Awhile ago, I saw a great video of a French craftsman shaping a deer-hoof leg; he was using Liogier rasps pretty much start to finish. Mostly what caught my eye was that these rasps seemed to work... my previous experiences with rasps were with Nicholson #49 and #50 rasps (American made, pre-Brasil) along with some likely low-quality rasps and overall, they never became a go-to tool for shaping.
So I ordered a few Liogier rasps to give them a try and really enjoyed using them to shape the 5 legs of the Tim Burton table demi-lune (the No Comment #2 build). These are definitely now in my first-choice pile of tools to shape wood.
While shaping those legs, if I had a lot of stock to remove, I'd often play with rasps to get a better feel for how they work at shaping a curve (that I'd ultimately be removing anyway). There is a learning curve to them, like every tool, but mostly a lot of muscle memory for how to switch sides of a project and still push the rasp in the correct orientation.
I cover a few basics of a rasp like grain and "handedness" so people new to rasps better understand the choices and how they work. If you're an avid rasp user, that part will be -yawn- review for you, but not too long.
Note that this is a review of the Liogier rasps. I do not own any Auriou rasps to compare; if you want to lend me a set, I'll do a comparison :)
Voilà!
A viewer wrote me about these rasps quite awhile ago. One thing he found useful was a list of what I bought to use as a starting place to sift through the options. Here's a photo of my order. You'll notice I added some additional handles and storage boxes. Those were for some of my other rasps and files; hey! these handles are maple-syrup colored... doesn't get any better for someone of Canadian upbringing :)
I rolled this video while making the Tim Burton table back in early January. As I sit here avoiding going outside to do concrete and paint in 100º weather, I was jealous of the winter weather in the video.
Naturally, I like woodworking as a hobby, but an ice hockey tournament will easily get me out of the shop :)
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Hi Paul,
Great review of the rasps.
I am looking at making a Hal Taylor Sculptured Rocker and am going to be picking up some Liogier rasps. I am stuck between the 3-piece and 5-piece starter set.
In your opinion after using the various rasps, could one get away with the 3-piece set? Is the #9 coarse enough for the basic shaping?
Thanks,
Nate
Thanks, Nate,
I'm assuming you mean the 3-pc set off Liogier's site (instead of a set from perhaps Lee Valley).
The 3-pc set Noel proposes is a #9, a small modeler's rasp and a rat-tail. The modeler's and rat-tail were the least used of my kit; they are useful, but least used. If you were shaping some relief adornments, they are both very useful.
The 5-pc is the same with the addition of the #6 and #11. In my case for the legs of the No Comment #2, the most used in order were #6, #9, #11. The #6 did far and away the most heavy removal. If you don't foresee a lot of removal, the #9 will work albeit slowly. The #9 still leaves a decent scratch pattern that the #11 can greatly reduce.
After using them, honestly would go for the 5-pc. If you aren't going to do small relief work, maybe price just the #6, #9, #11 and compare to the 5-pc to decide.
I'm thinking I answered your question with a question... sorry! :)