Is it only me?

[Reed Gray]

Usually when the new AAW magazine comes out people are gushing about some fancy piece or article in it. This time there was one that I was gushing about and no one commented.

We scraper users are a lonely group. Some one finally spoke up about them, Richard Raffen. I guess the oddest thing I noticed was that his box scrapers closely resembled my bowl scrapers, and his bowl scrapers more closely resembled my shear scrapers. Well, he does use a 45 degree bevel while mine is more like 70 degrees.

robo hippy

[mike ash]

Well Reed!!! Since you got me all hyped up about scrapers last week, two things have happened.

1) I have read the article several times and keep it close at hand.
2) You have caused me to spend too much $$$$ in the past few days trying to build up my arsonal.

Thanks a lot Friend!!!

[Reed Gray]

Well, borrowing a line from the song Black Rose that Waylon Jennings sang but didn't write, "The Devil made me do it the first time. The second time I did it on my own."

robo hippy

[Richard Jones]

I'm with you, Reed. A scraper, like any other tool, is just that: a tool. I feel no regret, shame, remorse, or anything else when I use one.

I haven't waded through the article in detail yet, but RR is one of my "heroes", and if he uses a scraper, why not me?

Scraper Users Unite!!!

OK, calming down now..........

[Glenn Barber]

I've read it twice start to finish, plus the initial scan when first going over the entire magazine. Very interested what some of the experienced scraper users thought about RR's comment on 1/2" and 3/4" thick scrapers being too thick. RR also said he uses the widest scraper possible. So, what are your primary uses for 3/4" wide scrapers and how are they shaped? Guessing boxes. Photos would be helpful for the different shapes.

Glenn

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

We all scrape in one way or another. If it's not with a big flat beast shaped straight across or curved in some way then it's with the bowl gouge held in such a position as to make it a scraper. Sooner or later the stigma will go away and we will stop feeling that scraping casts a negative reflection on our skills and merely view them as another useful tool. The big problem with scrapers is the wide variety of shapes and thicknesses needed to fit every occasion. Raffen would love it if we all bought his wonderful assortment of tools. He makes them look so inviting and simple to use it is difficult to resist.

[Jim Burr]

Reed..I hear ya. I'm working on scraper use daily. I know you advocate them and use the with every project. I'm looking for a big bowl scraper in addition to my DT scary huge flat scraper that I used 20 minutes ago. I think the idea is cool!

[Roger Chandler]

I use a scraper for finish cuts on the inside of a bowl...........turned to 45 degrees with a light shear cut on a freshly sharpened edge.........works well and even the bottom of the bowl can be cleaned up a bit. I like a pull cut from the center to the rim with support on the outside with my fingers to even out the pressure a bit and help reduce oscillations.

Other than that I prefer a gouge or a skew depending on what I am working on.........no shame at all in scraping.......I just prefer the gouge.

[allen thunem]

All I can say is people seem to get too wrapped up in what the "pros" use or suggest and dont give other methods fair consideration.
if that makes sense?? just this mans opinion.

[Thom Sturgill]

I don't use one every time, but i don't hesitate to grab mine if I think It is the right tool. BTW, I roll a burr on a honed edge just like I do a cabinet scaper.

[charlie knighton]

there is a stigma attached with scraper use, i happen to like them also, after shaping i like a straight edge scraper to do finally cuts on outside hf and bowls, i also use John Jordan's double edged diagonal straight edge scraper, go to JJ's web site to check it out

i have seen other/many turners demonstrate scraper use, thanks to Richard Raffan and John Jordan. :D:D:D

[Nathan Hawkes]

Reed, I think mostly the criticism seems to come from those people that either don't realize what they are missing, or those that simply don't know how to use a scraper well enough to get good results. I think people try and use scrapers way too aggressively, have a bad experience, then perpetuate the myth. I admit that at times in the past I had felt similarly, then learned to use scrapers properly. I now love my gouges, and my scrapers, equally. All my tools have specific uses--cuts that they excel at. Each has its place.

[Bill Wyko]

I love my scrapers, use them whe ever I feel it's suited to the job. No shame in that. My Glaser scraper is a helluva tool. I use it all the time with pride.

[Reed Gray]

Personal preference is a 3/8 inch thick by 1 to 1 1/4 inch wide. I use them for roughing bowls, shear cuts, and bevel rubbing cuts. Any wider than that, and the way I turn, it is more steel into the wood than any lathe can handle, and I have an American Beauty 3 hp. What I don't like about the really wide ones is the tendency for getting way too much steel into the wood faster than you are ready for. Mostly I use the inside scrapers, which are swept back to the left side. I use round nose ones quite a bit as well, but they seem to develop a sweep eventually. Broad nosed ones, with a ) profile work great for bevel rubbing cuts, with the handle dropped a bit, and working on the lower 1/3 of the blade. Mostly the burr from the grinder, but on occasion, a burnished burr (triangle card scraper burnisher). Never a honed burr.

I figure the main reason for the popularity of the carbide tipped scrapers (Easy Roughers) is that they are small scrapers, and pretty easy to use.

robo hippy

[Mike Cruz]

Reed, I don't mean to hijack the thread, but since it pertains to scrapers... I do enjoy using a scraper to smooth out the inside curve of a bowl after using a gouge. While it does a great job evening things out, I seem to get a lot of tearout (mostly been turning sound maple). I put a negative rake on the scraper. Is there a secret angle that I need to have on it?

[Steve Schlumpf]

I received my magazine a couple of days ago but had not had the time to read anything yet. I checked out the scraper article and it is very well written. I like the examples Richard gave on using different profiles for different tasks. I have a couple of scrapers and have used a large round nose for cleaning up the inside of bowls. When done right - you don't really need to sand anything at all!

I'm still working on that getting it right part...

[Scott Hackler]

I also liked the article and use a giant inside bowl scraper on almost every bowl. I admit that I need to work on my technique but I am a firm believer in the usefullness of scrapers. I even have a lightweight 1" scraper that I use to clean up the outside profiles of different forms. Of course I think Sorby mis-marked this scraper because the package said "SKEW"!

[Reed Gray]

A scraper, flat on the tool rest is not a good tool for clean cuts. For sweeping across the bottom of the bowl to even that out, it does a much better job. Reason is that when you are cutting down through the fibers on the sides of the bowl, you get more tear out because a scraping cut tends to pull on the fibers more than a slicing/shear cut does. I do as good of a cut as I can with a gouge, and use the scraper, at a 45 or higher degree angle for very light pull cuts. It will take several passes to get rid of tool marks.

Negative rake scrapers work best on harder woods. I personally never use them on bowls, only on end grain things like the tops of boxes. Mine is about 45 degrees on both sides of the bevel. I have seen maybe 60 on the bottom, and 10 to 20 on the top. Depends on the person. No matter what the angles, it is still a scraping cut, and will leave some tear out. The softer maples can be really bad about this, in that no matter what you do, you will get some tear out.

Go to You Tube and type in robo hippy. I have one clip up on turning a bowl with just scrapers.

robo hippy

[Mike Cruz]

Thanks, Reed!