# Are old buck bros chisels and gouges any good?



## Thorbjorn88 (Jan 4, 2018)

I usually associate buck bros with crappy home depot stuff but I'm looking for some gouges to try out on some of my guitar work and saw these on craigslist. Do you think these are any good? He's asking $100 for all of them but the add has been up for a while so he might be open to negotiating. What do you think good deal or am I better off buying one or two new gouges for $100?


----------



## rad457 (Jun 15, 2013)

IMO, not bad at all, think I have a couple strays in the shop think price a tad high for a lot sale, usually a $5-$10 garage sale item?


----------



## Unknowncraftsman (Jun 23, 2013)

The only way to know if the steel is right for the wood and work you do is to buy them. Sharpen them use them there could a couple good ones that you like.
I like the shape of some of the handles.
I have a lots of extra chisels that I rarely use . I think everyone that sticks with the craft does too.
Good Luck


----------



## SMP (Aug 29, 2018)

Yeah old Buck or the wood handled ones they still make in Mass are good. Those are worth about $25-30 each to those in the know.


----------



## Thorbjorn88 (Jan 4, 2018)

It looks like the bevel is on the inside of the gouges? That's the less common type right? Are those much harder to sharpen than when the bevel is on the outside? If you can't tell I've never actually held a gouge in my hands ha ha


----------



## PBWilson1970 (Jan 23, 2020)

If you have a use for the gouges, then I'd say that the deal is a fair one. They all seem to be in good condition and nobody has ground them away into dust and nobody seems to have used a metal hammer on them.

Quality of older stuff in regards to heat treat and quality of the steel is an unknown, but I've found that my old Fulton, Pexto and Buck Bros. chisels have been really nice quality.


----------



## Loren (May 30, 2008)

I have some old Buck crank neck chisels but I don't pound on them so it's kind of hard to say how they compare to regular chisels. The long chisels are sometimes called pattern maker's chisels.


----------



## Foghorn (Jan 30, 2020)

I have a lot of old chisels but no Bucks. They seem to be well regarded by most users as I recall. I'm interested in what guitar uses you are planning to use them for? Archtops? Neck heel?


----------



## Thorbjorn88 (Jan 4, 2018)

I'm planning on using them for neck heel and volute carving as well as carved tops guitars like Les Pauls or PRSs as well as ergonomic cuts on the backs of electric guitars.

Do these look like in-cannel gouges?


----------



## Loren (May 30, 2008)

The Buck gouges are called incanel (sp) gouges. They're used I think for patternmaking and straight cuts. They can get you into a cut but if it's not straight they can't get you out. In patternmaking they were used to cut relief channels for excess metal to flow into.

For carving guitar parts I would expect outcanel gouges to be a better general choice. Also you might want tools that put your hands closer to the work. I have one I use for carving heels with a shallow sweep and about like this "one in a #5 sweep 1 wide. In practice it's used with a mallet or two handed with one hand wrapped around the steel part. It might be a Henry Taylor.

I have most Flex-cut carving tools and I've been happy with them. They may not last through as many sharpenings as other brands but because they flex you can get out of some cuts that would otherwise require more tools with just the one gouge.


----------



## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

The vintage tanged Bucks are excellent chisels. I have both flat and gouge pattern maker crank necks and they have served me well. I see at least four good length paring chisels there as well as some nice gouges. I would spend the $100.


----------



## Foghorn (Jan 30, 2020)

Some good advice from Loren. I use a 3/4" outcannel bent gouge for concave carving of archtop plates and a 1/2" dual bevel straight chisel for heels. Mostly rasps and scrapers for volutes and heels. I prefer double convex palm planes for carving the top and inside of arched tops. They give me more control. I'm sure there are plenty who use straight gouges but I'm not one of them.


----------



## PBWilson1970 (Jan 23, 2020)

Crimson Guitars on Youtube had a video recently that described three gouges that guitar builders should have.






At the 3:45 mark, he shows how one might use an incannel gouge with the bevel on the inside. He uses it to pare inside curves and it could come in handy while shaping a guitar neck heel and the inside curve on a headstock. The one he uses is pretty narrow but it might give you ideas.


----------



## Thorbjorn88 (Jan 4, 2018)

> Crimson Guitars on Youtube had a video recently that described three gouges that guitar builders should have.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah I saw that one. I really liked that 1/8" incannel gouge but I can't find one anywhere. The rest of the stuff I do I think outcannel would be better for.


----------



## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

You can regrind those to be outcannel gouges. It's just a matter of which side you put the bevel on. Those gouges would have been through hardened along the full length minus the tang so just grind slow and don't wreck the temper. Outcannel is much easier to sharpen too.

I imagine those are a bit oversized for lutherie work though. But, I've never done any so don't really know. I would imagine something more along the lines of carving gouges would be easier to use though.


----------



## bc4393 (Apr 10, 2015)

+1 Absolutely

Old Buck and Marples you aren't going to get hurt for that kind of money.






























> The vintage tanged Bucks are excellent chisels. I have both flat and gouge pattern maker crank necks and they have served me well. I see at least four good length paring chisels there as well as some nice gouges. I would spend the $100.
> 
> - theoldfart


----------

