4 in hand rasp

[Habu]

Is anyone currently producing a decent 4 in hand rasp?  I recently ordered a new one (Nicholson); when it arrived I discovered it was, um, what's a nice way to put this?  "not suitable" for any rasping or filing uses. 

[LRB]

  I haven't bought one in a good while, but in the past found them very useful.

[Acer Saccharum]

I have a very handy file made by Grobet. I think it's listed as a 'wax file', but it works on wood very nicely. Half round, double ended, one end coarse, and the other really coarse. OAL 8 3/8". Very nice for working around lock panels and combs.

Another lovely tool is an Ariou rasp, 1/2 round, 6 1/2" in the cutting section, 12" OAL, including handle. #13 grain, which is quite fine.

[Glenn]

I've got a Craftsman (Sears) piece I've had for several years.  Yo should be able to find those without having to order.  Has served me very well.

[Lucky R A]

Nicholson files are now made in Brazil and the quality has suffered greatly.  They used to make a great files and wood rasps, but no more. 

[Eric Smith]

I have heard good things about Aurio rasps, but a couple of those will cost you. I have bought some Nicholson files from MSC in the past months, and every one of them is marked Mexico or Brazil.

[Acer Saccharum]

Ariou rasps are FRENCH, made by hand. Each tooth.

We don't make rasps here anymore.

[Eric Smith]

Someone posted a good word here on Pferd files. Not a rasp but a file. Said they were made in Germany. Anyone got any?
    I have a #49 Nicholson, and no reference to compare it with anything else, but I really wish I had bought an Aurio rasp instead, from what I've since heard here. Curiosity killed the cat. I'll probably have to get  an Aurio just to satisfy that cat.

[Acer Saccharum]

E. SMith, you may find the Nicholson fine for roughing. I bought an Ariou  9" blade half round cabinetmaker's in 10 grit or grain. It is a lovely tool. Cuts surprisingly fast for its tiny teeth. Also leaves a nice finish, ready for scraping.

And, yes, I spent a lot of money on the Arious, and no, I never regretted it. I regret buying something that does not perform, and then get mad when I have to buy the expensive thing anyway. This goes for all tools, not just rasps. Get the best you can afford.

[Habu]

For this, the format of the tool is a major factor for me--I can use a 4-in-hand one-handed, while regular rasps work best when held with two hands.  I've got lots of rasps, just a gap in my toolkit after I decided my last (oh, I don't like the sound of that) 4-in-hand was dull. 

The new Nicholson I have was made in Columbia; the teeth (both file and rasp) don't come as near the edge as on the older one (maybe 12-15 years old).  That is a problem, but worst case I could grind the thing narrower . . . except the teeth turned when using it on horn.  Some of them look like I hit metal or something, and I didn't. 

After receiving several Auriou rasps as a gift some years ago, if they made a 4-in-hand I'd move heaven and earth to get one.  But they don't.  Grobet does (thanks for the reminder Acer, I've been trying to remember that name for a couple days).

[Acer Saccharum]

(thanks for the reminder Acer, I've been trying to remember that name for a couple days).

It's tough getting old. 

Ariou makes a number of small rasps, narrow 1/2 rounds.

Habilis is another good name in files.

[Waksupi]

Go to Brownell's site, and search "HALF-ROUND VULCANITE FILE". An absolute must for rifle building. You will wonder how you ever got along without it.

[Habu]

Had one, gave it away.  The way I use it, the parallel sides and rasp faces work better for me.  As Acer wrote, "It's tough getting old" and I'm becoming a bit of a curmudgeon about my tools. 

[Hungry Horse]

I personally never use a rasp for stocking guns. Long ago some old gun builder, told me you really are at the mercy of the longest tooth on your rasp, and you don't know which one it is, or its location on the rasp. I have had much better results since I bought a cheap set of miniature brass framed planes from Harbor Freight. I re-tempered the blades, and sharpened them on an old oil stone I bought at a yard sale that is as fine grained as a piece of polished marble. These little planes, and a bunch of home made scrapers, and burnishers do the job for me. No more am I fretting over a scratch below what should have been the finish surface.

                           Hungry Horse

                                 

[Acer Saccharum]

.... you really are at the mercy of the longest tooth on your rasp....               

Ain't that the truth!

I understand completely, as there is ONE long tooth on my otherwise perfect Ariou, and I've got to leave enough wood for scraping to finish.

What you say about using planes entirely for stock shaping makes my curious eyebrow go up. I think that the planes would in some degree dictate the shapes you can develop. But this is a different topic entirely than rasps, but worthy of discussion, in my opinion. For the tools the craftsman uses make their mark on the finished product, just as the personality and mind of the artist show themselves in the finished piece.

[Acer Saccharum]

Rasps, sold by Lee Valley, sez they are hand cut, reasonably priced (ie: cheap).

http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=20133&cat=1,42524

Has anyone tried these?

[Acer Saccharum]

By the way, I use a handle on the rasp, and hold the other end in my fingers. I have learned, somehow, to grind off the teeth at the far end where I grip the rasp. One seldom uses the very end teeth anyway.

[rich pierce]

I've given up rasps for any rough shaping and use them around the nose of the comb, front of lock panels, etc, only.  Elsewhere, it's saws, planes, spokeshaves and scrapers for shaping, with chisels, scratch-planes, scrapers etc for various moldings.  I find these tools can readily be sharpened and renewed, but rasps and files cannot, so well.

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

I am with Rich, the spokeshaves, chisels  and scrapers for me.    I use a #49 rasp to knock square corners off  that's a few strokes per stock.... and I have a file.... that I can't remember the name of that UI use for shaping the roundness of the forestock...... I also have a small block plane I like... I would like to get or make a block plane with a 12" sole... then I would be happy....

[Acer Saccharum]

Well, I'd like to see a picture of some guns made with just planes. Some plane guns. 

[Eric Smith]

Traditional Woodworker offer handcut rasps from Austria. Anyone ever tried them.


http://www.traditionalwoodworker.com/Patternmakers-Rasps-Hand-Cut-in-Austria/products/240/

I think Rich and Dr. Tim are right. Rasps are only one tool, planes and gouges, chisels, and spokeshaves (I love a good wooden spokeshave) are also excellent tools. Each one has a specialty in taking off wood.

[rich pierce]

Well, I'd like to see a picture of some guns made with just planes. Some plane guns. 

Take a look at Mark Silver's guns.     I don't know that he eschews  the use of rasps entirely but he is an advocate for planes.

[Eric Smith]

I don't know Mark Silver, but have watched is gunstocking DVD probably more than 50 times. Learn something new from it every time. He does use a patternmakers rasps, but the bulk of the wood comes off first with a saw, then a drawknife, then a scrub plane, then a large gouge, then a block plane, a spokeshave, and lastly in certain areas, the patternmakers rasp. What amazes me the most is that he has the confidence and skill to use that scrub plane on the forearm. The rasp was also used to inlet the buttplate. He used many different planes. Each one for a specific job. Very educational DVD for a beginner like me. Well worth the money. I bet even some of you veteran gunbuilders would like it.

[Acer Saccharum]

Looking at today's prices for rasps, it probably was a similar situation 200 yrs ago, with price of labor and material. A plane you can sharpen yourself. A rasp, handmade, expensive, and not sharpenable.

Planes make sense.

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

You can use planes to make plain guns too.....................