Negative rake scrapers?

Roger Tulk

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Messages
3,018
Location
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
This came up in my research into bowl turning. Has anyone here tried a negative rake scraper. They appear to have an advantage in leaving a very smooth finish, but a disadvantage in that they need to be resharpened frequently to maintain the burr. I might store this idea to give it a try later. For now, I have just resharpened my scrapers with a single bevel.
 
I have a scraper with a negative rake grind. I use it for bowl bottoms and the transition from side to bottom. The burr does not last long, so it's just for final cuts trying to eliminate sanding. Requires frequent refreshing. Actually, for the outside of a piece a regular skew can be used as a negative rake scraper. Try putting a burr on your skew and test it out.
 
I've not tried a negative rake scraper. It took me a while to get the feel of it, but I get good results with my regular scrapers. I will say, though, it probably took me longer to get confident and catch-free with a scraper than it did with a bowl gouge. For me, the keys to successful scraper use are A: Using a thick, non-flexible (1/4"+) scraper, and B: Taking very light cuts, C: Having the cutting edge at the centerline of the piece, and D: Keeping the tool level. I know others recommend lifting the handle, but I seemed to always get catches when I tried that.

That all said, a lot of guys like negative rake scrapers. Give it a try if you can and see if it works for you. :thumb:
 
I have a Crown left sided bowl gouge and Thompson straight, both 3/8" thick, neither are negative. Tried it once and went back to normal.
 
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