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Thread: Stewmac Ultimate Scraper?

  1. #16
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    Frederick,

    I've had all three for some years now. I use them constantly. I use the curved ones more, especially for curved surfaces on woodturnings. The first photo shows the two rounded ones with another curved scraper I made myself, the second has one in action, the third shows all three:

    scrapers_platter2_IMG_20171111_161724_603.jpg _scrapers_IMG_7499_e.jpg SCRAPERS_StewMac_IMG_20171019_081858_098.jpg

    I don't use the one with the straight sides as much. I'm experimenting with rounding the corners so they won't dig in. Unlike conventional cabinet scrapers, you don't bend these in use which lifts the corners slightly off the surface. I'll probably round three of the four corners, leaving the lower right to get into tight corners.

    scraper_ground.jpg

    I sharpen them on a 600 grit CBN wheel at 90 degrees. Yes, they are trivial to sharpen IF you set the platform to the right angle the first time. To aid in setting the platform at precisely 90 degrees at the point of grinding I devised a plexiglas gage. I make these for a variety of grind angles for turning tools and NRS; the white paint on the back of the plastic makes them easier to find read the markings. Look at the difference.

    _scrapers_IMG_7809.jpg hand_scraper_setup_IMG_7898.jpg

    I think they are well worth the cost and should last a lifetime. I use many rounded scrapers and the StewMac are sometimes more useful in certain situations.

    I forgot to mentioned that I love the way they are shaped, with the central area (which they color black) machined concave. This makes them far easier to hold in the hands. Each has a nice hole for hanging on a nail.

    I asked them once if they had considered selling the set of three for a discount and they said “no”.

    I bought some 1/8” thick O1 oil hardening tool steel with intentions of cutting some additional curved shapes but haven’t found the time yet. (I haven’t forgotten you, Richard D.!)

    BTW, they answer to Stewart MacDonald as well as StewMac. Years ago their web site was full of the two-word name but it looks like they shortened it to a catchier and more easily remembered name presumably for branding recognition. However, they still use Stewart MacDonald on some of their products, such as:

    https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-tool...cdonald-epoxy/

    JKJ

    Quote Originally Posted by Frederick Skelly View Post
    I was reading the other scraper thread and it reminded me of the Stewmac Ultimate Scraper that I've been hearing about for quite some time. At $54, they are fairly pricey but they have free shipping through tomorrow and that kicked me over the edge. It should arrive in about a week.

    Anyone here use one of these? What's your experience with them? Do you find them as easy to sharpen as Stewmac's video makes them sound?
    Last edited by John K Jordan; 09-18-2022 at 8:33 PM. Reason: forgot some stuff and fixed typo

  2. #17
    Thanks John!

    I use something very similar to the gage you show on my grinder. (Maybe I got the idea from you in a previous post?) That's a good idea - I need to make one at 90*.

    Fred
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  3. #18
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    Old files and old lawnmower blades (the older the better) are good for making thick scrapers and other odd tools that require good hard steel. I can't forget the day in high school shop class when a fellow student asked the substitute teacher (the school principle was sitting in for the shop teacher) what a stack of card scrapers was? The principal said they were step flashing. I laughed out loud and got detention.
    Best Regards, Maurice

  4. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Maurice Mcmurry View Post
    Old files and old lawnmower blades (the older the better) are good for making thick scrapers and other odd tools that require good hard steel. I can't forget the day in high school shop class when a fellow student asked the substitute teacher (the school principle was sitting in for the shop teacher) what a stack of card scrapers was? The principal said they were step flashing. I laughed out loud and got detention.
    Never ask a substituting principal an embarrassing question to which he doesn't know the answer. It will always end bad.

    Also don't be quick to answer questions. I found that can get one assigned to things they know little about just for knowing something like the meaning of an acronym.

    Another thing some like to use as a scraper is a freshly cut piece of glass.

