Former Penryn College pupil Alfie Munden’s final-year project at Brunel University London has led to a radical improvement to traditional finger planes.
The minute planes are used to precisely carve the soundboard of violins, acoustic guitars and other stringed instruments by hand.
Alfie, 23, said: “As a musical instrument maker I naturally use traditional finger planes but found myself slightly frustrated as, as the names suggests, my fingers have to do all the hard work.
“As a designer I wondered if I could use those skills to redesign an ancient tool. My solution is to add an articulated handle to push the plane with the hand, leaving the fingers to guide the blade around the contours of the instrument.
“A fine screw adjustment sets the depth of the cut, which, together with the sculpted handle, allows the craftsperson to voice their instruments precisely, comfortably and above all quickly.”
Alfie is now investigating small-scale manufacturing so other luthiers can take advantage of his breakthrough.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here