Small Tools of the small builder

Second in a series of articles about tools in the small builder’s workshop, this is a brief overview of the smaller tools commonly used in a shop.  A later article will cover specialized jigs used in instrument building.

As mentioned in the previous article on large tools, several of the tools in the small builder’s shop are not specialized to instrument building.  With small tools, that still holds, but there are some small tools that are specialized. 

On the whole, these smaller tools are best purchased new as they will suffer from wear quicker than the larger tools.  Many of the tools can be purchased at local hardware stores, and some are only available from luthier supply retailers.

There are a lot of ways to build an instrument, and no two luthiers go about the process in the same way.  Many builders show a lot of their processes and the tools they use on their websites, and much can be gleaned from perusing some of these sites.  This article is just a perspective from my small shop and shops of other builders that I have visited.

Starting in with power tools:

Routers – This is one tool that nearly every small builder will use and rely on.  Routers achieve the clean look that pickup and control cavities have.  Bolt-on designed basses typically have a pocket in the body that is created with a router.  Truss rod and reinforcement slots are often done with a router.  Some use a router to create the profile of bass necks.  Most builders will have a couple, my current count is 4….and could use a couple more.    

Sanders – With basses being wood (mostly), sanders are pretty essential to help wood achieve the required state it needs for finishing.  Not only can they be used to remove larger scratches put into the wood by tools used earlier in the building process, but they can be used to shape and dial in final touches as well.  I use circular random orbit sanders and sheet sanders in my building and they get a good amount of use on the flat surfaces such as the body’s front and back as well as the face and back of the headstock.  Some builders use a pneumatic sander with an inflatable chamber to clean up the belly carve and other parts of the body.

Hand Drill – Indispensible.  From drilling holes for bridge, tuners, neck attachment, strap buttons ( and more) to drilling the channels where the electronics’ wires are run, the hand drill is a heavily used tool in most shops.  I use both cordless and the old school corded depending on the task, but one could get by with a single drill of either kind.

Grinder – These come in a couple different flavors, hand held (typically called an angle grinder) and stationary (bench).  Material removal is what a grinder is typically used for.  Builders will often use an angle grinder to do the rough carving for a set neck/neck through heel transition if it is an interior curve – this is how I use it.  Bench grinders are often used to grind frets to the appropriate length.  Grinders are not universally used and one can certainly get by without.  All tools can be dangerous, but the web has no shortage of angle grinder accident tales.

Non-powered hand tools:

Measuring tools – If I had to rank what my most used tools are, my 15 year old 12” steel ruler would probably be #1, followed closely by a 48” ruler and a set of calipers.  Builders are constantly checking measurements, whether it be in the early stages of a build; rough cut layout for a neck, checking body slab thickness, fingerboard thickness -mid stage of a build; checking depth along the neck for consistent feel, pickup cavity locating – later stages; string height setup.

Clamps – Used to hold wood pieces together during the glue-up stage, as well as to secure pieces while performing routing and drilling tasks.  I use a few different types of clamps; c clamps, pipe clamps,  and hand-screw.  Many small builders will create some clamping jigs to help with certain tasks, and we’ll look at those in the next article. 

Files/Rasps– These tools do a lot of the carving on basses in many smaller builder’s workshop.  While some builders may use a router to cut/carve the neck (speaking of the back of the neck in this case), many builders will use a set of rasps and files to accomplish the task.  I also use these for carving the belly cut and elbow cut on the body, as well for volute shaping.

Soldering Iron – Use to connect electronic components to each other.  While some pickup and preamp manufactures have introduced solder-less components, the soldering iron still gets a lot of use in most small builder’s shops.

Luthiery Tools:

The tools made specific for luthiery are probably the tools that will vary the most from shop to shop.  There are lots of different gadgets that cover the same end goal, but one builder may connect with one tool over another for a variety of reasons.

Straight edges – I use straight edges for several things; checking jointer work before glue-ups, leveling of the fingerboard, checking for high frets, etc..  These were purchased from a luthier supply company and I trust them as straight.  The ones I have are beveled on one edge to allow for a finer edge.  Often a set of nice straight edges seem expensive, but having used hardware store level and luthier level straight edges, I believe it is worth the extra money.

Radius blocks/gauges – If a builder does not have a jig to machine the fingerboard radius, he/she will most likely used radius blocks.  These come in different lengths and radii to accommodate different players.  Radius gauges allow a builder to check their work after machining or created the radius by hand.

Fret hammers/cauls – There are several ways to insert frets. Some builders hammer in frets, others press them with a caul connected to a press, some do a combination.  I employ a combination and have tools for both.  The hammer isn’t terribly specialized, and many luthiers use a small common hammer with a piece of leather to soften the blows.  The one I use has a brass tip on one side, and plastic on the other. The fretting caul I use is mounted in a drill press. The cauls are shaped to match the radius of a fingerboard for proper fit in the fretboard.

Fret saw – These can also be found outside of luthiery suppliers, but by in large, most builders that I know purchase one from a luthiery supply so that the blade thickness is appropriate for the frets they are using.  While I slot for frets using a jig on my table saw, I cut for final depth with the hand fret saw.

Nut Files – These are manufactured to specific sizes to allow for correct string seating in the nut.  Most luthiers will have a set or two to allow for the different string set gauges that customers may ask for. A small vice to hold the nut while filing is very helpful as well.

Fret Dressing tools include –  crowning files, fret end beveling files, short and long leveling files and sandpaper blocks/beams, buffing attachments, and many others.  My favorite tools include my crowning file and leveling beam – though for me, it is used largely on the fingerboard before fretting.

Of course there are several other standard and specialized workshop tools that builders will have; screwdrivers, wrenches, razor blades, mallets, chisel, etc…  The above list touches some of the notables.  If you have others that you find useful, add them in the comments section.

This article contributed by Brian Ristola. You can check out his web site at www.ristolainstruments.com.