Hand Tool Luthiery

[Jared McMahon]

A little bit of a toss-up as to where to post this, but I think the Neander forum is slightly more appropriate.

To the folks here who make guitars, both acoustic and electric, do you use power tools for some/most of those processes or do you stick to your neandering ways? I'm certain one could do all the steps with hand tools but would it be at all reasonable in terms of efficiency and repeatability? I'm debating getting a solid router+table set-up (my existing router is passable but just barely) and... well, I guess what I'm doing is offering people the chance to dissuade me or tell me I'd be nuts not to.

To clarify a few variables in this equation, my friend and I are starting with a solid-body electric bass (for him) and guitar (for me) but down the road I also intend to try both a hollow-body (Gretsch-like) and a classical-style acoustic. It would be really fun to try a violin or viola as well but I at least have some experience playing guitar whereas I've never had any exposure to classical strings, so that would be starting from the ground up.

[Andrew Gibson]

I must say first that I have only made 2 ukuleles thus far. The power tools I used during the process were the band saw, table saw, router, and belt sander. Everything else was done by hand... the router was used to route the rabbet for binding.

I would definitely think you would be doing a lot of router work for a solid body instrument.

Lastly there is a Luthiers Forum here on the creek, you may find posting in there you will be able to hit your target audience a bit more readily.... ooh and go for it, it is really rewarding to build an instrument, doubly so if it sounds and plays good.

[Chris Fournier]

A well set up wood shop will be all you need. Basic machine tools take the grunt work out of the pursuit and lots of handtools will allow you to get the job done with finesse.

Don't worry about repeatability at this point in your adventure. Repeatability is about production and production requires sales. That is a whole 'nuther ball game.

Make yourself a good router table because that is good for your shop and whatever you may want to build in the future.

Focus on building an instrument and not on making multiples at this point. Building musical instruments will help you develop some serious woodworking chops to say the least. Have fun!

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

I've made more than a few solid bodies. Honestly, a bandsaw is super helpful, but when the only blade broke on my borrowed bandsaw, I resorted to cutting most of the waste off with handsaws, and refining the curves with a coping saw. 2 inches of mahogany and maple wasn't fun that way, but it worked. This was before I even knew what a turning saw (http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/Merchant/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=toolshop&Product_Code=GT-BOWSAW12&Category_Code=TS) was, however. I imagine that would make it easier. The point here being, you can make due with most anything that does the intended purpose.

The last ones I built, the only thing I used a router for was the binding channels, I had the gear and it was the easiest way for me to do accurate work. I used a drill press for the bushing holes to mount the bridge, as it seemed like one less thing to leave to chance, making sure those wholes were perfectly accurate.

But plough planes can do your truss rod channels, if you plan around cutting a through-groove rather than a stopped one. All your straight edges are easy enough with a plane. I use spokeshaves and a bit of rasping to fair the body curves. Low angle spokeshaves can be a god-send here. And never underestimate the difference a quality rasp makes. You can hog out pick-up and control cavities with a drill or brace and clean them up with chisels and gouges just as easily as router template. Curved planes, gouges, and a carving spoon make short work of countoured (Les Paul type) tops, and are a lot less messy and noisy than the flap-wheel-sander on an angle grinder that seems to be so popular lately.

Even when I've mostly worked with power-tools, neck shaping has always been a hand-tool task for me, and in fact is what first turned me onto the joy of working with hand tools.

When I realized I could handplane the radius of the fretboard just as accurately as I was sanding it, that made a world of difference, and re-opened up woods that had previously been too annoying as a dust but didn't bother me nearly as much as a shaving.

There's nothing wrong with using power tools for the job if that's what you enjoy more and works better for you. Only be a purist if it pleases you. That said, I used to frequent an electric guitar forum, and I often found it ridiculous the extents people would go to to make their routers do any job. At one point I remember folks creating elaborate router sleds to level the tops of their blanks for glueing a laminated top on it, all to avoid learning to handplane.

Do keep in mind though, that when the electric guitar was developed, it was designed to be made cheaply by repeatable practices in a factory, and none of the design of it was made with handtool operations in mind. Things like the stopped groove of a truss rod channel in a Fender neck, for instance, are interesting to work around with handtools.

I think the electric guitar is a great place for blended woodworking. You'll end up needing to level boards that are often wider than the planers and jointers many have access too, but you often need to resaw pieces wider than most of us have patience for as well. There's things like the scarf joint on a Gibson style neck that would equal complicated jiggery on table saw, or supporting a longer piece than you might be comfortable with on a bandsaw, but are a piece of cake when you learn to saw.

I have limited experience with hollow-bodies and acoustics, but most of those operations have been done in one fashion or another before the advent of power tools, so they're certainly accomplishable. I've certainly had better luck surfacing and thicknessing the thin stock of the type used in acoustics by hand, but that may speak more to the quality of the drumsanders and planers I've had access to. The opinions I've heard have often said that for your first type of acoustic build, it's often easier to start with prepared stock from someplace like LMI, but that advice was also aimed at folks with less woodworking experience.

