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Talk to me about finger planes


komodo

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And here I thought my shop had every tool in existence.

I know of them, what they are, etc etc. If you were doing LP carve tops, maybe scooping out the underside of a top for a chambered body, or similar such stuff - what sizes and flat or curved soles do you think would be most useful? Do they need to be Ibex or are there imports that are fine?

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I got these little dudes from ebay china. They were about £20 inc postage and are spot on once sharpened and hold their edge quite well, I had to touch them up with a strop and compound while carving the Ziricote but didn't need to sharpen them again while carving the maple cap below. I just couldn't justify spending £50 per plane for the premium version after trying these.

The soles on all of these are slightly curved, I think that's the point.

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Edited by ADFinlayson
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I forgot to mention, I also use this little 3" block plan to do some of the larger more shallow area at the back (you can see in the pic where I've been with it), then move on to my thumb planes. The size of the plane to use is determined by how tight the curve it you're trying to get round. Up by the horns is a job for the smallest! Inside of the top horn on a PRS style guitar is really tight and the only tool I've got that will do that job is a kidney scraper. 

Once you get into a bit of a rhythm, you'd be surprised how quickly you can get the rough carve into a smooth top, but the bladed tools need to be sharp. When I carved the ziricote top on my last build, I must have spent as much time sharpening the planes as I did carving.

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Edited by ADFinlayson
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Since I posted this, I bought one from China that us 2” long and 1” wide with. 7/8” wide blade. The tightening mechanism looks better designed than the small thumbscrew, but I’m wondering whether I’ll want other sizes. Also wondering about toothed blades since this would be almost all figured wood carves. I’ve also got this #5 gouge and my regular scrapers. I’m sure I can get by and will assess after I use all of these together.

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