Rasps Versus Planes

[Curt Larsen]

Don't hesitate, just get the Nicholson #49 and #50 from Jamestown Distributors.  You won't be sorry.
Curt

[Ed Wenger]

I also like the Nicholson's, and use them frequently, mostly for final shaping.  For hogging off wood, it's the band saw, a sure-form, and an old spoke shave.  Maybe I'm getting lazy (or old), but lately I do as much with the band saw as I can.

If you're limited with what you can go with, I'd get the Nicholson's, a sure-form and a spoke shave.  You can do everything with the Nicholson's, but you'll get a good arm work out in the process...

        Ed

[Michael]

My dad was a pattern maker and model maker and he left me all his tools. In one of his tool chests is a drawer full of spoke shaves and small wooden planes. It took me a while to break my dependency on using just rasps to work down a stock but once I got the hang of using the planes and spoke shaves, I like them. In particular there is a small hand made wooden scrub plane that takes off wood real fast! I use it to work from the front of the lock to the butt and use a block plane to rough shape the forend and then finish it to final shape with a scraper.

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

I haven't got my band saw set up and working and I have a stock that was bandsawed to rough shape and now need to take down to the last 1/8" etc to inlet the lock and so I will use my Japanese Ryoba handsaw, them the spokeshave and planes and rasps

[t.caster]

W H A T ? ? ?  No one uses a jacknife anymore??? 

[coutios]

   Tom, Funny that you should mention a pocket knife. I know of two people that use one to cut the transition from the lock panel and side plate panel to the lower forearm.. Just goes to show you it doesn't matter what you use... It has to work for you or it's just another useless tool...

Regards
Dave

[t.caster]

Funny is right! I've had at least two guys come up to me over the years and swear they built their rifle entirely with a jacknife. Neither rifle looked too shabby! Hard to believe though.

[omark]

i went hunting with a guy that had a trade gun he had built. it was pretty well done except for inletting the side plate. while on stand he inletted it with his pocket knife, darn good job, too.   mark

[greybeard]

I have a friend who did a VE Parker and did an English style stock for it. Every thing re final shaping was done with a very sharp hunting knife.  Beautifull stock to.
Cheers   Bob

[okieboy]

 I heard a story once about an old guy that contoured with a hatchet, but haven't seen any of the work.
 For a wide choice of rasps and good explanations about the different cuts of rasps as each company labels them, take a look at: www.toolsforworkingwood.com/
 Being a lefty, it interests me that Auriou makes left and right rasps.

[Paddlefoot]

Tools For Working wood has a lot of great stuff that would interest most of us. Things you won't find just anywhere. They give good service too.