Scrapers....n-schtuff

[Keith Christopher]

You know I've been turning about 10 months now. I haven't done a ton, only stuff like pens, bowls, spindles for practice. And in all this time I haven't truly used a scraper. Well a friend loaned me his Kryo he got when at the show in Louisville. A little playing and man I can honestly say WOWZA. it was like using a well tuned hand plane. A steady stream of curlies and a smooth surface. Man this thing can not only light touch but you can remove some stock and leave the surface as smooth as a baby's bottom !


Sorry for the rant but it's no wonder people develop these tools. They work !

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Keith.........some might consider this sacreligous.....I use a couple of scrapers in the turning of bowls and boxes. They have their place IMHO.

[Chris Barton]

I have a set of the Keltons and they are GREAT!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Keith I have about 4 different types of scrapers. They work great. I use them on boxes, bowls, etc.

[Reed Gray]

I do have a bunch of them, and use them a lot. I like to use them for all of the roughing work on bowls, but never seem to get the cleanest cuts on flat grain work, even when using a shear cut. I get better cuts with the bowl gouge. For end grain work, they cut as well as anything else, and can leave a surface that doesn't need sanding.
robo hippy

[Keith Christopher]

Keith.........some might consider this sacreligous.....I use a couple of scrapers in the turning of bowls and boxes. They have their place IMHO.

Yeah and to think hollow forming tools are just a bunch of scrapers.



I tell you I was amazed how thin these shavings were. Where I had some chatter I now have a smooth surface (pics will follow with the lid I mad for a bowl) and man this was so so sweet. And I'm turning curly maple face work !

I'm getting one of these babies ! Oh and for those wondering about Kyro tools, I have been putting this through the paces this weekend and let me tell you, this thing is still sharp as a razor. 4 bowls , two lidded boxes and a lid for a bowl and it still doesn't need to be honed.

[Dale Thompson]

Keith,
Regardless of what some folks think, the use of a scraper is NOT a sin for a turner!! In fact, they can be indispensible for certain cuts.

By the way, I've heard that an old car or truck leaf spring can be formed into a great scraper. I've never tried it because I don't know what a "leaf spring" IS!??

Dale T.

[Corey Hallagan]

I don't know what I would do without my scrapers! Bernie told me I needed to get some scrapers and that was some of the best advise I have gotten. I just ordered some diamond hones so I won't have to grind on them often!

Corey

[Don Fuss]

Perhaps you could chalk it up to poor gouge technique, but I always grab my trusty round nose scraper to finish up the inside of a bowl. I just can't get the same level of smoothness with anything else.

[James Duxbury]

Keith,

Scrapers have been used since the tredel lathe, work great, and in certain places can save a lot of time. You go further with them by actually grinding shapes for specific cuts. Balls inside balls etc. It's the only way.

This is a neat one. Take a cheap carbon steel, 1/2" shallow grind spindle gouge and turn it over--upside down, and sharpen it as a scraper. About a 15 degree angle. This leaves the bur on the OD and works great doing the final cuts on the inside of a bowl. Shear scraping from the bottom up. Saves sanding.