Been working on a shallow (~1/2" deep) hand-carved walnut tray as an
anniversary gift for SWMBO. It was going along fine, as I got a nice
uniform depth to the center, with minimal tearout. I then took a card
scraper to clean up the bottom of the tray and it was looking great.
The trick was getting a nice little radius where the side walls meet
the bottom. I tried various chisels and gouges and nothing was able
to handle the long grain without risking some pretty ugly tearout.
I was getting pretty frustrated when I had a Homer moment. I don't
know why it took me so long, as I use various scrapers when doing
bowls. So I checked the various curved scrapers I have, looking for
one that approximated the radius I wanted. Nope, nothing quite right.
While I was debating re-grinding the edge on one of my full-size
scrapers, I remembered the pack of miniature scrapers I had picked up
from LV as a throw-in when redeeming a gift certificate. They are 2"
x 1" and cost about $3 for a pack of three.
I grabbed one of them and a file and about five minutes later I had
just the radius I was looking for. Took the scraper to my SS setup
and lapped the faces and polished the edges, took my Hock burnisher
and turned a hook and I was in bidness.
A few minutes with that scraper and I had a seamless
transition/radius with absolutely no tearout.
Now I just need to find a way to do the same on the ends of the
tray. I can't see a scraper handling that endgrain as well.
Chuck Vance
Just say (tmPL) Sometimes the simplest technique is the best.
On 2 Mar 2004 04:47:58 -0800, [email protected] (Conan the Librarian)
wrote:
>[email protected] (DarylRos) wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
>
>> It will. That's what scrapers exist for really. The grain a hand plane (which
>> gives a better finish) can't handle. Just take very light swipes; I find short
>> strokes work best on grain like that.
>
> I'll try it again, but the last time I tried to use a scraper on
>the inside endgrain on a bowl, it just sort of skittered along. It
>was great on the transition area where the grain starts to turn into
>long-grain, but not on the endgrain itself.
>
> I dunno ... it could be that I was trying to remove too much stock
>with the thing.
>
>
> Chuck Vance
very sharp scraper. very light touch.
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.asp?page=32641&category=1,310,41069&abspage=1&ccurrency=2&SID=
With appropriate cut/paste warning. Awesome little beast for almost any
cove. I know of a dozen or so purchased because I used them at carving
classes.
Little damp on the endgrain, and some skew on the scraper will really slick
it down, as well as leave it a touch compressed to reject stain and
darkening, if you're doing a project like that.
"Conan the Librarian" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Been working on a shallow (~1/2" deep) hand-carved walnut tray as an
> anniversary gift for SWMBO. It was going along fine, as I got a nice
> uniform depth to the center, with minimal tearout. I then took a card
> scraper to clean up the bottom of the tray and it was looking great.
> The trick was getting a nice little radius where the side walls meet
> the bottom. I tried various chisels and gouges and nothing was able
> to handle the long grain without risking some pretty ugly tearout.
>
I run the existing bevel with a stone and use the sharp edge for scraping
spoon bowls, the nubs off the bottom of parted turnings (after trimming with
a curved knife), the burn off of carelessly routed cherry coves... you name
it.
For relief carvings, it'll clean up the grounding, for tray-cutting bits,
the rough edges.
They're not gadgets. They're specialized tools. We both have, I'm sure,
all the general ones....
"Conan the Librarian" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hey, I've got one of those things. :-) It was another "throw-in"
> when I was redeeming a gift certificate. (Sometimes it seems like my
> whole order is composed of nothing but cute little gadgets. :-)
>
> I haven't used it for much, as I never found what it seems best
> suited for. How do you sharpen yours? Do you aim for a true bevel on
> it? Do you use a hook like a regular scraper?
[email protected] (DarylRos) wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> It will. That's what scrapers exist for really. The grain a hand plane (which
> gives a better finish) can't handle. Just take very light swipes; I find short
> strokes work best on grain like that.
I'll try it again, but the last time I tried to use a scraper on
the inside endgrain on a bowl, it just sort of skittered along. It
was great on the transition area where the grain starts to turn into
long-grain, but not on the endgrain itself.
I dunno ... it could be that I was trying to remove too much stock
with the thing.
Chuck Vance
"George" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.asp?page=32641&category=1,310,41069&abspage=1&ccurrency=2&SID=
>
> With appropriate cut/paste warning. Awesome little beast for almost any
> cove. I know of a dozen or so purchased because I used them at carving
> classes.
>
> Little damp on the endgrain, and some skew on the scraper will really slick
> it down, as well as leave it a touch compressed to reject stain and
> darkening, if you're doing a project like that.
Hey, I've got one of those things. :-) It was another "throw-in"
when I was redeeming a gift certificate. (Sometimes it seems like my
whole order is composed of nothing but cute little gadgets. :-)
I haven't used it for much, as I never found what it seems best
suited for. How do you sharpen yours? Do you aim for a true bevel on
it? Do you use a hook like a regular scraper?
Anyhow, thanks for the suggestion. I'll have to dig it out and
give it a whirl.
Chuck Vance
Yes, this little Lee Valley scraper has to be the best bargain in shop!
Dave
"George" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.asp?page=32641&category=1,310,41069&abspage=1&ccurrency=2&SID=
>
> With appropriate cut/paste warning. Awesome little beast for almost any
> cove. I know of a dozen or so purchased because I used them at carving
> classes.
>
> Little damp on the endgrain, and some skew on the scraper will really
slick
> it down, as well as leave it a touch compressed to reject stain and
> darkening, if you're doing a project like that.
>
> "Conan the Librarian" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Been working on a shallow (~1/2" deep) hand-carved walnut tray as an
> > anniversary gift for SWMBO. It was going along fine, as I got a nice
> > uniform depth to the center, with minimal tearout. I then took a card
> > scraper to clean up the bottom of the tray and it was looking great.
> > The trick was getting a nice little radius where the side walls meet
> > the bottom. I tried various chisels and gouges and nothing was able
> > to handle the long grain without risking some pretty ugly tearout.
> >
>
>