in praise of the scraper

[Harvey M. Taylor]

I tried until my bowl blank was almost a mini bowl to true it up after roughing. Switched to my round point scraper, got'er done lickety-split.

[Paul Engle]

Harvey,
Yep has saved me more than once, learned how to turn a burr on it and it'll peel air now...:rolleyes: :D

[Dick Durbin]

Harvey,
Yep has saved me more than once, learned how to turn a burr on it and it'll peel air now...:rolleyes: :D

That burr seems to make all the difference in the world. It has me thinking about what, if any, use I might make of my furniture scrapers on my turnings.

Dick Durbin
Tallahassee

[George Tokarev]

I tried until my bowl blank was almost a mini bowl to true it up after roughing. Switched to my round point scraper, got'er done lickety-split.

So you were trying to "ride the bevel?" One of the strange things you hear about turning. You're trying not to press too hard because you get out of round that way. Use your gouge with the care and method used with the scraper, handle as close to horizontal as permits for good support, and start the shaving skinny. You'll find having the edge at 90 degrees to the scraping position will establish a natural place to lay the bevel as it passes inward.

Scraping is more or less a controlled continuous catch.

[Paul Engle]

that's where I got the idea.....all my best cabinet work is scraped not sanded..with German scrapers. I tried it on a test piece spindle work and oh baby. so I sharpened my round nose scraper and put a burr on it and tried on a test bowl. Like I said , it'll peel air now and I keep it very sharp and refresh the burr as needed . I have a flat scraper and my bowl rest has about a 3/8" wide flat spot on it and I get it just below center and can push or pull, George is correct about the bevel thing , once i got the shape correct I can ride the side bevel ( nose or point ) in and out at nearly 90 degree angle and get willowy wisps of wood floating gently in the roar to be sucked out by the dc and blown into the woods...:D

[Neal Addy]

My rule is: whichever tool works best for you is the right tool for the job.

From Russ Fairfield's "Universal Truths of Woodturning":
"16 - Real woodturners do use scrapers. A scraper is a cutting tool, and it does remove wood. I can do everything with a scraper that can be done with a bowl gouge. It will take me longer, but the wood surface will be better."

[Dick Durbin]

From Russ Fairfield's "Universal Truths of Woodturning":
"16 - Real woodturners do use scrapers. A scraper is a cutting tool, and it does remove wood. I can do everything with a scraper that can be done with a bowl gouge. It will take me longer, but the wood surface will be better."


You don't know how good it is to hear that. The only bowl gouge I have at this time is a 3/8" Penn State with a fingernail grind. I have yet to figure out how to use it without it catching like crazy. When I do get a decent cut going, the flute clogs up so quickly that I have to clear it and start all over again. I have been doing most of my bowl hollowing with a scraper and it seems to be working well.

I'm going to bite the bullet and buy a good bowl gouge at the woodcraft in Pompano Beach when I will be working there later this week.

[Skip Spaulding]

I have been roughing with the gouge, but switch to a scraper for finish. Just received 4 of the Benjamin's Best scrapers in the mail. Got 1/2"rd., 1"rd., 11/2"rd. and 3/4sq. All Ihad was 3/4rd. and 3/4 round with notch. Hope to try them tonight. I find the more I work with 1/2" and 3/8" bowl gouges the better I get but haven't been able to get very smooth with them as yet. Scrapers keep me turning!

[Malcolm Tibbetts]

Before sandpaper ever touches my work, I almost always spend just a few minutes with a cabinet-style, handheld scraper, using a straight edge on the convex surfaces and a concave scarper on the concave surfaces. You have to be careful not to over scrape as you will destroy the “roundness” of your work; it’ll remove side-grain faster than end-grain.