[Jared McMahon]

Plenty of good points made. To the bandsaw issue, I have a G0555 that has been very good to me. It works very well for rough ripping and resawing. I have enough bench planes where I can four-square rough-dimensioned wood but I still have a few gaps in my line-up I'd like to fill in. Rasps and ____shaves are two areas where I need to focus. I have one spokeshave, one drawknife and a collection of hand-me-down files and rasps, none of these in very good shape, and even so they're fun to use and it's crystal clear how much potential these tools have. Even if I had a fully-stocked powertool shop I would still make these tools a priority.

My "Toy Money" bleeds in slow, so I have time to continue experimenting with my existing handtools on the mock-up we have going before I even have the option of getting more tools. One thing I really don't look forward to is the day when I break down and buy some rasps. I know the good ones are worth every penny but hot dang those prices still hurt to contemplate.

[Frank Carnevale]

I think it just depends on what you do. Are you looking to sell these guitars or are you, like me, in it for the "experience"? I am trying my next one ALL hand tool. Bindings (Gramil and chisel). Thicknessing (hand planes). Etc. Repeatabillity? Probably not with that set-up but I think that with the wood being such a variable, you may get better results with hand tools. For instance, you may have two pieces of sitka for a top and if you are using a pre-set up tool, you may actually take too much off one that should have been left a little thicker. Not sure if that made any sense but it did to me :)

FYI, I assumed acoustics but after re-reading your post, i think you referred to electrics. I would definitely not go all hand tool there :)

[Chris Fournier]

If you aren't a factory, handtools in this game are KING! Handtools can give you the ability to replicate muchos $$$$$ giant machinery. Can you make each instrument to the same specs as the last one? With some serious jigs and fixtures and some serious woodworking chops you can get pretty close. I've been in the shops of a couple dozen of hand builders who do this work full time; they worked in their houses, often in dense urban downtown locations. Without handtools they would have been in another game. Honestly the most "specialized" piece of equipment that a luthier would benefit from is an abrasive planer/drum sander. Make them guitars now.

[Tim Put]

A bandsaw is extremely useful, especially if you buy raw lumber and not specially prepared guitar parts. A drill press would be next on my list, you only need one for a few operations, but it is much easier to get good results than with a brace or an eggbeater. For electrics only: a router and a table are also very useful.

Past that some people use a tablesaw for quite a few things (including fretting), some use thickness and spindle sanders, and of course a jointer and planer. All of these are easily replaced with hand tools. I think I'd rather have a spray system than any of those tools.

Lastly if you are going to make instruments (or any other woodwork for that matter) by hand, I think a grinder whether powered (really cheap is fine, so long as you have and use a wheel dresser) or hand crank is an absolute necessity.

Edit: In summary hand tool lutherie is definitely doable, but there are a couple of power tools that are very nice to have, especially for electric instruments.

[george wilson]

I have found my bandsaw to be the most used machine fir guitar making. That and my drill press were the 2 machines I used the most often back in the 60's before I came to the museum. I'd have given anything to have had a thickness sander back then,but small ones didn't exist. I like my Delta 18"-36" just fine. It would have taken many hours off of making a guitar.

I also had my table saw back then(still do). It made so much dust,I did most sawing on the bandsaw. Had no dust collection at all at home until I got this present shop established.

[John Coloccia]

I have found my bandsaw to be the most used machine fir guitar making. That and my drill press were the 2 machines I used the most often back in the 60's before I came to the museum. I'd have given anything to have had a thickness sander back then,but small ones didn't exist. I like my Delta 18"-36" just fine. It would have taken many hours off of making a guitar.

I also had my table saw back then(still do). It made so much dust,I did most sawing on the bandsaw. Had no dust collection at all at home until I got this present shop established.

Ditto. Bandsaw, thickness sander and drill press get used the most in my shop. The router doesn't get used much, but for the few steps I use it for it's invaluable.

[george wilson]

We cut the bindings in with simple scratch stocks in the 18th.C. shop. Surprisingly effective way to do it,too. I still have to deepen the areas in the waist of the guitars with a scratch stock after routing. For some reason,the router doesn't cut the binding deep enough there on the top or the back.

[Tristan Williams]

I've now built three solid bodied guitars entirely with hand tools, and enjoyed the builds immensely. A bandsaw would definitely be nice for stock prep, but I've never had space for one so I just make do with what I've got. Fretting by hand is trivial with a mitre box as long as you can measure & mark accurately (even more trivial still if you get the fret rules from eg StewMac) and a fret press. I hog out body cavities with drill & brace, then clean up with chisels. Small plough plane for the truss rod slot. Spokeshaves for the neck. Plane for the fretboard radius.

Go for it!

