profiled scrapers

[marcros]

I am thinking out loud here...

If I wanted to make a chess set, would it achieve the desired result if I were to have a carbide scraper made to the profile of a pawn so that I would get each one identical, or would the tearout be crazy?

I have a couple of standard carbide tools and they just eat the timber. They are only 9 or 10mm wide though, so may be a different scenario

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Worth a go. Traditionally pieces were made from ebony and box, and cheaper ones often from holly for both black and white as it ebonises well. These woods can be turned quite well like metal, with form tools.
Hand turned sets comprise pieces selected from large numbers of pieces - we look at them and think wow, that guy was clever - he got sixteen pawns to match, but the reality is that someone selected the smallest sixteen from n number, or the largest sixteen from n number - so there are few discrepancies within a set.
One thing I would say is if you use one timber that is softer than the other make the pieces from the softer one first, because if you turn them to match then have to use abrasives the pieces from the softer wood are likely to end up slightly smaller. Damhikt.

 

[jurriaan]

There's lots of videos on YouTube about Indian turners doing just that, for example

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jr8dsMdrjKk

 

[CHJ]

Just visited Seiffen and watched traditional turners doing repetitive profiles, mainly in Lime but some in Beech & Birch.
They were using carbon steel tooling, mostly self made which were variations on a skew or carbon steel profile (simple curves) gouges used in skew mode. Some cutters on profiling lathes were turned and forged carbon steel cutting in plunge mode, basically shearing cuts across the grain as you would using a skew on the face of end grain.
All cutting was performed by razor sharp cutting edges, never once saw any thing resembling a scraper.