Official Luthiers Forum!

+1

If you absolutely cannot get the back closed, The inside cross grain seam reinforcement strip coupled with the backstripe inlay have served many a luthier for over a hundred years.

It's still good to strive for perfection, I've joined many a piece of wood that looked too cool bookmatched to install a backstrip.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

I use to do custom tables and have never owned a planer/joiner. Just my 100 year old #7 Stanly plane. I tried all kinds of ways to join 2 pieces of wood with a perfect joint but until I got my #7 I couldn't get them perfect (close but not perfect).

The few backs I have joined have been pretty much flawless using my #7.

I can pretty much guarantee if you invest in a good long plane and set it up correctly you will have a perfect joint in just a couple of strokes. In my opinion the issue has more to do with not cutting a straight line because your tool follows a curve that you are cutting into it. It is a pretty simple concept, if you have a longer true edge to guide the blade you will make a straighter cut.

All you have to do is try it for yourself. Try cutting a straight edge with your shortest plane. Then go over that edge with a longer one and you will feel where the plane skips over the low spots. A couple of strokes and you will feel the blade cut the full length. Now use a longer plane and you will feel the same low spots where the last plane smoothed out the short plane humps.

Like I said, I am no expert at joining guitar tops and backs and have only done a couple of backs on guitars that I have repaired or replaced but I am extremely confident I can reproduce the results I have gotten on the couple I have done.

In this case. Bigger IS Better!

Cheers,
Bob

Bob

There are basically two reasons to spring a joint, and I don't see any advantages to do this on a guitar.
One is it is much easier to get even clamping pressure with a sprung joint. Two is that it counteracts the tendency for wood to move more on the ends from either taking on moisture or losing it. (This is mainly through the end grain which is covered on a guitar everywhere other than the soundhole, excepting bond holes.) There might be a third reason or more like a leaning and that is if you are to err to one side or the other it would be much better to have a slightly sprung joint than a convex one in general but I don't feel that is true for a guitar top or back. For a guitar top if you spring the joint you are doing so close to the sound hole. This is the only area on the top where end grain is exposed so I would not want any spring there. As someone said a little less than perfection under the fret board is not going to kill you but I would strive for and except no less than a perfect joint. Really the joint on a guitar is only 20" or so. That is not very long or that hard to do. It takes some attention and effort. Yes you need to learn to tune a plane and sharpen well and then you need to learn to use it. Attention, intention, practice. One of those things that seem really hard at first but easy once you know how. With effort comes reward.
L.

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Cut to size.....Beat to fit.....Paint to match.

Ok guys, i will be looking at a different plane. I have the blade sharp enough but i guess at 8in long is not going to do it. I am looking at this Jointer Plane no 7 from silverline

http://www.silverlinetools.com/products/d94/s828

I am hoping with a longer body plane i can get the results i need. If anyone has had any bad luck with these planes, speak now or forever hold your peace. Or my peace for that matter...

Thanks again for all the advice. I have been looking up great videos on how to get the blade the sharpest.

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久保
美智え

FWIW, after struggling time and time again with a number 5 to no avail, within a few minutes tackling the task with a number 7 I was jointing panels in under a minute each. Just check the sole is true, and get that blade sharp!

I can't speak to that plane you are looking at since I have never heard of them. But you may want to look for a used Stanley plane. Since it was originally made in England I would think you could find one farily easy. My personal opinion is the older ones are better and you can find them really inexpensive. The blade is very important that it is made with very good steel. I have a SW blade but also have a few regular Stanley blades that work pretty well. But it is amazing how sharp you can get a blade that is made from good steel. Cheap blades just don't get sharp. I have a couple of those thrown in a box I keep for junk saw blades and chisels that just will not get sharp or hold an edge. So a good chisel blade is well worth the investment. A Stanley SW blade is probably as good as you can get as far as quality.

As far as sharpining them, Get yourself one of those little sharpening guides with a roller on it and a couple of decent Diamond sharpening stone/plates.

I have 3 inexpensive diamond plates that are 180, 240 and 320 grit and two 6" Dia-Sharp plates (Fine and Extra Fine no grit numbers on them). With those few inexpensive diamond plates and the guide I get my chisels and plane blades beyond scary sharp. The Dia-Sharp plates are very fine and will put a mirror shine on the blades.

Hope this helps,
Bob

I would say that you're going to have to be prepared to spend at least the same amouint on abrasive, and also be ready a long, hard, grind literally. First, tuning the plane, and then keeping it that way.
Castings will be green, machining poor, frog will not be bedded or reasonably flattened, adjustment will be unreliable and blade will be poor steel, so getting and holding an edge would be problematic (read impossible)
Better got to ebay and getting an old Stanley or even a record - at least the castings will have settled down.
Oh, and you don't need a no.7 - a no.5 (or 6) is fine, and you will have less metal to remove to tune one up.

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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 wish I could find a used plane here, all of them are made of wood here. There's bout 800 used wooden planes but none from metal. I will keep searching then.

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久保
美智え

Nothing wrong with wooden planes, the oldies often have great irons. You have to set them up right, but once you do they can be wonderful to use

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin