Negative Rake Scraper

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Goodland, Kansas
While we are on tools and didn't want to steal Larry's post. How many of you use a negitive rake scraper? I think this is one scraper that you actually ride the bevel and what I have seen is for smoothing hard woods.
 
I made a negative rake scraper similar to the one used by Cindy Drozda in her box video from a 3/4" square scraper that I was not using anymore. It was too thin at 1/4" for what I wanted in a square scraper and decided to give it a new shot at life as a negative rake scraper.

I beveled both the top and the bottom into a broadly rounded scraper and then sharpened it with a very steep bevel around 75 degrees. I use it with the sharp bevel up and hone off the burr with a diamond. To my surprise when I used it on end grain it cut fine little ribbons and curls off of some of the hardest woods I use leaving a remarkably smooth surface needind little sanding. I use it primarily for smoothing the concave surfaces of the bottoms of my boxes. It works very well for that.

If I can find a blank of HSS 1/4" thick and 3/8" wide I would like to make a similar one to use inside of my box lids.
 
I use one that I ordered from, I think Craft Supply. That Stu guy recommend it. It is an Evi Avisera one that they had to order and it took 2 months. I really like it and use it a lot.
 
hello folks, i use neg rake scrapers allot heres mine

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the main advantage is that there not "grabby" you use them with a burr straight of the grinder and its that burr which does all the work- you use them flat on the tool rest so theres no faffing with trailing angles etc and you can use them on end grain dep inside a box or goblet with no hassle or teh need for a 3' handle and huge muscles :)
 
Sorry for the hijack Bernie :(
I found this link and a few dozen more. Looks like a nice little tool.


http://www.hiltonhandcraft.com/Articles/The Negative Rake Scraper.pdf


I went and looked at that site, and clue wording there said,"The burr is still necessary..." In My Humble Opinion, any tool or grind of the tool that requires the burr to do the cutting is a flimsy excuse for poor sharpening skills, True cutting edge is a keen edge where the two surfaces meet at an exact point, this is best achieved through proper honing.

Use of the burr is in fact, creating a row of small up turned gouges to do the cutting, when the gouges wear off the effect of the tool is lost.

Or at least that is my slant (rake) on the whole idea.
 
I use one that I ordered from, I think Craft Supply. That Stu guy recommend it. It is an Evi Avisera one that they had to order and it took 2 months. I really like it and use it a lot.

Oh sure, blame me :D

Pete, did it come with instructions on how to sharpen it?

I like mine a lot, when I'm trying to get a nice finish, it is often my "Go to" tool. :thumb:
 
I probably used the negative rake scraper technique for a long time without realizing it.
When I started turning I hadn't even seen a lathe in more than 50 years and had never used one.
I started making duck and game calls. Early on I found out that the round nose scraper put a nice smooth surface on my calls. I made scores of calls using that as my final 'cut'. Only later, after joining the local woodturning club did I find out that I had been using it upside down :bonkers: with the bevel up. Oh, well. :eek:
 
I went and looked at that site, and clue wording there said,"The burr is still necessary..." In My Humble Opinion, any tool or grind of the tool that requires the burr to do the cutting is a flimsy excuse for poor sharpening skills, True cutting edge is a keen edge where the two surfaces meet at an exact point, this is best achieved through proper honing.

Use of the burr is in fact, creating a row of small up turned gouges to do the cutting, when the gouges wear off the effect of the tool is lost.

Or at least that is my slant (rake) on the whole idea.


Bill, You make a very good point, pun intended. I have a Richard Raffan book on turning, and in every pic of his vicmarc 300 lathes, he has multiple used 3" sandpaper discs glued to the latheheadstock. He hones his scrapers before using them, even if he also rolls a burr with the Veritas burnisher. I've been doing this for a while, and it really decreases my number of trips to the grinder, and keeps the edge sharper. The burr is much more continuous this way. That said, the negative rake scraper has its place and is definitely has a place in the tool rack.
 
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I went and looked at that site, and clue wording there said,"The burr is still necessary..." In My Humble Opinion, any tool or grind of the tool that requires the burr to do the cutting is a flimsy excuse for poor sharpening skills, True cutting edge is a keen edge where the two surfaces meet at an exact point, this is best achieved through proper honing.

Use of the burr is in fact, creating a row of small up turned gouges to do the cutting, when the gouges wear off the effect of the tool is lost.

Or at least that is my slant (rake) on the whole idea.
I respectfully disagree. There are several "cutting" tools that rely on a burr edge. (Card scrapers used in flatwork come to mind, in addition to scrapers used for turning.) I do agree that there are different levels of fineness and consistency for the burr. The burr provided by an 80 grit grinding wheel is not nearly as refined as the burr one can get with a Tormek and a carbide burnisher. Still, it's the burr on a scraper that does the cutting, not a honed edge, IMHO.
 
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