Which Bowl Scraper To Buy?

[Eric Jacobson]

After much practice trying to perfect the David Ellsworth interior finishing cut on open bowls, I'm ready to buy myself a beefy scraper. I have a cheap scraper and it has become a pretty important tool.

I have no idea which one to get. The Glenn Lucas GL1 Negative Rake French Curve Scraper is supposed to be very easy to use (according to the marketing paragraph in my Craft Supplies USA catalog). But the Henry Taylor Heavy Bowl Turning Scraper or the Richard Raffan Bowl Scraper or the Robert Sorby Extra Heavy Scraper all look good to me. Any suggestions?

My intent is to use my Ellsworth gouge/grind for the entire bowl, but use a scraper to finish the interior such that I can start sanding at 220 grit. Does that sound reasonable?

[Roger Chandler]

I think you are going in the right direction Eric.........any of the tools you mention are good. I use two scrapers for bowl interiors. One is a Benjamin's Best from PSI.........round nose and only 1/4" thick, and the other a Crown [pinnacle cryogenic] with a side grind. Most of the time the BB scraper is all I need, but I do wish it was a little beefier once in a while.

[Reed Gray]

Eric, I use scrapers a lot for all of my bowl roughing. I prefer one about 3/8 inch thick, and don't like the really wide ones, in part because that is way more steel than you can put into the wood at one time no matter how big your lathe is. I can stall my Robust with a 1 inch scraper. Doug Thompson has a 5/16 inch thick one that is 1 inch wide and is really nice. You have to make a handle for it though. I prefer a swept back to the left side type. The nose is used for heavy stock removal, and the wing for shear scrapes. The nose works well for shear scrapes on the inside of a bowl. If you go to You Tube and type in robo hippy, I have several clips up, one that is me turning a bowl with just scrapers.

robo hippy

[Thom Sturgill]

The tools we turners use can vary quite a lot in the quality of the metal as well as design of the tool. I never thought much about this with scrapers until I bought one of Doug Thompson's. The new vanadium alloy, powder metal, cryogenic treated metals cut better and stay sharper, longer than anything else I've ever tried. I have a Sorby extra heavy (1/2") and a pair of Benjamin's Best (1/4") that I've used for several years, but I do not think they are anywhere near as good as the Thompson which can get quite aggressive.

[Adrian Anguiano]

I have one of these.. and its a thick strong beast. http://www.pennstateind.com/store/LX130.html

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I also have BB scrapers. I got the bowl pair, both thick with the side grind, which helps making my box sides straight. I also have the really big Sorby round nose which is nicer, since it stays sharper longer than the BB. I would like to own a Thompson scraper, since I like his gouges. May need to sell some stuff to justify yet another tool purchase.

[Ray Koberstine]

FWIW for my first scrapers I bought this set of two PSI scrapers from advise here when they were $27: http://www.amazon.com/PSI-Woodworking-Products-LCSIDE2-Scraper/dp/B000N4LR2I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386259658&sr=8-1&keywords=psi+scraper. One is 3/4 x 5/16 and the other 1 x 3/8 which seem pretty heavy. They are M2 high speed steel so theoretically not bad. While I'm by no means an accomplished bowl turner, I was impressed with these scrapers for the price (probably still not a bad deal for $42). However I'm sure they are not of the quality of the aforementioned Thompson or Dave Thomas products.

[charlie knighton]

the question is not which one scrapper to buy, it is how many different scrappers to buy

[Robert Henrickson]

I have one scraper, which I used once or twice 5-6 years ago. Since then 500 bowls, plates, etc. Different strokes ----

[John Thorson]

Get a scraper to keep things moving for now. I would suggest the "Mastering Woodturning, Bowl Turning Techniques" by Glenn Lucas. If the excellent camera work and Glenn's explanations don't have you making those cuts on the bowl I would be very surprised.

