mattharris75 Posted August 30, 2007 Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 I started working on carving the back of my neck last night. I am using primarily a half round rasp and surform. The surform is about 12" long, and I tried running it down the neck lengthwise. While it removes a reasonable amount of material this way, it doesn't seem to bite into the wood consistently all the way down the length of the neck. Is this the proper technique for using the tool in this situation? Should I work it at an angle or straight down toward the fretboard? Everything looks fine so far, but i'm concerned that when I get it closer to the final shape i'll have a difficult time making the surface consistently smooth down the length of the neck using the current tools/techniques. Any advice here? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted August 30, 2007 Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 I don't know about a surform, but I use a spokeshave and it works great. You might want to pick one up, it makes quick work of a neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted August 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 I had considered using a spokeshave, but from what I had read it seemed that a surform would be the most idiot proof way of carving the neck, if not the fastest. I am not completely confident of my ability to set up a spokeshave properly to make it work well. However, I may pick one up and give it a try regardless, since this isn't working out as well as I had hoped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToneMonkey Posted August 30, 2007 Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 I normally (rightly or wrongly) use my surform at an angle to the direction I push it. Say you are looking down on the piece from above, I'd normally have the surform at about 45 degrees to the piece with my left hand infront of my right hand. Be really carefull with a surform they take wood off really quickly. Practice on a bit of scrap and you'll be fine within about 10 minutes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted August 30, 2007 Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 I've tried using just about everything: Surform, rasp, spokeshave, Microplane, even files. I've settled on spokeshave and rasp (and sandpaper of course). I wasn't able to make much use of the Surform. Could be I wasn't doing it right, of course. Anyway, the spokeshave and rasp made it really easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted August 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 Yeah, the rasp has worked well so far to get the ends of the neck shaped, and the surform did a good job on the arm cutaway. But I think I need better consistency down the length of the neck, so I went ahead and ordered a spokeshave. The surform has been a handy tool, but even using it like Tone Monkey described didn't really give me the results I wanted. I think I could make it work, but I decided not to worry with it and apply one of the biggest lessons I have learned during this whole guitar building process: Use the best tool for the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted August 30, 2007 Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 If you ever need advice on setting up/using a tool (other than looking it up on the internet) you can go talk to the guys at your local woodcraft. 99% of the time they are smart helpful folks who are more than happy to explain to you how to setup/use a tool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToneMonkey Posted August 30, 2007 Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 For god sake, change your name back, you're begining to confuse me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted August 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 If you ever need advice on setting up/using a tool (other than looking it up on the internet) you can go talk to the guys at your local woodcraft. 99% of the time they are smart helpful folks who are more than happy to explain to you how to setup/use a tool. Here's the problem: My local woodcraft is in Atlanta...4 hours away... In a metro area of 300,000+ people you would think we would have some kind of chain woodworking store, but we don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted August 30, 2007 Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 Your spokeshave will most likely need some attention when you get it. I bought a relatively inexpensive one (Stanley, about $25) and gave it a good tune up. I put a new edge on the blade as well as flattened everything that was supposed to be flat. It works great now. Just google search for spokeshave tune up, or something similar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted August 30, 2007 Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 For god sake, change your name back, you're begining to confuse me Not until you get back that avatar of the monkey! Setting up a spokeshave (or hand plane) really is not hard to do. All you need to do is make the sole flat and flatten/sharpen the blade. A quick google search will show you how to do it. Oh and your going to want a flat one, not one of those half round ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted August 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 Yeah, I ordered a flat Stanley from Woodcraft. I also ordered the sharpening service, so hopefully that will minimize the amount of setup that is neccessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted August 30, 2007 Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 Yeah, I ordered a flat Stanley from Woodcraft. I also ordered the sharpening service, so hopefully that will minimize the amount of setup that is neccessary. Probably the same exact one I have. I got mine from Woodcraft as well. Black and red. Just about every surface of it is painted and rough-textured (except the blade). I took the paint off the parts that were supposed to be flat (I don't know all the proper terms for the parts)... the base that contacts the wood, the flat surfaces that contact the blade, etc... and got them absolutely flat with progressively finer sandpaper stuck to a pane of glass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanb Posted August 31, 2007 Report Share Posted August 31, 2007 Surforms are kind of hard to use, but they cut better at an angle to the grain. Be careful because they can jump around a lot and they take chunks out fast. I surely wouldn't use it once I was anywhere close to finish profile. For another tool in the same spirit that works much better, try out a microplane. They cut much better and smoother. Don't force it though -- just let it do the cutting, so you don't crush the teeth. A rasp can do very well -- especially if you pick up one of the "hand cut" rasps from somewhere like StewMac or Woodcraft. The teeth are not all in a perfect line like a machine cut rasp, so they make a cleaner, more controllable cut. Spokeshaves work great once you get the feel for using them. Try them all and see what you like best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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