StewMac type scraper Use

[Thomas Wilson80]

Can StewMac type scrapers be used on bowls or is it mainly just for flat work, as shown on their online tutorial?

To use, do you always follow the grain or can you go tangential or even against it?

thanks,
Tom

https://sawmillcreek.org/blob:https://sawmillcreek.org/a0d79721-2f27-4c0c-8608-7071fa2d3508

[Steve Eure]

I can't answer your question, but if memory serves me correct, I believe John K. Jordan uses those type scrapers some. Maybe he'll be along shortly to give you help.

[Eugene Dixon]

i made a funnel from some nice walnut...not on purpose. I split it vertically and glued the two halves together by joining the large diameters together. Think candy dish. The stewmac scrapes were great in getting thing everything flat and smooth.

Yes, they'll work inside and outside a bowl.

[John K Jordan]

Can StewMac type scrapers be used on bowls or is it mainly just for flat work, as shown on their online tutorial?
To use, do you always follow the grain or can you go tangential or even against it?

thanks,
Tom
https://sawmillcreek.org/blob:https://sawmillcreek.org/a0d79721-2f27-4c0c-8608-7071fa2d3508

Tom, (BTW, the image at the bottom of your message didn't show up)

The Stewmac and other scrapers work well on bowls. The key is having the right curvature.

Stewmac sells three different scrapers:

407094

Two come curved and are useful for bowls and platters, inside and out depending on the shapes. You can grind a new profile on the scrapers - I've radiused the corner of one. When grinding, just don't get them blue-hot since they are hardened and tempered tool steel. I use a belt grinder with a coarse 1" belt to shape scrapers. The scrapers are sharpened gently on a bench grinder - I use a 600 grit CBN wheel but standard wheels should work fine.

The Stewmac scrapers are not inexpensive! Far cheaper are conventional cabinet scrapers, ground to profiles as needed. Some are sold curved but they rarely have the curvature I want. I've been shaping and using cabinet scrapers for a bunch of years now. For the insides of shallow bowls and platters I mostly use the larger curved scrapers. I use the smaller ends where needed and smaller scrapers for smaller work or tighter places/curvatures.

407096 407097

The larger ones are easier to grip. Getting the piece off the lathe is a huge help in seeing and controlling. I've smoothed pieces before while sitting in a chair with the turning on my knees but the carving and finishing stand is easier - the chuck holding the work threads on top.

407098 407100 407101

I like both the cabinet scrapers and the Stewmac scrapers. Sometimes one works better than another in certain cases. I scrape "downhill" and with the grain or diagonally to the grain. In some cases it works better to scrap with the figure - I start scraping and try different angles and scrapers to see what works best.

Cabinet scrapers have to be properly sharpened and a burnisher used to turn a cutting burr on the edges. The Stewmac and simply ground then the sides lightly honed flat to remove any burrs from the grinder.

To me the big advantages of using hand scrapers is eliminating the clouds of dust from power sanding and ending up with a flawless surface - no ripples, center mound or divot, tearout, or irregular surface from coarse power sanding. Depending on the wood and how careful I am, after scraping I can sometimes hand sand starting with 320 or finer paper.

I'm certainly not a sanding snob and will use whatever it takes, but this one made from soft cedar needed only 600 paper!

407102

JKJ

[Thomas Wilson80]

Thanks for the information - that's exactly what I was looking for. I recently acquired the rounded StewMac scraper but have never used it and have a natural edge bowl with some ripples that I'd rather not try to fix power sanding and don't have anything similar to practice on.

[Richard Dooling]

I started using StewMac scrapers based on John's posts. I find them to be very useful especially when trying to get a nice flat bottom inside a bowl. A carving stand makes them even more useful.