Scrapers don't cut, they scrape??????

[Reed Gray]

If you don't know by now, I am a self proclaimed scraper psycho. Back tracking some years ago, I was at a Bonnie Klein workshop and mentioned to her that I used scrapers a lot on bowls. She commented back that she used gouges and it felt good to see long strings of shavings coming off the tool, and she couldn't do that with scrapers. Well, I just could not figure that one out. I can get heavy duty shavings that are wide and thick, and I can get ones that you can read a paper through, and can almost float in the air like 5 micron dust particles. So, that seems to me like I can 'cut' with the tool. I can get equally rough or smooth surfaces using gouges or scrapers. If I push the tools through the cut faster than the wood can slice, both gouges and scrapers will leave tear out. If I am gentle and light, I can get nice clean surfaces.

Am I missing some thing, or have I rediscovered long lost secrets to using scrapers?

The scraper in action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKdqiAc0jx4

robo hippy

[Al Wasser]

I too can get pretty cool curlies with a scraper, but not in all woods all the time

[Steve Mawson]

Totally agree with you. I have a home made 3/8 scraper that I use a lot on a shear scrape to clean up tear out. My scrapers will shoot off ribbons just like a gouge, perhaps not as curly. Not to disappoint you but doubt if you have found any long lost secrets.;):o

[charlie knighton]

thanks for sharing Reed, how thick are your scrapers, they look thicker than normal

[Wally Dickerman]

Not missing a thing Reed....I've watched those production turners down on the Oregon coast turning myrtlewood bowls in just a few minutes using heavy duty tantung steel tipped scrapers.

As a turner who was turning bowls long before there was a bowl gouge I've used scrapers a lot. Still use 'em for certain jobs.

[Reed Gray]

I prefer a 3/8 inch thick by about 1 to 1 1/4 inch wide. Heavy enough to hang out a bit, 3 inches or so, and solid for almost no vibration. 1 inch wide can stall just about any lathe if you have enough Brute Squad behind it, and I am for sure in that category. 1/4 inch is too thin to hang off the tool rest more than about 1 1/2 inches. A swept back one that is 1/4 inch thick is great for clean up.

robo hippy

[David DeCristoforo]

I think that, like with many other tools, it's all about how the tool is used. Anyone who has ever used a card scraper to finish a flat surface will tell you that a scraper, sharpened and used properly, can cut the finest shavings. You can scrape wood with a bowl gouge or a skew if you present them in a certain manner.

[Thom Sturgill]

I was just reading a pdf about sharpening that mentioned that most either under or over sharpen a scraper. According to the document, direct from a grinder the edge has about .002 burr. After sharpening with a hard steel, the burr is about .005 and curved in slightly. Oversharpening will raise the burr more and curve the burr so much that it will not cut.

[David C. Roseman]

David D. wrote:

Anyone who has ever used a card scraper to finish a flat surface will tell you that a scraper, sharpened and used properly, can cut the finest shavings.

Always enjoy David D.'s posts, and a light went on with this one. As a mostly reformed flatworker, still fairly new to turning, I've used a card scraper many times for a glass-smooth surface that beats sandpaper. Why might it be any different for lathe work? Reed Gray's work with a bowl scraper is really something to see! But one big difference that comes to mind is that, with a card scraper, it's easy to pull a perfect burr with a burnisher by first clamping it in a vice. Harder to use a burnisher on a bowl scraper, at least for me. I have the PSI set, and I'm still trying to refine my sharpening and use of them. Sometimes it seems that I get it just right and can peel long shavings off the bottom interior of a bowl for a silky finish, other times not so much. It's a bit frustrating, because I seem to have no trouble getting the "perfect" grind on my bowl gouges. One thing that has helped is modifying the original grind on the scrapers (close to 90 degrees) so that they are swept back slightly. That way the bottom edge doesn't contact the interior curve of the bowl, and I don't have to orient them quite as high above center.

David

[Bernie Weishapl]

Reed I have watched that video a couple of times. I tried turning a bowl with just a scraper last week. I had bought a 1 1/2" wide by 3/8" scraper along with a 1" X 3/8" and 3/4" x 5/16". I did the whole bowl with those scrapers. Not quite as fast as you did but had the lathe running at 700 rpm and it worked pretty well.

[Thom Sturgill]

Here is the sharpening article that talks about burnishing a scraper:

http://www.bigtreeturnings.com/articles/sharpening2.html

The discussion is at the bottom of the article. Apparently I mis-remembered the size of the burr by a factor of 10.


Here is another good article on sharpening scrapers:

http://www.docgreenwoodturner.com/scrapers2.html

proper sharpening will improve both the ease and cleanness of the cut.

[Curt Fuller]

I don't care whether it's cutting or scraping with a gouge or a scraper, it's just fun to watch a professional at work and see how they make it look so easy. You definitely know how to turn a bowl!

[Thom Sturgill]

I don't care whether it's cutting or scraping with a gouge or a scraper, it's just fun to watch a professional at work and see how they make it look so easy. You definitely know how to turn a bowl!

Couldn't agree more!