In need of a tiny scraper

[Aaron Wingert]

I need to find or make a tiny scraper, and would really appreciate some ideas!

I've started making duck calls recently. The tone channel of the call is 1/4" in diameter, and runs lengthwise through the end of the call that the sound comes out of (the insert). The insert is a spindle turning. The end where the sound comes out is bored/tapered to about 3/8" using a step drill bit. That makes it sound fine but the 1/16" steps are visible inside the end of the insert and that bugs me. I need to devise a scraper that'll fit inside the hole and allow me to smooth the steps out and clean the hole up.

I looked into HSS and carbide reamers but was blown away by the price tag. I was also unable to find anything that will give me a taper from 1/4" to 3/8" wide in about a 1/2" distance. Most are very gradual tapers.

I've thought about making a scraper from an old file or something, but I'm no metalworker and am not sure it that would even work.

Ideas?

[Richard Madison]

Aaron,
You might try grinding a 1/2" or 3/8" spade bit to the desired taper. It would be crude but inexpensive. Have never made a duck call, so not familiar with what you need to do.

[Chris Stolicky]

Would it be possible to do it with various grits of sand paper wrapped around a small rod of sorts?

just an idea....

[Ted Calver]

How far inside the end are the steps? Would the point of a small skew reach in there? I use a skew as a fine scraper all the time and just roll a burr on the scraping edge..works great on little details.

[Jeff Nicol]

Aaron, I use pieces of old saw blades from the table saw or a skill saw and make any shape I need for any operation. The steel hard but I can cut it with a fine tooth hack saw or a small grinder. It holds a great edge for scrapers and cutters of all types, and a blade will last a long time for making little cutters! You should be able to come up with something that way.

Jeff

[Brian Weaver]

You could also use an old allen wrench. It's easy to grind one of these into a small scraper, if you need to bend it you will need some heat though as they will just snap off otherwise.

[Nick Hoffman]

You could order some tool steel from here. Not the best prices I have ever seen but convenient.
http://www.metalsupermarkets.com/MSC...r.aspx?MAP=USA

You can just grind the high speed steel on a bench wheel grinder.

http://www.sousacorp.com/tool1.htm

[Steve Garrison]

I have made very small scrapers out of old pocket knives. Use a bench grinder to shape it the way you want making sure you don't overheat the steel. Grind off the old knife edge so you don't cut yourself or nick the tool rest. Lay the blade flat on the tool rest - not on edge. You won't have a long handle to provide much leverage, so be careful with what kind of cuts you try with it.

[Greg Ketell]

Old files make good tools too.

[Paul Atkins]

I made a drill/reamer for drilling tapered holes out of 1/2" drill rod. I turned the taper on my machine lathe and ground the flutes by hand. Works great on end grain, but there is not very much clearance for chips so I have to back it out a few times. This would be more consistent and faster than scraping by hand. Another thing you could do is grind the steps off the taper drill.

[Steve Garrison]

I have also seen stepless drills - same thing you used, but without the steps. $6.99 for a set of three. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=66463 This would probably save you a few steps (pun intended)

[Aaron Wingert]

Thanks for all the great ideas guys. You all are incredibly resourceful! I'm thinking that an old 1/4" drill bit might just do the trick if I flatten it out a little on the grinder and grind it like a scraper.

This afternoon I did a couple with a combination of a chainsaw sharpening file and then some sandpaper cones and that actually worked nicely too.

[George Guadiane]

For small scrapers, I use slot blade screw drivers. They are easy to grind and regrind and you can pick them up at garage sales for a buck or less.
Craftsman had a series that had vanadium in them, harder than most, but most screw drivers are carbon steel or harder and hold an edge nicely for small projects.

[Ryan Baker]

George got it. Cut the end off a screwdriver and reshape the end on a grinder to whatever you need. It's an inexpensive source of some good steel, and even comes with a handle already installed. Go to Sears and find the cheap sets with big green handles (non-Craftsman brand). You can get a whole set of them for about $8. They are vanadium steel, and make really great, long lasting scrapers.

Do not make scrapers out of re-ground files. They are too brittle to use safely as scrapers. That is a good way to end up with some nasty shrapnel injuries. And there are a lot of better options that are less expensive than files anyway (and require a lot less grinding to become useful).