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Hi all,
I've seen some videos of people using a tiny plane to take braces down. Probably half the size of your palm? Any recommendations as to where I can pick one up?

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I enjoy using a “mini block plane” from Verona’s to help with this.
I also use ibex finger planes


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The Stephen Boone plane is one of my favorites for shaving the sides of braces and fine tuning the final taper. I'm unsure if he's still making them, as all the links to them for sale seem to be dead.

I use a flat bottom Boone plane regularly for the sides of braces and the Lie Nielsen violin plane for the tops. The little Ibex are nice too.

Here is a video he made about them—they are pretty easy to make in your shop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwyKe3iOb8Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLyn6gE9ISs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKAJdS1YMC4

I use Ibex. They are readily available.

www.ebay.com/itm/3-piece-Micro-Mini-Bra ... rk:54:pf:0

I bought one similar to the middle one and it works o.k. The blades are mediocre but if you want something better you will need to grind one yourself. The cutting area is so small that even a mediocre blade works o.k.There are a bunch of listings on eBay for micro or mini planes.

I love my ibex 10mm flat bottom plane. I use it a lot, from brace carving to neck carving and other things. Ain't cheap, but worth it. I bought mine from Pilgram's Projects many years ago. One of my favorite tools...

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

I don't think Boone is making them anymore which is too bad. Glad I got a couple before they were gone. The arched one is perfect for taking brace ends down to a feather edge and the flat one for many other uses.

I have one similar to this (different model, couldn't find a link) and I love it

https://www.grizzly.com/products/Grizzl ... ony/T10267

They're pretty easy to make, I made this small one just for braces. There must be some articles on the web somewhere about making these.

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

Plenty of choice on here.https://www.aliexpress.com/premium/mini ... isViewCP=y

These planes from LeeValley are really nice, but boy has the price gone through the roof. http://www.leevalley.com/en/Wood/page.aspx?p=67716&cat=1,41182

Bob

For those on a tight budget alibaba express has some very reasonable priced rosewood and ebony planes. Only downside is coming from china make take 3 weeks. But the price is excellent . I find it hard to spend mucho $$ from LV IMHO their prices are too high for the quality. I/ve bought several specialty planes and was disappointed they had rust and were way overpriced. My 2 cents. worth.

Harbor Freight sells a set of 3, looks just like the three-fer set mentioned above. Relatively inexpensive, thirteen bucks in the catalog and the 20-percent-off coupons are all over the place.

I've used the most conventional of the HF planes on braces, and it does the job, but the Grizzly shoe looks lots thicker.

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Peter Havriluk

"boy has the price gone through the roof"

That's not a roof, this is a roof:

https://www.jimbodetools.com/products/otner-botner-no-15-size-3-8-inch-brass-pocket-violin-plane-58528u

https://www.jimbodetools.com/products/3-1-4-inch-chris-laarman-violin-plane-82191

Boone's video on making that little plane looks great. You could cut down an old block plane blade to fit - the thinner steel would not make much of a difference in this size I don't believe, and we all have thin pieces of exotic woods laying around. While you are at it, you could make 2-3 of various contours.

I was in Nat Herreschoff's (amazingly prescient yacht designer of the late 19th cent) shop in Bristol RI, and he used to make a half model of each boat he designed. His personal tools had about 15 Stanley 101-1/2 tiny planes that his machine shop had re-ground to various contours. One or two of those would be easy to alter with a file.

Ed

Or you can go to the other end of the price scale
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1pcs-convex-bottom-brass-wrap-blackwood-2-3-8-planes-violin-viola-making-tool/263537890689?hash=item3d5c151581:g:PmwAAOSw0TxZZzB0

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Actually, I bought one of these ebay round bottom planes from China and I was very pleased. I couldn't believe how fast it was delivered from the middle of nowhere in China (based on shipping info). I have had things delivered from the states that took a lot longer. It took a nice edge and performed well on the archtop I was building.

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com