Official Luthiers Forum!

Sorry, forgot - bracing planes. Can't buy the Boone planes here as he doesn't export, so -
I just buy these direct from China and shape the sole and ease the edges to suit. I have 3 now, flat for tapered braces, convex for scalloping and very short for classical "nose dives"
You can buy miniature planes in UK, but I don't like the brass sides against a soundboard.
These work well, with less danger of gouging the soundboard than a chisel (been there, got the T shirt) and no import duty (anything <£18.00 incl postage) It takes a few weeks to arrive, but, hey, plan ahead, do something else.
Never lost anything in the post yet, 20+ orders.

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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.

On his web site he says that he does.

http://studioboone.com/mini_planes

My apologies for that misinformation, but I was unaware he has started shipping them internationally.
Also noticed he seems to have disappeared from the list of sponsors.

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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.

Not sure what the chisel in the first picture is designed to do, but the second is the one that we are discussing in this thread -- As Rusty mentioned the bending procedure is really simple, and has been done by many over the years.

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

To the nay sayers, If you are so sure it can't be done, I suggest you try it. You can post your own video whether you succeed or fail.

Back to the original question -
Last night I spent an hour searching the web for curved 1/4" chisels, and the affordable option I found was this guy on ebay - I bought one, it'll arrive next week. For $14, if it turns out to be crap, no big loss:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/111395418732

Personally, I just couldn't envisage using a chisel 1/4" wide and 6" overall length for carving braces.
My go-to is a 1" paring chisel about 14" long.

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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.

Ya, 1/4"?!

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Pat

The chisel in the picture is Stew-Mac's curved chisel - their name is right on the blade. It isn't 1/4" wide, and it isn't 6" long. Good luck with whatever it is you get. (The pictured chisel is what I normally use for tapering brace ends.)

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

Aaaaand I guess I lost track of the original question, reading the different options regarding bending chisels, which is what I'd been researching when I found this cheapo one on ebay! I'm not actually going to use it for carving braces, but for clearing out the glue/wood fibers from the slots I make in the back-seam reinforcement strip, the narrowest of which is 1/4". I see now that the context of the question was for brace-carving. Agreed this one isn't a likely candidate.

If you are worried about removing the temper from a chisel when heating it, just stick the end in a potato. Potato will absorb excess heat so the first few inches hold temper, while the heated area can be bent.

Bob

Not to mention that you have a baked potato when done! Pass the sour cream.

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu