SHAPEING SCRAPERS

[hortonstn]

what tool do you use to shape these very hard scrapers like carpet knive blades?
thanks
paul

[Acer Saccharum]

Paul, I think you can grind them to shape with a fine wheel, and then diamond stone for taking out the rough spots.

I used to polish the edge, and burnish the burr over, but now I simply grind the contour on a power grinder with a fine diamond wheel. I then lay the scraper down flat on the stone to de-burr it.

 Yes, I suppose a ground edge might dull faster than a burred edge, but it's so easy just to grind a new sharp edge.

Tom

[Curtis]

Paul, I sometimes make scrapers from old handsaw blades.  You can snap the blade in a vice by striking it with a hammer, then slow grind to shape.  Keep it cool by dunking in water frequently.  I think I got the idea from okie boy here on the forum.  After grinding to shape, sharpen like a cabinet scraper .

Curtis

[rick landes]

you might consider annealing the metal first cutting to shape and rehardening with an oil or water quench. I used to do similar process to make files into various things.

[A.Merrill]

     You can pick up old hand saws at your local pawn shops for a few bucks.  .    AL

[Habu]

Any more, most of my scrapers are made from old saw blades.  I sharpen saws, so there are always a few around that are good candidates to cut up for scrapers.  The steel shapes fairly easily with a file.  I still use a burred edge for finish work, but for shaping I go straight from the file. 

[Tim Crosby]

 Do a search on Scrapers, put a check in Building and the Wood working part of Tutorials. You should find a list of 8 pages that have some great info plus a couple of good links to how to's.
 
   Tim C.

[Dphariss]

what tool do you use to shape these very hard scrapers like carpet knive blades?
thanks
paul

If they are really hard they must be carefully ground to shape. If really hard they are impossible the burr and edge on and must be sharpened with a stone, Usually by working down the sides.
I have a couple of large scrapers made from large sheet rockers metal "knives" these are a spring temper and can be filed and the edges stoned then burred with a burnisher.
$#*! getting the plastic coating off though so I have not made anymore this way.

Dan

[smylee grouch]

I have made several with old hack saw blades, each has a bend/scrapper on each end. On the side of each scrapper, one corner is square and the other side is rounded so I can feather out the scraped area. The square corner goes up to the carved element and the rounded side away from it.

[frogwalking]

Great topic.  I hsver never quite understood scraprs.  Having said that, when I was a teenager, my dad showed me how to break a piece of window glass.  It would break into different convex and concave shapes, one of which I could use as a scraper for whatever project I was working on .