Carbide Metal Scraper?

[David Weaver]

I've looked around online for a purpose made scraper to scrape cast iron, and it looks to me like the purpose made scrapers have some spring to them and in some of the (few) videos I've seen, the scraping took advantage of that spring.

What I've been able to find is just hardened steel scrapers that look like they may be unhardened along most of their lengths.

I'd like to find a proper carbide scraper to scrape planes, and i know that some on here (especially george) have done that. Does anyone know where you'd actually get a manual scraper (not a biax) of that sort? Am I best to just look on ebay and find one there used? I see one on mcmaster carr for about $150 shipped, which is more than I want to spend on something that might not be worthwhile.

I'm in no rush, so if finding one on ebay is the way to go, I can wait until something good comes up.

I've tried scraping before with an old file that's been honed and squared, but didn't love it and don't want to get a hardened steel scraper because of that.

[Mel Fulks]

Some years back I tried to find one and didn't. Couple of hardware places promised to find and order,but never came through. Might be a good idea to ask on one of the old iron sites.

[David Weaver]

There is a single solitary used scraper of the type that I'm looking for on ebay right now, I'll see how high it goes.

I noticed on the metalworking sites that a lot of the guys say they got their scrapers at yard sales and flea markets.

[Steve Voigt]

Have you tried the Benchcrafted Skraper? The price is right ($34).

[David Weaver]

No, but totally different kind of process than you'd do with a smaller tool like that.

See at about 3 minutes into this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOJrhrne80s

And this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQEUScJvRNU

[Steve Voigt]

I see. Thanks for the cool links.

[David Weaver]

I almost got one of the bench krafted scrapers for plane beds early on, but I watched a bill carter video shortly before and rehardened one of my chisels and intentionally didn't temper it after that.

I wanted something with a longer handle so I could hold it against my chest and lean into it, so I turned a long handle for it...total overthought about it, probably should've just bought one of the BC scrapers, everyone raves about them. The Carter style option has been good, though - and had some unexpected side benefits, like quartering the time it takes to fit a japanese iron to a plane.

[Steve Voigt]

The actual cutting edge of the BC is about the same as the one in the video. Maybe it would work with a different handle.
By the way, the guy in the vid is using an Anderson scraper. They're about $100 new. Were you hoping to find something cheaper?

[David Weaver]

I'm on the fence about it (buying one new, because this is just a tinkering exercise). I'm actually hoping to find out what the brands of the scrapers are so I can search for them used without getting google to give me 300 results for paint scrapers.

(thanks for mentioning the name, though - it looks like anderson is still in business and still making them - and they look to be what mcmaster carr carries - though what's generally true with mcmaster is the case here - there's a price premium for mcmaster carr's convenience)

[David Barnett]

I'd like to find a proper carbide scraper to scrape planes, and i know that some on here (especially george) have done that. Does anyone know where you'd actually get a manual scraper (not a biax) of that sort? Am I best to just look on ebay and find one there used? I see one on mcmaster carr for about $150 shipped, which is more than I want to spend on something that might not be worthwhile.

I'm in no rush, so if finding one on ebay is the way to go, I can wait until something good comes up.

I've tried scraping before with an old file that's been honed and squared, but didn't love it and don't want to get a hardened steel scraper because of that.

My solid carbide scraper is a 3/16" x 3/4" x 12" STB (Standard Tool Blank) wrapped with overlapping turns of thin suede goat —same way I wrapped my English paring knives for bookbinding. Of course, it's diamond ground to a slight radius for scraping flat surfaces. When I made mine it cost under $30. I'm mostly seeing C-2 1/4" x 3/4" x 12" running $100+ these days.

That said, for scraping cast iron I prefer HSS. Cheaper, easier to find, can get 24" pieces (size matters) if you want 18-20" (use the cutoff for a great finishing scraper—sans burr), and far easier to maintain and sharpen. Does it hold an edge as long as carbide? Of course not, but for cast iron plane soles it starts out sharper and holds an edge for a long, long time and unlike carbide, it's tougher, less brittle. You can use a long planer knife with the edge ground away or even repurpose one of those Chinese HSS woodturning scrapers and leave the handle for extra length.

As an aside, a piece of simple carbon steel with a proper brine quench or O1 left a little hard at the business end still works well enough on CI plane soles. For a final pass, a freshed carbon steel or HSS scraper leaves a much nicer frosting than carbide unless it's brand new out of the box.

