Beginner's Note

Your scraper is dull.

Rob

It can. Wants a careful hand, that's for sure. Much better to cut cross the grain than up against as some do. They call that "shear scraping," though it's really cutting without benefit of bevel. Strange thing, with the proper tool angle you can do the shear and have your bevel too.

Thanks, I will try that. I cut a little 1/8 notch in my spindle using a scraper on pine wood. It really tore up the wood. I will sharpen the blade, as the other suggested, and try again.

I made the other notches using my chisel.

S.

IMO, pine is WAY too soft to get a good surface by scraping.

Rob

Pine is a terrible wood to scrape, and in general a poor wood to turn (partly because of that, partly for other reasons).

Best advice I can give you as a beginner - order a pile of hardwood firewood, or go find the local tree surgeons who are looking to dump wood and get some free. Low-cost or free hardwood, no fuss when something screws up.

Ok.. since your post said beginner:

Any tool tears up wood if not sharp, at the proper angle, over hanging the tool rest, etc..

Most folks experimenting with scrapers contact the wood at the same angle they would with a gouge, and get terrible results..

A sharp scraper uses the burr produced by sharpening to cut the wood... It's usually brought in contact with the wood at a 90 degree angle or sometimes actually pointed down a bit... Very scary at first because you do a lot of things that everyone has told you to NEVER do with gouges..

Also, since you're using just the burr on the edge of the tool (and very light pressure) it doesn't last long and needs to be sharpened often..

There are many ways to sharpen or burnish a scraper but works very well for me is to use a belt sander with the table a few degrees of 90 degrees.. Most scrapers come with a very slight bevel/angle so that you can use the edge.. I've actually set my sander table to about -3 degrees and put the scraper on the table "upside down", in the theory that the burr is created better if the grind is toward the top of the bevel as opposed to from the top.. YMWV

mac

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AH... been there, done that... Maybe one of those 1/8" square shaft mini scrapers?? Though I use them as you tried to, it really not what they, or any scraper is for... they're for smoothing an existing surface....

Not enough handle lift and nothing happens, a bit higher and the scrapper digs in and raises hell with the grain..

I'd suggest that you invest in a couple of thin parting/cutoff tools, maybe 1/8" to start with... they're great and a lot safer than what you tried..

mac

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Notch in the spindle? Does that mean you were cutting a piece between centers with the grain running long? If so, different animal altogether. That's pretty much broadside scraping and prone to disaster. You want to slide in and peel along the grain. If it's a spindle orientation you're working with, say so and maybe you can get better advice.

Good, basic stuff here at Darrell's site.

Hey friends,

Thanks for all the good advice. I have a huge hardwood pile and many trees on my land to learn, but the interior to our house is knotty pine. I'm making table legs to match.

The skew worked fine for the notched lines on the spindle. I made a V cut and then rounded it off a little. It looks good, esp. after a touch of sandpaper.

The info on the burred edge of the scraper is very helpful! I'll work on that.

Also, speaking as a beginner, cutting a pummel scared the crap out of me the first few times I did it. I cut about 50 more practicing and now I'm more or less ok.

I'm just having a lot of fun learing the lathe.

S.

A real good practice item for some of your hardwood is honey dippers... Some basic spindle practice and lots of practice on grooves...

They also make great little gifts.. "Buy a lathe, never buy a gift again"

mac

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Shaker pegs. They have the 4 basic moves of cove and bead, plane and part. Probably what the Shakers started their novices on. Kids in school did a lot of 3-4 peg coat racks.

Depends upon where - when - how long since you last sharpened.

TomNie

And which end of the tool you're using.....

How ya been, Tom?

mac

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Fantastic. Just last weekend 4wheeling in the WVA mountains for the first time with my nephews and some friends. Unreal! Most say I'm nuts but I say I'm a 65yr old going down in flames:) Most exciting thing I've done since running Chattooga III and Bulls Sluice in an open canoe (Deliverance river).

Before that up and down Shenandoah and the Blue Ridge Parkway in the convertible for a week. Before that canoeing and trout fishing off the Parkway for another week near Blowing Rock. Fun summer.

Aug 1st I go on Medicare!! God, it doesn't seem possible.

Have you finished your move? Pictures I saw sure didn't look like the forests I've got around here.

TomNie PS. STILL f>

Good for you! We have a local AARP 4x4 group here and they do desert runs every weekend... (I think that if they ever give a senior discount here, it will start at about

Wow... you get any woodturning in anymore??

I qualify for SS in a little over the year... birthdays are GOOD for you... The more you have, the longer you live....

We moved in October... house is almost finished now.. lol You know, the only thing I miss living here is the trees... I guess I took redwoods and oak for granted until I moved...

mac

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Mac Around here 4whln means going up the side of a mountain :) And through streams and mudholes.

I couldn't live without woods. This place is 5 acres of solid hardwoods and just a few pines.

When I f>

Unless done correctly.

Nice film of chips and a hand.

You have to supply the mind. Can be tough.