Show and Tell

[David Keller NC]

"Thanks Glen, the LV rasps look pretty good and at well over a hundred for an Auriou, they look even better."

You can get the same hand-cut rasp that isn't labelled "Auriou", but made by former employees of Auriou, for about $80 in the largest sizes at The Best Things.

If all you're really interested in doing with a rasp is hogging off stock (such as the initial steps in roughing out a cabriole leg), then a plain ole Nicholson #49 or #50 will do the trick (and is what I use for the roughing work).

If your objective is to get very close to a finished surface, then it's a "get what you pay for" equation. I used to use machine-made rasps and rifflers for this purpose - until I bought an Auriou. Several other Aurious later, I sold all of the others - there was no comparison.

[Duane Mohney]

Beautiful, thanks for sharing.

[Peter Gavin]

This post has encouraged me to ask a question I have had in the back of my mind. I would imagine that most of the cost for having a machinist cut a slot in brass would be in the setup. Couldn;t we get a group together and make a group buy for a large brass order and then pay a machinest to cut the slots all at once? This would seem to make it a cost effective way to get slotted brass backs for making saws.

Just taking a quick glance at McMaster Carr, a six foot strip of 360 brass, 1/4 inch thick and 1/2 inch wide would run $32.38 (pluss shipping). Assuming we could get the slotting down to $10 per six foot piece by buying in bulk at one time, and adding in some shipping, we could get 1 foot long backs for about $10.00 a piece. This would seem pretty reasonable to me.

Peter