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View Full Version : Cocobolo scratchers?


Curt Fuller
03-28-2010, 9:42 PM
My wife has a friend that does scratchboard artwork. She does some pretty neat stuff. I made these for my wife to give her for her birthday. I'm not sure if they'll even work for what she does but my wife thinks they will. They're both cocobolo and the brass end is made from a 1/4" brass compression fitting (2nd pic), turned down and polished smooth. One of the scratchers is turned from a #10 brass wood screw, the other is from a 1/4" bolt. No finish on the cocobolo, just sanded to 600 and friction rubbed on the lathe to shine up the natural oil in the wood.
Steve Schlumpf
03-28-2010, 9:48 PM
Curt - I have to admit that I have never heard of scratchers before - but these are cool! Nice work on the cocobolo! I am sure your wife's friend will be thrilled to receive them!
Bernie Weishapl
03-28-2010, 10:08 PM
Those are really nice looking and I have never seen one of those either.
Steve Mawson
03-28-2010, 10:11 PM
I am with everyone else, new to me but look great and fully functional.
alex carey
03-28-2010, 10:13 PM
what do they scratch? is it wood?
James Combs
03-28-2010, 10:34 PM
Like everyone else, they look great but what are they for and how are they used?
Jeff Fagen
03-28-2010, 10:51 PM
Looks like a couple of fancy scratchall's, those handles look like some antique glass cutters I've seen.
Richard Madison
03-29-2010, 12:46 AM
It is "The art of taking away" as you start with a black surface and scratch off to show the white underneath. Just google it to find numerous examples.
David E Keller
03-29-2010, 12:59 AM
Nice looking instuments. They should work beautifully.
Karl Card
03-29-2010, 1:58 AM
When you said scratchers I was thinking of back scratchers....

But IMHO you can never go wrong with cocobolo...Also pretty imaginative on the hardware..
John Keeton
03-29-2010, 5:57 AM
Very nice spindle work, Curt, and the cocobolo looks great. Did you use a file to turn the steel bolt and brass screw?

Also, seems like this artform would be similar to scrimshaw..
Baxter Smith
03-29-2010, 11:28 AM
Nice looking gift!
George Guadiane
03-29-2010, 12:54 PM
Very nice, whatever they are for!
I like hearing about new ways that we can share our work with family friends and CUSTOMERS!
Brian Kent
03-29-2010, 1:19 PM
That has become my favorite finish for cocobolo. Just polish the heck out of them and let their own oils shine through.
John Tomasello jr
03-29-2010, 6:48 PM
Good looking, always like the cocobolo polishes up
Curt Fuller
03-29-2010, 10:57 PM
Very nice spindle work, Curt, and the cocobolo looks great. Did you use a file to turn the steel bolt and brass screw?

Also, seems like this artform would be similar to scrimshaw..

John, I used a spindle gouge and sandpaper on the brass tip. The steel tip I used a file. The steel one was actually easier to make. A fine file clogged with the brass and a coarse one was too grabby.

The Scratchboard technique involves painting color on a board and then painting black paint over the top of it. The the scratcher is used to scratch fine lines revealing the color under the black surface.

Here's a link to a guy's website that is really good.
http://www.greggmurray.com/GreggOrig4.html