HELP - I need some tool recommendations

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Okay folks.................pony up! Cough up some information and recommendations.

I've got some green peach from Raymond Overman that is begging to be NEs. I talked with Raymond this evening and he agrees. Minor problem.....I've never turned an NE but I've been talking to folks and reading so here's my predicament.


I don't have a real bowl scraper. I'm thinking I need one. Currently I running with a 3/8" bowl gouge with an Irish grind and a 1/2" round nose scraper. Now, I know some of you purists out there don't believe in scrapers. Well.....I do. They work well in some conditions and I need a recommendation for a good bowl scraper....Please.

2ndly.....I've been sanding everything by hand....I mean literally using sandpaper and my pinkies. I thinking when I get to sanding those NEs....my pinkies could become stubbies! So......tell me what I need to sand bowls/NE bowls with.....give me some specifics and some recommendations.

Father's Day is coming up. My wife is sentimental towards my part in our family of 3 kids, 5 grandkids and a soon to arrive great grand daughter.....She and the check book are vulnerable. Make some recommendations.....give me some lattitude .........some options please!

Thanks In Advance!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Ken I have a 1 1/2" by 1/4" thick scraper from PSI. Everything I have read by Raffan and some others said your scraper need to be hefty. I do use mine not as much as I used to but when I need a scraper that's the one I reach for. I also bought the P & N 3/8" and 1/2" traditional grind bowl gouges and put my own handles of them as they are unhandled. No sweeps or anything on the grind. Mike Mahoney in his video on bowl turning shows how to make the final cut with these and he says you won't need a scraper. So far since I started using them he is right if you do it right.

Ken I was doing the same thing you were and still do on small stuff as far as sanding goes. I finally broke down, went to Packard Woodworks and bought the 1" and 3" Velcro sanding disc that fit in your drill. I have a craftsman 3/8" close quarters angle drill. Works great on bowls.

Ken don't know if it is right or wrong but know it works for me. Hope it helps.

[Travis Stinson]

Ken, I would shy away from a bowl scraper on a NE bowl. You want to be cutting those wings as they come around. A scraper can tend to bounce off and dig in with the irregular walls, no supporting wood to back up the cut. An Irish grind bowl gouge will work perfectly. Just angle the nose to about 2 o'clock and follow it in with a steady hand. A close quarters drill, like a Milwaukee or Sioux, sounds like the perfect Father's Day gift!:D Power sand the main body of the bowl under power and sand the wings with the lathe off, rotating the turning by hand.;)

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Not that Travis needs me to agree with him, but I do!

The one time I blew up an NE was with a scraper, with the bowl gouge I did not have the problem, well except for the lack of skill.

The 2" disc for the drill, with the wave sand paper stuff works wonders! :D

[Frank Fusco]

It is nice to know what folks are talking about. I do not speak acronymeese very well. What is an "NE"?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Natural Edge ......bowl with the orginal shape of the log on the rim and hopefully with the bark on it rim too!

[Dennis Peacock]

Ken,

Use a scraper on "regular bowls". Travis has you going on the right track there. If you want to purchase a bowl scraper? Then Crown makes a nice one that's 3/8" thick and works great as a "negative rake" scraper. When I used it right out of the box, it was "very" grabby. The negative rake fixed that problem and made it a LOT more friendly for me.

The only thing I can add to what Travis already said is: Watch out for those wings as they come around. They don't feel so good on the hands and fingers.:rolleyes: :D

Sanding....Yea...get the velcro pads for your drill. I use the 2" all the time and wish I had the 3". I have a Milwaukee 3/8" VS drill that I use. It's not close quarters, but It does all I need it to do. Also, get the sandpaper that Travis, Jim, Mark, and others have started using. It's good stuff. :cool:

[Frank Fusco]

Natural Edge ......bowl with the orginal shape of the log on the rim and hopefully with the bark on it rim too!

Thanks. That helps. Speaking English always helps. There isn't even an option to press for acronymeese on automated telephone answering systems.

[Andy Hoyt]

Ken - I asked the same questions about sanders in this thread (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=29445) last winter and got some great advice.

[Earl Eyre]

Can't add anything new, just re-empasize it, if you buy another scraper get the biggest, heftyist (is that a word?) one you can afford. But that heft will probably take off any wings of a NE bowl. Same for a sander. I bought one of those cheapy knock-off sanders off ebay two years ago and its still going strong. Still wouldn't use it on a NE, but I use it everywhere else.

Earl