Official Luthiers Forum!

We received the rasp we are using from a friend of ours, and I do not know of anyone in the US handling the rasp line, but Corradi sells directly to the US and Canada through their CorradiShop.Com site...the postage is a bit steep at 18 euro!

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For the times they are a changin'

- Bob Dylan

Thanks woodie .Yes I went ahead an bought a 10in cabinetmakers rasp #8 and a #6/ 6in pointed half round rasp the 18 Euros is for fed ex shipping.

The file/rasp came in 2 days via fed ex. from italy They both work very well .Tried them on 2 necks , some hard philipino mahogany and okoume they are a good buy IMHO. But so are the budget conscious triangular chinese rasp files from e- bay, seller sexy boutique. LOL, a 12in rasp is abt 11 $ us including shipping , which is slow, 4-5 weeks. I have 2 of his file/rasps and a 3 rd on it s way. cheers and happy rasping

We really like the Corradi Gold rasp - machine-stitched, but with pseudo-random teeth patterns that mimic hand-stitched patterns, but without the random variations in height that can show up. I like the one Chinese rasp we have in the shop - very 'Game of Thrones' looking in a rasp/dagger sort of way...not sure who elected to dye the maple handle jade green, but it's at least easy to find in the rasp and file collection...definitely adds to the medieval vibe!

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For the times they are a changin'

- Bob Dylan

Might be great for roughing out Steinberger necks....

I wanted to thank Woodie and the boss for all the sourcing information. Every post is a jewel for those of us who consume this stuff. Thank You!

Has anyone sent their worn nut files to Boggs Tool for sharpening?
http://www.boggstool.com/page1.html

Not sure if it was Boggs but someone sent away for this process on the FRETS.net forum and reported being pleased.

Thanks for the high praise, Mr. Breakstone, but it is really just a case of two of my passions - luthiery and shopping - aligning to produce some useful results!

Another very useful tool for neck work is a good cabinet file, which cleans up the surface left by a rasp, but is still aggressive enough to shape. We've had a hard time sourcing anything other than the 10" and 12" tools, which can be a little unwieldy for the heel area, and an even harder time finding old Nicholsons in good shape (although we did find two 10" tools at PATINA this year...one goes to my shop!).

We've found that the NOS USA-made Nicholson XF line of Swiss pattern half round files in the 00 cut are an excellent substitutes for cabinet files, and recently picked up a couple more 4" and 8" length tools...the 4" is sized more for small scale work, but the 8" is a near-perfect size for general neck work. These files are available in a number of cuts, but the 00 - the coarsest - seems to be the best suited to working in wood...it is very close to the coarseness of the older Nicholson cabinet files.

If interested in trying one of these XF files out, there is a seller on eBay with good pricing on the 8" XF 00 Cut Swiss Pattern USA made file, and a Canadian vendor selling the 4", 6", and 8" sizes (although shipping to the US will cost more than the tools themselves). The 8" takes a T5 or T6 sized Skroo-Zon handle, while the 4" takes a T4.

The 8" file from a US-based vendor:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nicholson-36557-8-Inch-XF-Half-Round-Swiss-Pattern-File-USA-00-Cut-/400522588795?epid=1418878552&hash=item5d4101b27b:g:NswAAOSw1S9WgZ~3

The 6" from a Canadian vendor:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-Nicholson-USA-machinist-XF-SWISS-PATTERN-6-HALF-ROUND-FILE-1-CUT-36527-/351768624090?hash=item51e70b3bda:g:FSsAAMXQWx1RHu3t

The only note of caution re: chemical resharpening is that some tools like the Auriou rasps are surface (case) hardened, which results in a hard, long-wearing outer layer and a tough, flexible, softer core. The hard outer layer will be thinned during each sharpening, and after 2-3 iterations, totally removed.

The last tools to go out to Boggs from this shop were the #49 and #50 rasps, and several cabinet and mill files - all are still in use and cutting well. Chemical sharpening can also be done at home with phosphoric acid or other weak acid (metal file in acid bath), although we have found the Boggs service to be very reasonable in cost *~$2 per tool plus shipping), and they seem to be able to rescue even very worn files.

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For the times they are a changin'

- Bob Dylan

I use a set I got a long time ago called 'files of minute use', each is double sided and have all the strings thicknesses covered. That's all I've ever used, might have got them from Stew Mac, can't remember.

They are designed for nuts and saddles, one of the best things in my setup toolbox. That's all I use now and will ever use, they are perfect for setups.

I can post a picture if needed...

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-Paul-

Patriot Guitars

Update in the FWIW dept . Have been using the 2 corradi rasps the past 2 weeks for neck carving in a wide variety of woods.Made my own handles from maple, and they work extremely well , cut very nicely and leave a good surface for the next smoother file.

Please!


Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

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Pat

Are these the files you're talking about? http://www.japarts.ca/Uo-Chikyu/Uo-Chikyu-Products-Precision-Needle-Files.asp