Search or ask for carbide STB (eBay, or carbide tooling specialists). I should think scrounging about Pittsburgh you could find a scrap for far less and a carbide toolmaking shop to grind and hone while you wait. Takes me way back—it's been a long while since Gulf Research in Harmarville turned into a ghost town.

[Tony Zaffuto]

I got a couple of scrapers from McMaster-Carr (or was it MSC) for scraping cast iron. This was about a decade ago and I had a wild hair up my butt idea about making some sort of long lasting cutting edge (or was it a burnisher) out of them. If you want to play around with them, PM me your address and I'll send them down (or show up at the Pen's game tomorrow and I'll hand them to you).

[David Weaver]

Thanks David. I might have some HSS that I could sacrifice for this. I had ground and honed a file and used it on a plane sole, but didn't love it a whole lot. It might be worth a retry if I can dig up a vintage used up bastard file in a big size. I was trying to scrape in line on a corrugated sole a long time ago, which occurs to me to be a pretty stupid thing now. a 2x3 wooden block and 60 grit sandpaper removed material much faster, which is all I was after at the time.

AT this point, I think it might be a nice way to finish off a flattened surface on a plane and make it look interesting - knowing that it may not look interesting due to inexperience being correctable by a simple lapping.

I don't have a great feel for the industrial underbelly here (it changes fast, and you're right, harmarville has less to it now than it did at one time, and is somewhere that I go through once every 5 years or so). Many of the small interesting businesses that have been closer to town where I am are closing doors, or already have in the last 15 years.

[David Weaver]

I got a couple of scrapers from McMaster-Carr (or was it MSC) for scraping cast iron. This was about a decade ago and I had a wild hair up my butt idea about making some sort of long lasting cutting edge (or was it a burnisher) out of them. If you want to play around with them, PM me your address and I'll send them down (or show up at the Pen's game tomorrow and I'll hand them to you).

I'd say the chance of showing up at the pens game is pretty minimal (especially without tickets)! I'd gladly try them, though, and I'll pay the shipping, etc - I'll send a PM.

[Bob Strawn]

I've looked around online for a purpose made scraper to scrape cast iron, and it looks to me like the purpose made scrapers have some spring to them and in some of the (few) videos I've seen, the scraping took advantage of that spring.

What I've been able to find is just hardened steel scrapers that look like they may be unhardened along most of their lengths.

I'd like to find a proper carbide scraper to scrape planes, and i know that some on here (especially george) have done that. Does anyone know where you'd actually get a manual scraper (not a biax) of that sort? Am I best to just look on ebay and find one there used? I see one on mcmaster carr for about $150 shipped, which is more than I want to spend on something that might not be worthwhile.

I'm in no rush, so if finding one on ebay is the way to go, I can wait until something good comes up.

I've tried scraping before with an old file that's been honed and squared, but didn't love it and don't want to get a hardened steel scraper because of that.

I use these. I often grind them to other shapes, but they will do the job and the price is sweet. If you buy a bunch of them you start getting discounts on the already low price.

Bob

[David Barnett]

I don't have a great feel for the industrial underbelly here (it changes fast, and you're right, harmarville has less to it now than it did at one time, and is somewhere that I go through once every 5 years or so). Many of the small interesting businesses that have been closer to town where I am are closing doors, or already have in the last 15 years.

Neither do I. Only place I really knew was that GR&DC campus. Landed a nuclear chemistry gig in the early 70s on a uranium extraction pilot project on the sweltering Central Florida phosphate flats. Must've been 20 or 21. Finally got some uranyl phos out of all that acid slurry. Looked like baby poop.

AT this point, I think it might be a nice way to finish off a flattened surface on a plane and make it look interesting - knowing that it may not look interesting due to inexperience being correctable by a simple lapping.

Ripples, basketweave, fish scales (my favorite). OCD helps.

I had ground and honed a file and used it on a plane sole, but didn't love it a whole lot. It might be worth a retry if I can dig up a vintage used up bastard file in a big size.

I tried a file at first, too, but had better luck with O1. Got me through one long New England winter. Cabin fever. Thousand mile stare. Scrape scrape scrape, rub rub, scrape... I mean, you can only clean your gun so many times in a day, right? At least that's what the voices told me.