[miguel bernardo]

The points, i think, have already been made. Hand tools is the way to go, because thay allow you to better "read" or interpret what the wood "wants". specially with the soundboard, if you go acoustic, it´s not worth to sand it to a desired thickness in a drum sander: you will have to thin it more on some places than others, and the wood (and experience and some intuition) will tell you where to do just that. you don´t get that sort of tactile feedback from machines.

apart from that, i concur that a bandsaw (even a small one) and a small drillpress are very useful to have. even jose romanillos uses them. a drum sander is an affordable luxury, so to speak. it will prove immensely useful to thin figured hard-woods (such as rosewoods and maple) and ebony for the fingerboard.

cheers,
miguel.

[Staffan Hamala]

Have a look at these pictures from the workshop of guitar maker Per Hallgren:
http://www.hallgrenguitars.com/Per_Hallgren,_Guitarmaker/The_workshop.html#grid

He does use some power tools, but from what I can see, most of the work is done using hand tools.

[Jonas Baker]

I will say that there are a few power tools which are really helpful in luthiery. For one, a drum sander. I don't have one, and you can get by without one but there are countless aspects of building acoustic guitars where they are helpful from thickessing tops, backs, and sides to thicknessing smaller pieces of wood like bridgeplates, or thicknessing binding stock, etc. You must also be able to cut brace stock to a uniform thickness along it's length. In my opinion, a table saw does this exceptionally well, as well as many other things. Then a router is important if you are building electric guitars, for routing out the neck pockets or pickup cavities, amd also for routing truss rods. For instance, routing a truss rod in a Fender or Gibson Style single acting truss rod is impossible with a plow plane, and it is pretty much essential to use a router for this type of truss rod that requires a curved truss rod slot. Also, cutting a dovetail neck joint, or a mortise and tenon neck joint is much easier with a router and a jig.

I personally enjoy using hand tools to cut the binding recesses, but for rosettes, a laminate trimmer or dremel is nice, though I use handtools for this as well.

That being said, if you are only building one at a time, which is what I am doing, you can get by with only a few power tools, especially if you have friends who have the necessary power tools! But even if you do use some power tools, trust me, there will be plenty of opportunities to use hand tools, and there are many aspects of the build when hand tools are just the only way to go. Either way, you can figure out alternatives for every step using only hand tools if that is they way you want to go, but it is best to do research and make the necessary jigs and tools that will allow you to excel at using hand tools in your guitar building. I always like seeing some inventive way that someone figured out how to do a particular aspect of building a guitar using just simple hand tools.

[Tristan Williams]

We cut the bindings in with simple scratch stocks in the 18th.C. shop. Surprisingly effective way to do it,too. I still have to deepen the areas in the waist of the guitars with a scratch stock after routing.


I personally enjoy using hand tools to cut the binding recesses

I would love to find out more about binding with hand tools - I'd like to try that on my next build but almost all of the information on the internet is devoted to various forms of router jigs, which is a tool that I'm really not keen on introducing to my workshop. Have you any good resources for learning how?

[george wilson]

I could post photos of a hand binding cutter I made years ago,and used in the 18th.C. shop for years. My camera doesn't focus reliably no matter what I do,though. I also have molds that might be interesting to builders. I still have a mold of the type that I used to make vaulted back 18th.C. guitars like the marquetry guitar. Maybe my wife can help take some decent pictures with her camera. She is one of those women who is always busy,if I can,I'll get her to help.

[Jared McMahon]

It is indeed always great to see how different people have tackled certain problems. A drill press was around the top of my to-buy list, I think it's just gone to the top, along with a couple carefully chosen spokeshaves.

On that note there appears to only be one low-angle spokeshave readily available, the Lee Valley one. Any others I should make note of?

[george wilson]

The LV cast aluminum spoke shave is an effective tool,though I could wish it were cast iron. A friend has one.

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

There's also the LV kit (http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=49710&cat=1,50230&ap=1) for making wooden spokeshaves, which I believe would be a lower cutting angle, and their are plenty of vintage wooden shaves available, but finding one in decent shape can be a challenge.

[george wilson]

If you get a wooden one,promptly inlay a brass wear piece into it just ahead of the cutter. Takes little time to wear a hollow in a wooden spoke shave.

[Jonas Baker]

George, I would love to see some pictures of some of your molds and guitar building tools, as well as pictures of the guitars that were built with them!

[Tristan Williams]

I could post photos of a hand binding cutter I made years ago,and used in the 18th.C. shop for years. My camera doesn't focus reliably no matter what I do,though. I also have molds that might be interesting to builders. I still have a mold of the type that I used to make vaulted back 18th.C. guitars like the marquetry guitar. Maybe my wife can help take some decent pictures with her camera. She is one of those women who is always busy,if I can,I'll get her to help.


George, I would love to see some pictures of some of your molds and guitar building tools, as well as pictures of the guitars that were built with them!

Seconded! I'd love to see pictures of your luthiery tools & output, George.

[Tristan Williams]

There's also the LV kit (http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=49710&cat=1,50230&ap=1) for making wooden spokeshaves, which I believe would be a lower cutting angle, and their are plenty of vintage wooden shaves available, but finding one in decent shape can be a challenge.

I use a Mujingfang wooden spokeshave, and find it quite delightful in use. Carving a neck with it is very therapeutic.