| Sales: parts and tools - luthiers' tools |
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I regularly order from leading luthiers' suppliers like Stewart-MacDonald and Luthier's Mercantile and can supply tools and equipment for guitar-making projects at competitive prices.
I'm not going to list everything I stock or can obtain here, but here are some notes on tools I've found particularly useful. Please feel free to contact me if you're looking for something.  Back to Sales: parts and tools
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Routing
Clamping and gluing Drilling Reaming Finishing Fretting Setting up Electrics Tuning |
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Routing
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Stewart Macdonald precision router base
This is one of Stewmac's best. A high quality tool to adapt the Dremel mini-router for precision work. Made of durable machined steel, brass and aluminum. Each turn of the large knurled thumbwheels adjusts your Dremel's cutting depth by .035" (.889mm). You can rout an inlay cavity that's precisely compensated for the thickness of the pearl and glue, for less sanding later. Tall twin handles give you excellent control for freehand routing, and you get a good view of your work. There's even a built-in nozzle for attaching a mini air pump to continuously blow away the dust-you'll rout inlay cavities more precisely, for a better fit requiring less filler.
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Clamping and gluing
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Bridge clamping caul
This device is easy to set up and reduces the need for multiple clamps. The machined aluminum caul is 5-7/8" long and 1" wide, and has a slightly arched bottom to accommodate most bridges on flattop steel-string acoustic guitars. It's padded with thick cork on the underside and on the thumbscrew-adjustable end clamps. Needs to be used with bridge pin inserts to prevent the bridge sliding around as the clamps are tightened.
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Hot hide glue pot
Electrically heated glue pots for melting and maintaining traditional hot melt glue and other substances at the correct temperature. The inner container is removable. Fitted with a fixed thermostat which maintains the contents at the correct temperature for hide or pearl glue.
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Drilling
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Strap button drill bit and tap
Screw-type strap buttons can be easily installed, without damaging or marring the button: this set includes a .120" bit for drilling the pilot hole, and a hardened screw with 5/16" brass hex head for threading the hole.
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Bridge drill jig
This bridge pin hole drilling jig was developed by Frank Ford. It allows you to drill accurate holes in your bridge at whatever stage you want, whether in the wood blank or in the finish sanded bridge. Holes are accurately located for 2 1/8", 2 1/4", 2 5/16" or 2 3/8" spacing. The comes with an alignment pin and an Allen wrench. The top is machined from hardened steel for long life. Hole spacing on this tool is equidistant, there is no compensation for string gauge. This tool is set up for 3/16" bridge pin holes.
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Reaming
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Bridge pin and end pin hole reamer
Stewmac's special wooden-handled steel reamers are designed to properly taper the holes for bridge pins or endpins. They're semi-fluted, to help keep the holes round, and are available in two sizes. The 3-degree reamer tapers from approximately .312" to .150", with 3" cutting length, and is suitable for many bridge pins from Gibson and other high end makers, including martin pre-1994 and Collings pre-2002. The 5-degree reamer tapers from approximately .350" to .135", with 2" cutting length. It works for vintage-style pins, as well as modern Martin and Collings bridge pins. (Slightly) cheaper versions can be found, but these are the best way to ensure accurate fitting.
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Endpin jack reamer - two-step
To ream out the endpin hole for a pickup's strapjack, Stewmac provide a nifty two-step reamer for hand or power use. This machined steel reamer is made specifically for enlarging a guitar endpin hole to accept a 15/32" or 1/2"-diameter endpin jack. It won't chip the finish, and it's semi-fluted to help keep the hole round. The 3/8" shank can be chucked in a hand drill for slow reaming. The upper 1" cutting length is 1/2" diameter; the 1" centre section is 15/32" diameter, and the lower 2-5/8" section has a standard 5-degree endpin taper to 1/4".
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Endpin jack reamer, 3-12mm
The two-step option is the way to go if you often need to ream out for endpin strapjacks. However, for occasional use a cheaper option will often do, as you just need a neat 12mm (1/2") diameter hole. This a reliable alternative, made from high quality heat-treated carbon steel. It can be turned by hand or run slowly in an electric drill.
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Finishing
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Foam polishing pad
Even though I use a large buffing machine with a range of different cotton polishing wheels and polishing compounds, I still find these fibre-free foam buffing pads useful for spot refinishing and removing swirl marks. The gentle polishing action helps avoid swirl marks, fine scratches and burn-through, leaving a beautiful mirror-gloss surface. For the small shop or casual builder, this is a great way to get factory-quality finishes without tedious hand polishing or expensive buffing equipment. Can be used in any electric drill.
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Fretting
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Diamond fret file
Unlike traditional fret files, diamond files cut in both directions, they don't chatter or leave chatter marks, and the fret is smoother after crowning. These files are being used by repair shops and major manufacturers all around the world. Available in two versions - I use the 300-grit most, but the 150-grit is preferable for speedy removal of a lot of material.
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Fretting hammer
My favourite fretting hammer - a well-balanced dual-face hammer. The aluminum head is threaded for two replaceable striking surfaces: a low-dent plastic flat face with smooth edges, and a brass convex face that's radiused for installing frets. Sturdy hardwood handle.
