I know this has been asked and answered, and I have done countless hours of homework via, books and the internet, but I need guidance. The more I study, the more I get confused. I'm building solidbody electric guitars. Up until this point I mostly used power tools but I'm really wanting to do it the right way so I need some hand tools, particularly a plane or two.
I need a plane for flattening the neck before the fingerboard goes on, so we're talking an area 2-3 inches wide and about 19 inches in length, made up of hardwood, mostly Maple and Purpleheart.
The guitar bodys are two piece, usually a 5/8 Maple top and an 1-1/8 Alder, or Ash back. I need a plane to smooth the surface of both before gluing, and a plane might also be needed to remove some thickness from the back section. The body dimensions are usually about 13 x 19
Usually my body wood, both top and back come in two 6-1/2 inches pieces that need to be joined, so I need a plane to prepare the edges.
I was all set to buy a LIE-NIELSEN Adjustable Mouth Block Plane and probably still will, but I've recently read a few aricles that say the "low cutting angle can cause tearout in figured hardwoods" so considering I'm primarily using hardwoods, now I'm a bit confused.
For a second plane, I'm wanting a low-angle jack or smooth plane, but I'm concerned about what size to buy. I want to buy one big enough to smooth out my edges for gluing and to smooth the neck surface, but considering we're on talking about 19 inches, I don't want to buy something that is too long for the job.
The Lie Nielsen is going to set me back a pretty penny so I really want to avoid spending huge $$$ on my 2nd plane if I can. I've of course looked at Ebay, but I can't tell a pre-war Stanley from all the others, (everyone seems to have a "vintage" plane for sale) and even if I could tell the difference, I'm having a hard enough time learning woodworking, I'd rather now have to learn how to refurbish a plane. I will someday but not right now.
HELP!!!
That's it, sorry my 1st post is such a long one I just wanted to be as specific as possible. I'll take any and all advice anyone is willing to throw my way.
Thanks,
Thomas Cherry