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Here are my answers from practical experience. Bear in mind that I'm only moderately good with a plane on my best day :) All these are what I find, at my skill level. 1. Single iron planes are for rough work, except my bevel up block plane. I get a lot of tearout with a single iron bevel down...

I still do this if I'm not concentrating. The fix (when I remember to do it) is to stop pressing down on the front knob once the plane is properly into the workpiece. Then the weight transfers to the tote at the rear, and my hand at the front is just steadying the plane with no down pressure at...

I'd just hand plane it. Take your 10mm stick, mark 50 mm from the end but don't cut it off. Clamp on top of a sacrificial board so that what will be the thin end is at the end of your bench. Plane from the end back to your line until you have your wedge, and cut it off. A 5 minute job if you...

For nitro lacquer in the UK I've used the cheapest (51 brand in rattle cans) to finish some instruments. It goes on fine and dries very hard, which is what I was looking for. Works straight onto raw wood, or you can use a sealer coat first. But nitro has real downsides: you have to spray it...

You have a very short glueing surface there, so it might fail again. The solution is a backstrap, a 1.5 mm or so piece inlaid at the back of the neck to cover the joint by a couple of inches either side. For looks, run it all the way to the top of the peghead. Reshape the neck once the glue is...

Thanks everyone - lots of food for thought. I'm first going to try my belt sander with a very coarse grit. I know I can control that, as I've done it before, and I've since worked out improved methods of work holding. A 2.5mm thick workpiece is challenging, I can feel it want to buckle even...

I've built around 60 instruments with hand tools, so I've worked through everything posted since I last commented. 1. Of course I know how to use a cap iron. But hogging off 2.5mm that way takes forever! The cap iron limits the shaving thickness. Planing cross grain allows much thicker shavings...

That's a lot more encouraging, thank you. Have you used it to plane across the grain (or at 45 degrees or so)? That's common in luthiery using hand planes on figured wood, reduces tearout.

My way in was, unexpectedly, writing a book. I won a research fellowship which gave me 2 years working from home, researching and writing. I realised I needed something to do while my mind was processing my reading, so I decided to build a ukulele. The result was ugly and clunky (perfect for a...

Thanks for that. Specs seem to be cut depths from 3mm downwards in 0.5mm increments, but I was suspicious whether they'd be more precise than +/- 1mm in practice. I'd already rejected the router idea (but thanks to those who suggested it) for three reasons: 1 I'd spend far too long making the...

When I made my brother's guitar I planed top, back and sides entirely by hand. It was tedious taking them down from around 5mm to around 2.5mm (the last bit, 2.5mm down to around 1.8mm is where the music comes out, that's definitely hand planing). A back or front is around 450mm x 550mm, maybe...

You could try Tru Oil, a gunstock finish also used for musical instruments. It's effectively a wiping varnish. Pretty foolproof if applied as instructed. Downsides: you need several coats, and it smells for about a week as it cures. Not unpleasant, but noticeable. I've brushed shellac and had...

I too find a wooden smoother converted to a scrub very useful. But I'd recommend a European design, with a handle. I've tried with a converted coffin smoother, doesn't half leave my hands aching!

I do, for making musical instruments. 95% hard graft, hogging off the excess. The last 5%, creeping up on the line, isn't exactly romantic, but it does give me a feel for how the wood will behave when it's made up into the instrument.

CA has been used to finish instruments, I've used it myself on a headstock. Technique is to spread with a scrap of plastic, allow to cure, scrape back to wood, drop fill any remaining pores, scrape again etc. I've used Tru Oil on top with success. The gotchas are (a) fumes, outside is best...

A pic of the soundboard bracing from the guitar I made for my brother. It's small bodied, so I'd go a fraction bigger on your guitar size. For others thinking of building, most of the strength is in the height of the braces. Make them thin, to reduce their weight, as all added weight reduces...

A few thoughts for if you ever make another one (or for anyone else embarking on this adventure). 1. Leave a small air gap at the end of your dovetail joint - this helps if the neck ever has to be removed. And only glue the cheeks of the dovetail, nowhere else. 2. Your sides look really thick...

Bear in mind that the wood has probably darkened over time - to get back to the original colour you'd have to remove the top surface of the wood itself, not just the finish. You might see the original colour, or something close, on the underside which hasn't been exposed to the light.

I could use shellac on all species. Those with large pores need some filling to get the full effect though. As a researcher in another field, can I stress that you need comparability between species, which means finding a consistent cut and average grain pattern. The oak I showed has much more...

On finishing, I get the deepest looking chatoyance with shellac or nitro lacquer. I'm told traditional oil varnishes are good too. Polyurethane varnish is less good, polyester and water based finishes always look much flatter to me. A thick finish also diminishes the effect.