Best way to trim purfling flush with soundboard?

[Dan Coplan]

I'm making an acoustic guitar for the first time. I got the 000 kit from Stewmac. I installed the purfling into the rosette and now I'm supposed to scrape it down to be flush with the soundboard. What's the best way of doing this? I'm using a razor blade and scraping away but it seems to be a very long and tedious process. Is there a better way of doing this?

[Nick Anthony]

use a real scraper...or you can use a chisel but really only on wood purfling and im guessing it's plastic in that kit....but hey no one said it would be quick...lol

[Dan Coplan]

Can I find the type of scraper I need at my local hardware store? I see a variety of scrapers on the Home Depot site but not sure which is the appropriate one. I can of course order one from Stewmac but would prefer to grab what I need tomorrow locally.

By the way, the purfling is not plastic. I'm not sure what it is - some sort of fibrous material.

Is it ok to use fine-grained sand paper to smooth everything down or should this be avoided?

Many thanks.

[John Cadd]

Dan I have made some violins so I know what to avoid when getting to the finishing stages.Dont use sandpaper .If you have a really good block plane like a Lie Nielsen you can shave down to a flat surface by using a useful trick. Instead of pushing the plane forwards you keep the plane still and gently rotate it so that the blade is SLICING a very fine shaving.This is all END GRAIN material.Take a tiny bit of metal off the corners of the blade to avoid digging in.To make sure your blade is super sharp (use a magnifying glass to check) when you think your blade is sharp finish it off by pulling it back on some soft wood coated with chromium polish you can tell when it`s sharp by how easily it slides ,no drag.Final test hold one piece of newspaper and see if it slices the paper with no effort all along the edge.That`s a really dangerous thing to drop on your toe!Finally have a lot of practice with a flat scraper BUT it must be a type a VIOLINMAKER would use and not a paint scraper.Dont practice on your guitar.That looks a strange sentence on a guitar site! It takes a lot of practice to sharpen a scraper. That`s a job in itself.It wont be ready to use when you buy it but there is no substitute for a scraper .Nothing else will do what a scraper does. Once again use your magnifier to check it`s edge.And have some sticking plasters ready just in case . Get all that right and there`s no stopping you.

[Mark McLean]

Dan, a cabinet scraper is the ideal tool for the job. You probably won't be able to pick one up at the local hardware store - although they are the most basic tool that you will ever see. Check out woodworking suppliers online or get them from Stewmac or LMI. You then need to learn how to burnish a cutting edge onto it. There are lots of online tutorials about this, such as http://woodgears.ca/scraper/index.html. You will find some video ones on Youtube as well.

This might sound like a hassle to you but believe me, you will never regret the day you learned how to use a cabinet scraper. You will use this tool for leveling bindings, neck shaping and for smoothing backs and sides before final sanding.

You can also bring a rosette and purflings flush with the soundboard using sandpaper on a block, or with a power sander if you have a lot of material to remove. Start with about 100 or 150 grit. Once it is leveled you can go to finer stiff for smoothing it out.
Mark

[William F.Eden]

Dan I just use a 1/2" sharp chisel and then the Orbital sander 100 grit...But first I take a rage and put a coate of Laquer all a round the rosette and any were that you may get that black shit on it or you will have a problem getting it out of the spruce.The laquer will all sand of in the end as well. Bill"""""""""

[Donald A. Fortune]

Hi Dan -- ya kno in this case Im going to pass on a saying that my dad told me when I wore a younger mans clothes and it goes like this--
"slow and stedy wins the race"
take your time and listen to some classical music as you work and you will be suprised how much you will get done--
best to you on your project--
Donald

[John Cadd]

For Mark McLean Yes you are right about the cabinet scraper,I got carried away talking about violin stuff.You do need the stiffer straight type.That`s something I would think twice about--making my own rosette.I saw some ready made Russian rosettes on another site---absolutely mouthwatering!And so cheap.The u tube tutorial film about sharpening tells us it`s easy ,which I found surprising.I had to laugh at his huge leather gloves for such a fiddly job.But scrapers have a sneaky way of cutting you without you realising .Not good for the final finish with a smear of blood all over the spruce.

[Cliff Morris]

Lee-Valley/Veritas has a pretty sweet new scraper plane on sale this month. Worth a look

[Bob Webster]

Hey, Cliff. I bought one of those about 4 years ago thinking that it would be just the thing to scrape rosewood, for starters. Tried it once and the sucker has sat on my shelf ever since. It's scarey to think of it getting anywhere near spruce. It's one of those tools that looks like a really cool thing but, put it into your own workspace and hands, it just isn't designed to get the job done. I can blow its doors off with a standard cabinet scraper at 1/80th or so of the price. So my thumbs get a little hot.....

Bob

[Cliff Morris]

Could yours be a Lie-Nielsen? The Lee-Vally tool is supposed to be brand new. Of course there really is not much that hasn't been done before in the world of hand tools but this just seemed like a nicely thought out tool that was just the right size. I feel pretty confident with card scrapers too but I have a close cousin of GAS and feel the need to aquire cool tools too (TAS)

[Bob Webster]

You know, you're right. Sorry about that. I must have had a senior moment. They've been coming in clusters since I was 35? I'll have to check out the Lee Valley tool.

Bob