Thread: Trim Routing Tasmanian Blackwood - advice please

Do you have a spoke-shave ? I would give that a go if you have access to one. A hand tool will give you more control.

Keith

Or a block plane.

Blackwood is fine as long as you're going with the grain; as soon as you have to cut against the grain it's going to tear and, because it's so stringy, splinters don't just break off, they take a whole big chunk with them.

To prevent any splintering do it as a climb cut - but make sure that you are holding the router very firmly.

Thank you for the advice. It is obvious from your replies that this timber is a bit tricky for the un - initiated. Elan, its the "big chuck aspect" I'm concerned about. Like if I'm going along nicely and it suddenly tears a bit of the overhang and travels up into the neck area. Bohdan, I think I will squib out on the router , I just don't have the experience and feel (yet).

​Pedro66, I don't have a spoke shave per say, but I have ordered a NZ style vegetable peeler which I saw a Kiwi use in a U-tube video to shape ukulele necks from a blank !

It should be here tomorrow so I can try that and finish with a block sand, as suggested here too.

I have used a spokeshave on a blackwood frettboard for just the reasons you have raised. Pare down to just proud of neck then finish with sandpaper on a block. If I was you I would get a spokeshave as soon as. Handy for all kind of luthery work and a lot of other stuff as well. Routers are real work savers but they can also ruin a work piece in the blink of an eye.
Regards
John

Originally Posted by orraloon

I have used a spokeshave on a blackwood frettboard for just the reasons you have raised. Pare down to just proud of neck then finish with sandpaper on a block. If I was you I would get a spokeshave as soon as. Handy for all kind of luthery work and a lot of other stuff as well. Routers are real work savers but they can also ruin a work piece in the blink of an eye.
Regards
John

Thanks John. So true about routers, at my level of experience anyway. Can you point me to a particular spoke shave especially for the job at hand ?

Originally Posted by donnyb

Can you point me to a particular spoke shave especially for the job at hand ?

I'm particularly partial to Lie Nielsen's small bronze flat bottomed shave, available in Oz from https://www.henryeckert.com/index.ph...product_id=578

and if you don't already have the gear, you'll need to invest in a sharpening system.

Originally Posted by ian

I'm particularly partial to Lie Nielsen's small bronze flat bottomed shave, available in Oz from https://www.henryeckert.com/index.ph...product_id=578

and if you don't already have the gear, you'll need to invest in a sharpening system.

Thanks Ian. I'll suggest it to Mrs Santa here ! One thing I realised after my last post, I wont be able to use it in the situation I cited, because the fretboard is slotted (and thus the edges) ready for fret wire installation. But I do need one for shaping the back of the neck to suit my hand. Thanks for the lead to buy it .

Originally Posted by ian

I'm particularly partial to Lie Nielsen's small bronze flat bottomed shave, available in Oz from https://www.henryeckert.com/index.ph...product_id=578

and if you don't already have the gear, you'll need to invest in a sharpening system.

$180 for a spokeshave???
What's wrong with an old (from when they used to be good) Stanley or Record that you can pick up for $40?

Originally Posted by elanjacobs

$180 for a spokeshave???
What's wrong with an old (from when they used to be good) Stanley or Record that you can pick up for $40?

Elan, I have no experience at all with spoke shaves, but get the idea (I have scraped white metal bearings in another life). For a guitar neck shaping, are there different types and widths of spoke shaves that would do the convex curves of the back of the neck better than another type and width?

Spokeshaves come in a variety of types. The the most common are straight faced (flat ) for flat or convex curves. The Round face spokeshave is for concave curves. there are also half round spokeshaves which have a deep concave face and is used for round legs or rails. A straight faced spokeshave can do this job but not as quickly or as efficiently. The other common one is the radius spokeshave for hollowing out seats etc. You probably should start with a standard straight faced one.

Cheers

[QUOTE=Pusser;1998589]Spokeshaves come in a variety of types. The the most common are straight faced (flat ) for flat or convex curves. The Round face spokeshave is for concave curves. there are also half round spokeshaves which have a deep concave face and is used for round legs or rails. A straight faced spokeshave can do this job but not as quickly or as efficiently. The other common one is the radius spokeshave for hollowing out seats etc. You probably should start with a standard straight faced one.

Cheers[/QUOTE
Thanks Pusser. Helpful information.

I assume there are different widths of spokeshaves ?
Guitar necks are 50 -60mm wide measured across the fretboard, and about 20 -23mm thick at the widest point of their radius on the back where a spokeshave would be used. What size spokeshave should I get for shaping a (say, QLD Maple) blank 100mm x 40mm x 700mm ? Thanks, Don.

Originally Posted by elanjacobs

$180 for a spokeshave???
What's wrong with an old (from when they used to be good) Stanley or Record that you can pick up for $40?

Because where I used to live in Sydney, the cost of getting to and from the weekend tool market -- in petrol and tolls, but mostly tolls -- was around $35. Do that three times waiting for a good old Stanley or Record to turn up and you've spent almost the same as for a new L-N.

What I wouldn't give for a weekend tool market. They're every quarter around this neck of the woods and while there is nice stuff it can be quite pricey.

In saying that there are still gems, I found a really gorgeous Stanley #5 for $35 with a name engraved on the wing. Half an hour on some sandpaper and you'd never know!