Hi there fellow cigar box junkies. I have been thinking that it would be nice to have a separate group or section specifically about tools, since you just have to have them to make something fun and musical out of a cigar box.
Anywho, I was thinking about my chisels and about how much more useful they are when they are freakishly sharp. For years I had chisels and I would attempt to sharpen them by hand and never really got them as sharp as I wanted until I found this little gem. I found mine at Woodcraft and iirc, I paid about $14 for mine. I currently use it with wet/dry sandpaper and backward stroke only, though on a diamond "stone" which is a perfectly flat piece of steel with diamond particles embedded you can use a push stroke, but don't have one of those at the moment. I like this little jig and it is worth the money. I use sewing machine oil as a lubricant. http://www.amazon.com/Honing-Guide-Plain-Chisel-Sharpening/dp/B000RB52KK
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Great idea, besides my new passion for building/playing CBG's I'm also a woodcarver & have been for 40 yrs so I know a little about sharping chisels, gouges & knives. I plan to use my carving tools on next CBG. Here's a pick of my Canjo with a Hillbilly carved in the neck.
This won a blue ribbon at the county fair. I'd be glad to share my knowledge of carving tools with anyone interested.
Just got my Woodcraft catalog. I gotta try that. I used to chisel all my set 6 string neck joints. Now i router them. I do try and use as many hand tools as i can. Take care Charlotte.
Thanks for the tip about the honing guide, Charlotte. This has always been a nerve-wracking procedure for me, so I'm really looking forward to using it. Got one today at Woodworker's Supply, so I'm set.
I know you will love this little gem. We have a sheet of safety glass in the shop about the size of a sheet of sandpaper and I am using that piece of glass with wet dry paper.
Everybody should have one! I use a piece of plate glass to true up fretboards before fretting or scarf joints before gluing. It's kind of a cheap jointer.
i just use a piece of MDF, works great
FWIW, I have found that shaping a neck with a chisel is much easier (for me) than using a draw knife. I like the control I have with a chisel, and that I don't feel with a draw knife.
Is that what the rest of you use chisels for?
One technique I learned from O'Brian Luthiers videos on Youtube is to use a spokeshave in combination with chisels. Use the spokeshave to work the profile of the neck (D-shape the length of the neck) and chisels to cut the heel if applicable. I have a blog post Here.
-WY
i have a planer attachment for my dremel. i use that to do rough shaping on the neck and then use a rasp to get it closer followed up by files, a card scraper and finally sand paper. i found chisels took too much material off if i wasnt really careful
just be sure not to stab yourself in the stomach on accident once your chisel is sharp! speaking from experience here, bad idea
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