27 pm 
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pat macaluso wrote:
Shipping? Just get StewMaxx, you will be ordering stuff all the time. It will be like Christmas everyday!

Got to say I love the dragon rasp. And the setup gauge has been a game changer.


I went ahead and did that too. It should pay for itself by the time I order the buffer later this year.



These users thanked the author fingerstyle1978 for the post: Pmaj7 (Sat Jan 20, 2018 10:21 pm)
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 20, 2018 5:06 pm 
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Did anybody mention the rosette jig?


You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

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PostPosted: Sat Jan 20, 2018 5:28 pm 
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Tape.

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PostPosted: Mon Jan 22, 2018 10:28 am 
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Throw in a bunch of whip tips for super glue. I use a lot of them; they fit on StewMac bottles as well as the GluBoost products.

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PostPosted: Mon Jan 22, 2018 10:58 am 
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Vice - used for everything. String spacing rule, the $22 one. Bridge pin reamer, had the Grizzly one and the SM version is so much better. String Action Gage - pricey, but I actually use it all the time, love the conversion chart on the back side. Preservation Polish - this stuff works so well for cleaning and polishing!

You can get by without all of these, but if you don't have a vice, you should put that at the top of the list.

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PostPosted: Mon Jan 22, 2018 11:48 am 
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I use the string action gauge more than anything else I have bought from them

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