Making a flat scraper out of a File

[Rickabilly]

(08-19-2012, 08:28 PM)TomG Wrote: Rick,

Files do make excellent scrapers. I used one when I scraped the ways on my dad's Atlas lathe. About the only thing I could add to your design is to wrap the file in tape to protect the hands. You can probably guess how I figured that out.

Thanks for posting the drawing.

Tom

Hiya Tom,
yes, if you leave the teeth sharp then expect to lose your finger prints

I think I mentioned somewhere that the teeth should be ground smooth on a belt before grinding the rest of the features into the scraper, but just taking the edge off is preferrable to grinding until completely smooth, as the very blunt teeth help with grip when the scraper gets oily. but of course wrapping with tape works too, and don't forget the edges too a nice radius on the corners makes all the difference to how a sceaper feels to use.

Best Regards
Rick