Usage of rasps and other hand tools on laminated wood

[Casey Robertson]

Good evening! I'm thinking of embarking on a gun stock project. What I'm wondering is how various hand tools will deal with a wood laminate gun stock blank. Ultimately I'd like to make a stock in some nice walnut but don't want to spend too much money on my initial efforts or ruin a nice rasp by using the wrong tool for the job. The laminate has its positives too so I may go that direction as well.

I'm narrowing down my search (which has unfortunately been based entirely on Internet reading) to:

Shinto saw/rasp
Gramercy rasps
Auriou rasps
Dragon rasps from Stewmac

I will probably use power tools for the rough shape and the inletting since this is for an air-charged air rifle that consists basically of a 1.25" tube - I figure a core box router bit will make short work of that. Thanks for the input.

-Casey

[george wilson]

You could use Surform tools if you're worried about ruining a rasp with all the glue lines.

[Matt Lau]

I have and like the shinto saw rasp.
It's highly effective, cheap, and replaceable once worn for ~$20.

[Prashun Patel]

I've used surforms without much success. Others like it.

I have the Dragon Rasps and like them. I used them on laminations before and haven't noticed degradation in performance.

[Dale Cruea]

I don't think you would ruin a good rasp or file on the glue lines. Files a harder than the glue. I have filed plywood with mine and it does not appear to have hurt them any.
I have filed brass with mine with very little loss of sharpness. I don't have expensive file either. Just some cheaper files I picked up at a woodworking store.