[Michael Poorman]

Huge +1 on Thompson lathe tools! I recently purchased the 5/8 bowl gouge, 3/8 spindle gouge, and the 1 1/4 scraper rounded off in the same manner that Reed mentioned. These are excellent tools and you will not go wrong with them. Also, a negative rake scraper simply allows you to hold the tool flat instead of raising the handle end of the tool... I was wondering the same thing when picking out my scraper and Doug told me not to bother with grinding as a negative rake scraper, but to just raise the back of the handle. It works like a charm! Hope this helps.

[Sparky Paessler]

I have been using the Henry Taylor Heavy Bowl Turning scraper for 10 years or so and it is a nice heavy scraper that does a good job and takes a good sharp edge. After having some trouble recentlly with tearout on some Box Elder bowls I made some new scrapers that use the round carbide cutter from easy woods tools but it is mounted on the tool at a 45 degree angle so it does a shear cut. I also made one using the square carbide cutters from Grizzly. These really seem to do the trick with soft or wild grain woods and produce smooth cuts that require little sanding. I took 1/2" square bar stock and ground a 45 on the end (shaped it a little to fit the cutter) and drilled and taped a hole to mount the cutter. Works for me. What gave me the idea was the Turnmaster tool from Sorby that you can rotate the tip 45 degrees on.

[Mike Peace]

I also have BB scrapers. I got the bowl pair, both thick with the side grind, which helps making my box sides straight. I also have the really big Sorby round nose which is nicer, since it stays sharper longer than the BB. I would like to own a Thompson scraper, since I like his gouges. May need to sell some stuff to justify yet another tool purchase.

I have had these for over a year and quite satisfied. I am sure not as good as a Thompson scraper ( I have several DT BGs and SGs and really do like them) but for me, good value. I put a bevel grind on the top edge for a negative rake. Funny but one of my most favorite scrapers is a Harbor Freight plum handled 1/4" X 5/8" scraper. I tend to use it for very light cuts and sharpen frequently to keep a burr on it. I suspect the wide range of opinion is because so many turners use scrapers differently. Also, so many folks only will buy the best and will always be unhappy with less. Some folks just have a different value proposition based on their budget and how often they turn.

[Reed Gray]

I guess I should add sharpening here. The burr from the grinder will work fine, especially if you have CBN wheels. They leave a far better burr than the white or blue grinding wheels. Burnishing a burr is generally not needed if you use the CBN wheels. You can also hone the bevel and raise a small burr which also performs well. I don't use the Lee Valley burnishing tool. People tend to over burnish with it and the burr can actually roll over like a breaking wave, which makes it more difficult to cut with, or you have to lift the handle a lot more. I use a triangle burnishing tool that is commonly used on hand held card scrapers.

robo hippy

[Lee Koepke]

I guess I should add sharpening here. The burr from the grinder will work fine, especially if you have CBN wheels. They leave a far better burr than the white or blue grinding wheels. Burnishing a burr is generally not needed if you use the CBN wheels. You can also hone the bevel and raise a small burr which also performs well. I don't use the Lee Valley burnishing tool. People tend to over burnish with it and the burr can actually roll over like a breaking wave, which makes it more difficult to cut with, or you have to lift the handle a lot more. I use a triangle burnishing tool that is commonly used on hand held card scrapers.

robo hippy
thanks for that tip. I dont think about the burr as much as I should, and hadnt tried the burnishing tool to refine it. thanks again....

[Arlin Eastman]

I have a few scrapers from 1/2" to 1 1/2" in either round nose and square nose or Side grind.

I tried a negative rake scraper when Rudy Lopez was at our club and it was a JOY to use. :)

It is the same kind that Glen Lucas has for sale.

Arlin

[Jeffrey J Smith]

I've accumulated several scrapers - and when they're needed, nothing else seems to work as well. But, since experimenting with different grinds, I find a gouge to be the better tool more often than not. Started with my standard grind, added a traditional grind (aka the bottom feeder), then developed a grind about halfway in between that has become my go to for bowl interiors from about 1/3 of the way from the rim to the bottom. The scrapers are used less and less - generally to remove any tool marks on troublesome timbers. Just my experience, YMMV.

[phil harold]

There just was some big scrapers for sale right here
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/forumdisplay.php?10-SawMill-Creek-Classifieds