    My favorite scraper for flat work is a piece of saw blade, still has the nib.

    jtk
    Last edited by Jim Koepke; 09-19-2022 at 11:06 AM. Reason: added an of
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  5. #20
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    [QUOTE

    Also don't be quick to answer questions. I found that can get one assigned to things they know little about just for knowing something like the meaning an acronym.[/QUOTE]

    I had to google acronym. Do you mean Stewart MacDonald? I Have done business there for over 25 years. The two Gentlemen I apprenticed with have since the early 1970's
    Best Regards, Maurice

  6. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by Maurice Mcmurry View Post
    Old files … are good for making thick scrapers and other odd tools that require good hard steel. …
    Grinding turning tools of all sorts from old files used to be quite common and I found such recommendations in several old woodturning books. However, later authors and experts describe the danger of using files. The steel is hardened but not annealed for toughness so it can be brittle. A thick scraper broken in use might not be safe. Try putting an old file in a vise and smacking with a hammer. When breaking it can throw sharp flakes of steel.

    Lawnmower blade, bushhog blades, planer blades, push rods, engine valves, and other common things are hardened steel but annealed for toughness and not likely to break. However, aggressive grinding can create high heat and change the hardness. If polished tool steel gets hot enough to turn the edge or corner “blue” it’s already lost it’s hardness. HSS does not have this problem since you can’t get it hot enough with a grinder, one reason it’s used in most turning tools today.

    JKJ
    Last edited by John K Jordan; 09-18-2022 at 8:34 PM.

  7. #22
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    My "old file" turning tools are the best I have ever used. They are over 100 years old. I am not going to put them in a vice or hit them with a hammer. I am looking forward to the day when I can break a hand scraper by hand. I use
    the square edges of some of these old files as scrapers. They work great. I use my Red Devil too but only if I have no other options.

    IMG_0472 2.jpg
    Last edited by Maurice Mcmurry; 09-18-2022 at 8:59 PM. Reason: great grand dads "files"
    Best Regards, Maurice

  8. #23
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    I thought I had replied to this thread, but obviously not.

    I must have seen the original StewMac thick scraper about a decade ago, and decided to make my own. The first one was from the rear of a 3/16” thick O1 plane blade. There have been numerous posts about this over the years. It is quite fantastic and one of my go-to tools for shaping curves, cleaning up glue lines, or fixing tearout …





    It is sharpened (hollow ground) on a CBN wheel …



    Working on the inside face of a bow-front drawer …



    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  9. #24
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    "Regards from Perth" are always preceded by something awesome! thanks for the images!
    Best Regards, Maurice

  10. #25
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    Also don't be quick to answer questions. I found that can get one assigned to things they know little about just for knowing something like the meaning of an acronym.
    Quote Originally Posted by Maurice Mcmurry View Post
    I had to google acronym. Do you mean Stewart MacDonald? I Have done business there for over 25 years. The two Gentlemen I apprenticed with have since the early 1970's
    At my last employment we were in a meeting discussing new equipment for the transportation system's Automatic Fare Collection. The system was connected to multiple means of communications. One was a computer network for local operations and controls. Another used a slower network called SCADA. Someone asked, "what the heck is SCADA?" (My previous job was at a company that made controls for power companies to control switching equipment for capacitor banks and high voltage lines. It used SCADA for communications and that was about the extent of my knowledge of SCADA systems.) Without thinking about it I called out, "System Control and Data Acquisition." Nobody else, even the supervisors, had heard of it before. That made me the expert on SCADA. I had to do a lot of research and documentation real fast.

    jtk
    Last edited by Jim Koepke; 09-19-2022 at 11:08 AM. Reason: added an of & a ]
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  11. #26
    You should have known the od lie Jim. No good deed goes unpunished.
    Dave Anderson

    Chester, NH

  12. #27
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    You certainly had an interesting carrier Jim. I enjoy reading the little bits you share from time to time.
    Best Regards, Maurice

  13. #28
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    Like John, I have all three, use them regularly and like them a lot. Would buy them again if they disappeared.

    Clint

  14. #29
    Thanks again guys!
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  15. #30
    Well, it looks like I'm on a learning curve.....
    * Scraper arrived today and I tried it right out of the box on some poplar. I got crumbles but no shavings.
    * So I polished the sides on a diamond stone (this thing is some HARD steel). I tried it again, making sure (again) to keep the scraper close to vertical. But it didnt work any better.
    * The finest grinding wheel I currently have is 180 grit, so I'll need to find something finer and resharpen.

    This has got to be operator error.

    More as I learn it.
    Fred
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

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