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Stewmac Jaws fret press
Using a fret press is often a better option than using a fret hammer. It gives you finer control over the pressure needed to seat a fret into the slot - you can actually feel it seating! It eliminates complicated clamping setups, so your press-in fret jobs go faster. A range of 2-1/2" radius brass inserts are provided for different radius fingerboards. Stewmac also supply other models for working over the neck heel and the fingerboard extension; they all utilize the same 2-1/2" radius brass inserts.
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Setting up
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Fret bevelling file
The fret bevelling file is the fast, accurate way to put a uniform 35° bevel on fret ends after installing new frets. With a quick, smooth motion, this file angles the fret ends and makes them ready for fret dressing and polishing. Available in either 3-3/4" or 7-1/2" filing lengths.
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Wooden radius-sanding block
These radiused sanding blocks are great for truing up a fingerboard before fretting and then levelling the frets once they're installed. Needless to say they're also ideal for setups and reprofiling worn frets, and can be used as clamping cauls. The 8" versions are best for major jobs, the 4" ones come into their own for spot repairs. They're available in all the common radii.
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String action gauge
This pocket-size stainless steel rule is ideal for accurate setup adjustments on any stringed instrument. Developed by Dan Erlewine and Don MacRostie at Stewart-MacDonald, the gauge features a progressive string height scale: simply slide it across the frets and read the measurement under the string. It's faster to use than any ruler, and stays parallel to the fingerboard--much easier than trying to hold a ruler perpendicular to a rounded fret. The string height markers are graduated from .010" to .140" on the inch model, and from 0.25mm to 3.50mm on the metric version. The back of the gauge has a time-saving fractional/decimal/metric conversion chart. As well as setting/checking string height, you can use it to measure: • Bridge saddle height • Saddle slot depth • Fret slot depth (unbound fingerboards) • Nut height • Pickup polepiece height You can also use it to set up router cutters accurately.
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Stainless steel radius gauges
These radius gauges can quickly find the curvature of a fingerboard or bridge. Use them frequently to check your work as you smooth or shape a fingerboard or frets: a quick visual check keeps you from accidentally altering the shape — a mistake that's easy to make and hard to fix. Set of 2 (7.25", 9.5", 10", 12", 14", 15", 16" and 20").
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String spacing rule
This laser-etched stainless steel string spacing rule quickly finds the right spacing for just about any stringed instrument. It does all the calculation for you: progressive slot spacing automatically compensates for string diameters, from treble to bass, so the thicker strings won't seem crowded to the player.
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The Intonator
I've recently started using this to find the correct location for placing the saddle on a flattop guitar bridge. Dan Erlewine of Stewart Macdonald designed it to use before cutting the saddle slot in new bridges, or when you fill and reslot an existing saddle. The old method of placing dowels or pins under the strings isn't accurate because the strings pull the dowels out of position. This doesn't happen with The Intonator, because the solid brass bar anchors the adjustable brass saddles while you fine-tune them. It's a bit of a fiddle with pinless bridges, or bridges where the pins aren't in a straight line, but a great help nonetheless.
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Nut and saddle setup gauge
This nut and saddle setup gauge is machined of aluminum with four troughs measuring depths of 1/32", 1/16", 3/32", and 1/8". Each slot can accommodate a 1/4" wide nut or saddle. You simply place the nut or saddle in the trough and draw parallel lines on both sides of the piece, depending on how much material you want to remove. It’s quite simple: say you want to lower the action by a certain amount. Measure the height of the low E string over the 12th fret. If you want to lower the action by 1/32", you remove twice as much from the bottom of the saddle, 1/16". Place the saddle in the groove stamped 1/16", mark it with a sharp pencil on both sides and sand on the belt sander or use a file. Note that the thickness of the gauge itself, 1/4", also serves as another depth stop, giving you a total of five different depths.
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Electrics
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Tele jack installation tool
Installing or removing the retainer clip for vintage-style Tele output jack ferrule can be awkward, but this jack installation tool makes it easy. At the turn of an allen wrench, the tool flattens the retainer clip. The clip firmly "grabs" the hole in the guitar body, for secure jack mounting. Allen key supplid; jack cup and retainer clip not included.
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Tuning
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Zap-It EZ-Winder
This will be one of your busiest tools! The EZ-Winder is a durable plastic socket that fits most guitar tuning knobs, to make restringing faster and easier. The 1/4" hex stem fits your cordless screwdriver or socket driver. It's a real time-saver.
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Turbo Tune guitar string winder
Fast string changes, by hand or cordless screwdriver. Here's a time-saving tool that's long been a favourite of mine – makes a great present, too! Turbo Tune™ is a cleverly designed string-winding crank that also pulls apart: use it by hand or with your cordless screwdriver. I use it with a small Bosch 3.6V electric screwdriver and it’s saved me hours of tuning time. Not only do you save time, winding is neater and more evenly tensioned, resulting in less slippage and less breakages. Its versatile socket fits practically any guitar or bass tuner knob, to make string changing fast and easy. The handle is conveniently notched for pulling stubborn bridge pins, too. Electric screwdriver not included.
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