Cruved surface scrapers

Probably the fastest way to remove material from the inside of a bowl
(without a lathe) is to buy a nice wide carving gouge and practice with it.

You would use the gouge like a chisel. Then switch to a smaller gouge to
refine your shape a little more. Finally you could move to scrapers and
various sand paper grits.

Hope this helps

--
Gregory Paolini - Roycroft Renaissance Artisan
Handcrafted Custom Furniture & Cabinetry

www.GregoryPaolini.com
"Dennis Lougheed" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:2004091212300489530%dennloug@rogerscom...
> First off -- I'm new to wood working of most any kind, so please be
gentle.
>
> I've been messing about with the making of wooden bowls. I'm doing the
> work without a lathe and won't be aquiring one. This is hobby not a
> business and a limited number will be made. The object is as much the
> doing of the project ast it is getting it done quickly. I've been
> using a Dremel tool and assorted rasps, files grinders and sandpapers
> so far. Concave and convex surfaces on the inner parts of the bowls are
> a challenge, especialy on the harder woods and I've been looking at
> various scrapers as a solution for getting the surfaces smooth and free
> of gouges or uneven rolls in the surface. I've been looking at the
> following two items from Lee Valley Tools. I don't wish to spend a lot
> of money as this will not be a high use item.
>
> Burnisher/Scraper Set 05K20.31
>
> Mini Spoon Scraper 50K01.01
>
> Could some of you more knowledgeable people comment on which of the two
> might be the more versatile item or suggest alternative solutions?
>

In article <[email protected]>,
patriarch <patriarch>[email protected]> wrote:

> But consider taking a class in lathe work, before ruling it out.

Considering the price of a decent starter lathe like the Delta Midi,
versus the hours involved in gouging, scraping and smoothing, I'd have
to second that.

Besides, an addiction to turning isn't terribly expensive when you
consider the alternatives...

djb

Dennis Lougheed <[email protected]> wrote in
news:2004091212300489530%dennloug@rogerscom:

> I've been messing about with the making of wooden bowls. <snip> I've been
> looking at various scrapers as a solution for getting the surfaces smooth

Scrapers are a gentle means of getting a surface smooth and glossy, when
properly prepared. Severl recent publications have presented good
instruction on the proper tuning and use of scrapers. You'll likely want
to spend some time with them.

Curved scrapers are good for what you describe. Just be patient, and don't
try to take off too much wood too quickly. One of our local gurus sands to
80 grit, then scrapes, then finishes. He does very nice work.

But consider taking a class in lathe work, before ruling it out.

Patriarch

Broken glass makes excellent scrapers. When the edge wears out,
break another piece. You should be able to get all the material
you need for free at a glass shop, hardware store, or lumber yard
that cuts glass. You might wear gloves, though I have never found
it to be a problem not to.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)
[email protected]



"Dennis Lougheed" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:2004091212300489530%dennloug@rogerscom...
> First off -- I'm new to wood working of most any kind, so please
> be gentle.
>
> I've been messing about with the making of wooden bowls. I'm
> doing the work without a lathe and won't be aquiring one. This
> is hobby not a business and a limited number will be made. The
> object is as much the doing of the project ast it is getting it
> done quickly. I've been using a Dremel tool and assorted rasps,
> files grinders and sandpapers so far. Concave and convex
> surfaces on the inner parts of the bowls are a challenge,
> especialy on the harder woods and I've been looking at various
> scrapers as a solution for getting the surfaces smooth and free
> of gouges or uneven rolls in the surface. I've been looking at
> the following two items from Lee Valley Tools. I don't wish to
> spend a lot of money as this will not be a high use item.
>
> Burnisher/Scraper Set 05K20.31
>
> Mini Spoon Scraper 50K01.01
>
> Could some of you more knowledgeable people comment on which of
> the two might be the more versatile item or suggest alternative
> solutions?
>

Dennis Lougheed wrote:


> First off -- I'm new to wood working of most any kind, so please be gentle.
>
> I've been messing about with the making of wooden bowls. I'm doing the
> work without a lathe and won't be aquiring one. This is hobby not a
> business and a limited number will be made. The object is as much the
> doing of the project ast it is getting it done quickly. I've been using
> a Dremel tool and assorted rasps, files grinders and sandpapers so far.
> Concave and convex surfaces on the inner parts of the bowls are a
> challenge, especialy on the harder woods and I've been looking at
> various scrapers as a solution for getting the surfaces smooth and free
> of gouges or uneven rolls in the surface. I've been looking at the
> following two items from Lee Valley Tools. I don't wish to spend a lot
> of money as this will not be a high use item.
>
> Burnisher/Scraper Set 05K20.31
>
> Mini Spoon Scraper 50K01.01
>
> Could some of you more knowledgeable people comment on which of the two
> might be the more versatile item or suggest alternative solutions?

I've done a fair maount of bowl/tray carving with nothing but
handtools (some examples at: http://www.swt.edu/~cv01/bowls.html), and I
use gouges to remove the majority of the waste and then followup with
scrapers with various contours for the finish work. I have taken
scraper stock and put custom profiles on them for this purpose. They
work just fine.

The mini spoon scraper looks like a nice idea, but in use isn't so
great. I have found few instances where it is the solution, and even
where it does help, I still have to come back with one of my custom
scrapers to get a nice finish. It mostly works to take off some of the
ridges left by the gouge.

Finally, if you plan on doing some large bowls, you might want to
consider the dogleg gouges that Drew Langsner sells on his website.
These are handmade by a fellow named Hans Karlsson, and are the best
tools, bar none, that I have found for handling the areas where the
grain converges in bowl sides/bottoms. You can see them at:
http://countryworkshops.org/toolgouges.htm They are models HK-08 and
HK-24. They are meant to be used by pushing, not hammering, and are not
for heavy stock removal, but rather for getting a close to final finish
without tearout.

Anyhow, a good sturdy gouge (I like Pfiel myself) can do the
majority of stock removal and then something like the dogleg gouge to
smooth out the surface, followed by scrapers is the way I go.

I finish the inside first and then shape the outside with saws to
remove the majority of the waste, and spokeshaves for the final shaping.
You'll have to play around a bit with clamping arrangements, but I've
found the LV Wonderdogs (tm) to be great for holding the blank while I
work the inside. Then I use a wood block in the center of the bowl (use
a wood that's softer than the bowl, and round any sharp corners,
DAMHIKT) to extend the reach of my clamps while I hold it for final shaping.


Chuck Vance

The Lee Valley mini scraper is a GREAT buy! I have one that I have used for
spoon finishing. PLEASE don't waste money buying a burnisher; an old engine
valve pushrod will work very well and the cost is zero from any engine
rebuilder.
>