scrapers

[Dalboy]

Hope this is in the right place. Can anyone tell me if the blades from carpenter squares is any good to use as scrapers. I am looking to make some shaped ones for cleaning some carving work.

 

[CHJ]

?? may be, a better source may be a scrap hard point hand saw. Use as is or harden and temper to desired hardness.

 

[Richard T]

+1 for ex HP saw steel. I have not tried it myself but Mike Abbot has great success with it.

 

[Dalboy]

Thanks guys just so happens I have one that is getting a little on the blunt side that I can chop up. The reason for the question was that I had a metal blade from a square just sitting doing nothing and brain went into overdrive if you know what I mean.

 

[twothumbs]

Hacksaw blades for small wortk?

 

[AndyT]

Hacksaw blades for small wortk?

They are good for scratchstock blades, which work by scraping, so could be OK.

 

[xy mosian]

When is a shaped scraper a scratch stock blade? I have used HP saw blades for both and I guess the answer is whether, or not, you can hold it yourself. The smaller profiles are tricky, for me at least, to sharpen. Scratch stock blades are definitley worth harding, scraper blades less so. I suppose it depends on size. For really small work I have used jig saw blades, end on. I think that was a lucky find after making knife blades from jigsaw blades after reading of Derek Cohen doing the same. Another lucky find was after making cutting edges from the blunt end of twist drills. If you grind an angled flat on the chuck end of a twist drill a satisfactory cutting edge is produced, for small work, tilted this becomes an easily sharpened scraper.
HTH
xy

 

[matthewwh]

The critical thing to look for is a spring temper.

If the material will spring back to its original shape when deformed then it has been heat treated appropriately to make a good scraper or scratch stock blade. The blade of a square should have been heat treated in this way in order to maximise its ability to retain its original shape and therefore its accuracy.

If it is a smidge too hard to take a nice burr or sharpen easily, pop it in the oven with your roast on Sunday.

 

[Dalboy]

Thank you all for the replies. I might just visit my local metal shop and see if the have any old blades. Once I get some and make the scrapers I will post some photo,s

 

[Racers]

I made a tapered ream from an old pitted try square blade, it works very well, as do the scrapers I made from a Pound shop saw.

Pete

 

[chipmunk]

Another lucky find was after making cutting edges from the blunt end of twist drills. If you grind an angled flat on the chuck end of a twist drill a satisfactory cutting edge is produced, for small work, tilted this becomes an easily sharpened scraper.

I think you were very lucky! I am pretty sure that this will only work on ground twist drills, rather than rolled, because most rolled twist drill bits have unhardened shanks. This is primarily so that the chuck can grip them easily but also explains why they score if the chuck slips.

HTH
Jon