Tools for the job

[Dani Pace]

This seems like a good place for this. We all know having the right tool(s) makes repairs and mods much easier. It's too bad most of us do not have a complete workshop with all the tools we sometimes need. I'm sure most of us have had to improvise at some time or another, I know I've used some unconventional tools to accomplish various tasks. Maybe some of you can share some of the ideas you have come up with to get the job done when you didn't have the right tool for the job.

I'll start with, recently I was changing the tuners on a guitar. The replacement tuners (machines) didn't fit exactly. The shaft was just a bit too large to fit through the holes in the head of the guitar. I know all the luthiers say I needed a reamer to enlarge the holes. What I used was a chainsaw file ($2.88 at Walmart) and gently filed the holes to the right size. Unconventional, maybe, but it worked as well as the more expensive tool would have.

NEXT...

[MachineGunMace]

the fuse fell out of my p.a. head at a show so i used aluminum foil, copper wire and some electric tape and it works even better than the regular fuse did.
i have had the chance to replace the fuse. but i havent needed to cuz i like the tin foil and wire!!!!

[danw]

Doesn't that defeat the purpose of the fuse? Isn't that just a direct connection?

[danw]

In response to the original post, I use those little round files all the time for the same purpose. And I guess a bushing press would be a nice thing to have, but I managed to get my tuner bushings seated just fine using a 3/8" socket, a C clamp, and a little block of wood on the back. I also made a sliding router setup (to route straight lines with a hand router) out of two old shelves, some leftover plywood, and a towel bar.

[bremerr]

Originally Posted by danw

... a bushing press would be a nice thing to have....

You could also throw a bolt in a drill press so that the head is facing down. I've done that to install string ferrules on guitar bodies.

[muttley600]

Even us guys with huge dedicated workshops and thousands of tools are always improvising, improving adapting the ones we have. A good 20 to 30% of my time is involved in making or adapting jigs and tools.

A good makeshift reamer by the way is to use a violin peg and wrap some 320 grit around it. Failing that you can use an artists brush handle and get the same result for different size of holes. A good "bushing press" can be had by taping some wooden blocks to some mole grips and setting the gap to the required size.

Next question.

[Dani Pace]

Thanks Muttley, it's nice to know that you guys with the "right tools" still use your imagination once in a while. I mostly do set ups and minor repairs and like most players do not have a vast supply of tools for mods so I often have to find whatever is needed to accomplish the task at hand.

[muttley600]

Originally Posted by Dani Pace

Thanks Muttley, it's nice to know that you guys with the "right tools" still use your imagination once in a while. I mostly do set ups and minor repairs and like most players do not have a vast supply of tools for mods so I often have to find whatever is needed to accomplish the task at hand.

If anyone is interested I can chuck up a few photographs of luthier specific tools that are easy to make and invaluable in the workshop.

[muttley600]

OK, I've had a quick route around my bench and all these tools I've had for years are all used regulaly and none cost more than a few coppers. They can all be made in less than a hour each sometimes minutes. I have thousands of others but these I had to hand.

I'll post a breif description of each next.

[muttley600]

First some helpful fretting tools. You can buy these and I have them shop bought ones. These work just as well. Sorry about the picture quality by the way I only have a cheap camera with me.

Triangular fret file. For rounding off sharp fret ends and shaping them. You don't want any marks on the fingerboard or binding while doing this. Take a fine cut small triangular file and mount it in a comfortable and light handle. Grind off the edge to a small bullnose and polish.

[muttley600]

Angled file block for fret bevelling.

To file a regular and even angle on the fret ends after refrets or fretting.

This just a block that holds a file at 45 degrees to the fingerboard. Fine cut again and is used to slowly angle the frets to the finished angle. This one is actually a little steeper than 45 degrees because thats how I like it. Made from beech and about 8 inch long.

[muttley600]

You can never have enough cabinet scrapers. These are all cut from old saw blades and are different sizes and thicknesses. I have hundreds in all shapes and sizes. I rarely use sandpaper until I start doing the finishing. All cleaning is finishing is done with scrapers.

[muttley600]

Luthier planes can be expensive. I have as many home made as shop bought and use mine more than others.

This one is a palm plane made from beech and ebony. It uses a wedge to hold the iron in place. In this case it's an old block plane iron groud to the right curve on the sole. Removes wood real quick when shaping archtop backs and sides. You can make these in all sizes and with whatever sole shape you want. About an hours work. These cost a lot to buy.

[muttley600]

Binding thicknesser. When cutting and shaping bindings it's important to get the thickess almost bang on before bending and glueing on to the body. I'ts not easy to do this with a thicknesser planer or a block plane as these are often very thin and fragile. This little too allows toy to take off a very fine shaving until it's just right. The blade is mounted in a groove bolted on and the gap at the bottom can be set very accurately. When sharp it will produce an incredibly even and clean cut.

[muttley600]

Nut marking gauge.

Getting the right string spacing on a nut is critical to a good setup. It's also amazing how much variety you find in the width of nuts. I have made up tons of these all with different string spacings. The important thing to make sure of is that the string spacing is equal in that the gap between strings is the same not the string centres.

They are just strings carefull spaced and glued to a block with the desired string spacing. To use it you mark and cut the start of the bass E string on the nut and use that as a reference and carefully file the start of the rest of the strings. It's not meant to be a nut file just a tool to mark the position. There isn't a substitute for good nut files.

You can get good results with the next little tool.

[muttley600]

Nut cleaning files.

Very often you need to check or reclean a string slot without cutting it with a nut file. The best way to do it is with a piece of wound string fixed to a block of wood. In a pinch you can cut a nut slot with these but they are not ideal. Ideally the slot needs to be a little wider than the string so if you do try use strings of a slighty heavier gauge. These ones are made from old piano keys and the strings are set into the key with about half exposed. I have loads of them in different gauges. Handy when your tinkering with setups.

[muttley600]

As I said earlier this list is just the tip of the proverbial ice berg. You'll find many different tools and adaptations of these in nearly all luthier workshops as well as many others. Remember these are all quick make do tools and not substitutes. They all work well.

If anyone want more descriptions on these or others just ask. I have tons from simple ones like these to quite complex jigs and routing setups. all of various degreesof prettiness and effectiveness. Basically if something works I build a better looking more solid one designed to last. Or adapt it as required. With guitar building there is never just one solution to a problem.

[Dani Pace]

Cool tips man, thanks. I've got a few old saw blades laying around, think I'll go make a "custom" scraper or two. And the nut cleaning tool looks like a real handy thing to have around. Your binding plane looks great. I've needed one of those a few times, I'll have one before the week is over.

[jrhoden]

i agree great tips

thanks

oh and using foil and tape to replace fuse is a great way to lose your gear from a brownout or surge....

go to to radioshack and pick up some fuses they are cheap and will save u alot of money in the long run

[antichef]

thanks for all the great tips! Muttley - very descriptive posts about a subject that fascinates me, but about which I know next to nothing -- my son is having problems with tuning on his 12 string, and we've narrowed it down to the nut. Now I know what to do