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Rasps For Gun Making

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The two Liogier rasp I ordered arrived today. They are really nice -- nice enough to be worth the price. One is the long, narrow gunsmiths model. I can see why Dave Person values his. There have been times when working wood I've wished for either a longer or narrower rasp. This lean tool will answer the call. The other wood grater is made to be used two-handed like a spokeshave. The rasp portion is about 5-inches long with a tang on each end, fitted with two mansized wooden handles. I don't have a clear vision of the tool's usefulness. However I think it will be useful for rough shaping, perhaps following a drawknife. Occasionally I've wanted a rasp that will cut going sideways. This two-handed ripper just might satisfy.

The hand stitched teeth are distinctively sharp. Each rasp has its own firm plastic case that should protect it in a tool box quite well.
 
I bought a Shinto rasp a couple of years ago on a whim and it is a total "game changer" for flat or convex curves on hardwood. I save my old Nicholson cabinet maker's rasp for concave work.

A small, handheld belt sander is also a real time saver and is second to none for the first 90% of shaping the end grain for butt plates.
 
Smart dog, what stitch do you use on your gunmakers rasp.
I’m happy with my Iwasaki, dragon rasps, but the length and size are something I’m missing.
Thanks in advance.
 
Hi,
I had a good day finally beginning to have energy again. Was treated to a beautiful winter mountain sky this afternoon.





Some friends who are forming a 1770s British 33 Regiment of Foot Grenadier company came over to talk history, guns, and to drill a bit in my field. I had worked on some of their muskets and they were able to pick them up today.

There are many different styles of rasps and I've used a bunch of them. I am just going to highlight a few that I and others find extremely useful. After bandsawing off excess wood, I do 75% of my gun shaping with rasps. Folks have seen me at Dixon's and at the Kempton Gunmakers Fair shape the wrist and most of the lock panels of a squared stock blank in less than an hour using a couple of rasps and files. For sure there are always many different ways to skin the same cat but rasps really work for me given how I like to work.

First up are the standard cheap wood rasp (bottom) you can buy in a hardware store and a medium sized farrier's rasp (top). They both work very well and remove wood fast.



The hardware store rasps tend to dull quickly but they work. The farrier's rasp is a wood removing beast. However, the regular rows of machine cut teeth cut deep furrows in the wood that need to be smoothed a lot.

Next up are a couple of Japanese milled rasps sold by Lee Valley. I like these tools a lot for straight forward wood removal. They are sharp beasts and it is best to attach a handle to protect your hands. Unlike the previous rasps, they leave a pretty smooth surface behind.



The downside is they only cut effectively in a straight forward direction. It is difficult to use them to blend surfaces using a sideways movement or roll to the rasp. You have to cut straight forward and that leaves the profile of the rasp in the stock. Stanley company makes the Surform line of rasps. These are aggressive wood removers as well and leave a fairly smooth surface behind. My example here is actually my cheese grater but if you turn the blade around it is a Surform file. These are inexpensive but they dull quickly in hardwood.





Now we get to rasps I use far more than anything else. These are my Liogier cabinet maker's rasps and gunsmith rasp.






The teeth are hand cut in a relatively random pattern. Then the tool is hardened and tempered. I like the beautiful sapphire finish. The irregularly spaced teeth create a smoother finish behind and shed wood chips much better than machine cut teeth. These rasps cut quickly and smoothly. All can be purchased with coarseness of cut ranging from 1 to 15, with 15 being the finest. They replaced my old Nicholson #49 and #50 pattern maker's rasp after those were no longer made in America and the quality deteriorated badly. Liogier is not the only maker of these fine hand stitched rasps. Auriel is another.

Now here is one of my aces in the hole. The Liogier 12" gunsmith's rasp. This is a life saver. The long blade allows you to work on the combs and cheek pieces of your stock from the rear without whacking your knuckles against the end of the stock. This is a huge advantage. The narrow width is also ideal for shaping the end of the comb and the cheek piece.



I also am a big fan of Stew-Mac's Dragon rasps. These Japanese made rasps have random teeth and the sharp narrow point to the blade is incredibly useful for getting into tight spots. Mine is a fine cut and leaves a surface behind superior to a coarse file. This tool is excellent for smoothing the background around carving because of the narrow point.








Finally, my apprentice, Maria, mentioned this week that Japanese Shinto rasps were really popular at the Canter's Cave rifle making workshop. They come in many shapes and are very aggressive cutters. However, I personally, have no experience with them unlike all the other rasps I've discussed.



dave

Great info Dave, I’ve often found that some of the best tools are the one’s you make yourself for a specific job. I often now make my own scrapers and chisels and gravers.
 
As far as I can tell, Kutzall rasps are just too small to be very useful. Maybe for a few areas, but definitely not an all around gunmakers rasp.
I use one, a small half round Kutzall in detail areas, around lock panels etc, but that’s about it.
For hogging a lot of material off fast, the Shinto is hard to beat.
I also like the Dragons from Stew-Mac. Finally acquired the entire set over the last few years.
Received a gun-makers from Ligonier when I was nearing the end of my last build, so I really didn’t get a chance to use it much, but it shows a lot of promise.
 
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