Best scrapers to own for bowl turning?

[Sawdust=manglitter]

I'm relatively new to wood turning and bought myself an old Record DML 24 lathe on eBay which also came with a selection of random tools. So far I've turned myself a few bowls, but from the tools I have (I was pleased to actually find a few Robert Sorby tools!) I don't have any scrapers. I've been making do with a very sharp bowl gouge (done on my Tormek) for sort of shear scraping, but I would like some advice from the more experienced turners among us to know the best tool and brand for the job? Also, how much am I going to need to spend on something decent that I'm not going to want to upgrade in future?

Many thanks in advance for any advice offered

 

[Phil Pascoe]

You will be told to go for HSS, but don't forget carbon steel ones sell for peanuts. Get a few of them and shape them as you wish. Clean the top face with a diamond stone or wet and dry and grind them upside down to leave a burr. It won't last long but it shouldn't need to - you only use them for finishing cuts (unless you've a real pig of a bit grain ), and they'll be sharper than HSS ones. HSS has the virtue of a longer lasting edge, that's all - it's a trade off.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

In addition to what Phil has said, brand isn't that important since the vast majority of modern tool steels will be easily good enough and anything you buy new for turning will doubtless be HSS. Carbon steel will be the reserve of the 2nd hand bins at shows etc.

So regardless brand what is important is how heavy it is and the radius it maps at the cutting edge. I've adopted Richard Raffan's philosophy after watching many hours of his footage and he recommends the largest scraper you can get for the radius you're cutting. Since that radius is frequently the inside walls of a bowl, a big chunky tool with a shallow radius would be my first choice.

The reason you want heavy and chunky is to dampen vibration since there will be occasions when it's a long way over the rest and the leverage is working against you. I also have a medium and small radiused scrapers for tighter curves in boxes and the like. But the big one is the preferred choice.

It's also worth mentioning that when you're a long way over the rest a long handle is also very useful and this is more where the brands tend to differ. Axminster own brand for example, though good value, have very short handles so for this task not ideal. Hamlet on the other hand, do have longer handles but are more expensive. Longer handles tip the leverage balance back in your favour.

 

[chipmunk]

Scrapers represent a good opportunity to make your own tools if that interests you.
Is it scraping on the outside of the bowl or the inside you are looking for, or both?

Shear scrapers are easy to make as in the lower of these two tools. This one is a home made 3/4" round mild steel bar with flat and 6mm screw holding a Siragas scraper tip (Hamlet) which can be angled to shear scrape the inside of a bowl. You can mount this on a Big Brother if you have one.

The other tool of the pair is also a useful bowl scraper for the inside. It's a negative rake scraper made from an old 1" skew chisel. The negative rake allows it to be used flat on the rest and isn't upset when going around the corner at the bottom of a bowl. I think I saw this first in a Gerry Marlow demo.

HTH
Jon

 

[Sawdust=manglitter]

Thanks all for the advice. So i think i'll be looking at getting both a heavy duty inboard and outboard scraper. What brand would people suggest for the best value heavy duty scraper (maybe 1") with a sufficiently long handle? I think a trip to Timberman will be in order (to the dismay of the OH)

 

[Phil Pascoe]

This one doesn't take many prisoners. Half the club thought I was mad for paying £4 for it. Rock steady, it's brilliant for difficult grain in the bottom of bowls or to get platters flat. It's next to a little M&W square.



Sorry - I'm using the headstock for scale, and most of you don't know the size of the thing. The scraper's 21" long.

 

[Sawdust=manglitter]

Wow, 21"... anyone standing behind you would need to wear protective gear with that thing swinging about!
Where did you pick it up?

 

[Sawdust=manglitter]

Wow, 21"... anyone standing behind you would need to wear protective gear with that thing swinging about!
Where did you pick it up?

Apologies, I read that as the handle being 21" long, which would surely be dangerous... blonde moment!!

 

[woodpig]

The last scraper I bought is a similar size - 3/8" thick and 1 1/4" across made by Crown. I bought it at Yandles a few weeks back.

 

[Sawdust=manglitter]

How much did you pay if you dont mind me asking?

 

[Paul Hannaby]

The best scrapers for shear scraping the inside of a bowl are either the Monro shear scraper or the Kelton shear scraper. both put the scraper at a better angle for shear scraping than you could easily achieve with a conventional scraper. Either of these are cheaper than some "conventional" scrapers if you have a suitable handle you can use the shaft with (or you could turn your own handle).

 

[woodpig]

How much did you pay if you dont mind me asking?

It was on discount at just over £39, down from £47. The same scraper is available from a well known online source for £55 plus postage so I think I did ok.