Scraper

Working away in my shop this afternoon, I picked up my scraper to debur a hole in the new bumper I am building and had a funny thought. I made this scraper over 50 years ago, and I use it almost every day. Now that makes me feel good.

 

Scraping is nearly a lost art.. I have a very nice sandvik carbide tip scraper given to me as a gift.

 

I have done a lot of scraping over the years. I have a bunch of Sandvick blades and one of their scrapers. I have built a couple of oddball hand scrapers that take their blades, also. I have a new Biax power scraper that I have not used for over 20 years. The first one I had took me 20 years to wear out, ha.


https://www.dapra.com/biax/power-scrapers

 

I know where there is a way you may practice on for a day.

 

My old Bridgeport was so worn I couldn’t do anything more than 6”-8” passes with any precision. I got a quote to scrape the surfaces, but the wear was very heavy which resulted in a quote that was more than the machine was worth. The ways were really bad too. I found a much newer machine in very good condition, and it was local to boot. I sold the old machine for 3/4 price of the newer one.
I read up on the art of scraping, but never pursued any more. It would take years (decades?) of practice to learn this art.
I did pick up a decent granite plate that I use for checking my machine work.
-Donny

 

My old Taiwan Bridgeport clone was trash in so many ways... Since I learned on that machine, I didnt really know how much of garbage it was.. Until I bought my new Jet 3 HP VS machine..Its also a Taiwan Bridgeport clone.

Apparently the quill bearings were so bad on my old machine that it couldn't make a clean cut with an end mill. I thought it was me, the material or speed or something.. Same end mill in the new machine and it can create a great cut, no chatter no issues... All for about 15K delivered..

Bought a Kurt vise to replace the old Bridgeport too.. Worth every single penny. Power feeds for x, y and z.. The knee power feed makes life better.

The back gears work on the new machine, down feed, variable speed... I can go slow enough to turn 1" buts to drill holes... I LOVE it and use it make parts every day I am home. Quality and efficiency is so much better.

 

I have an old Bridgport mill in excellent condition because I am the only one that runs it! I had several before it that I purchased over the years in various conditions and in need of repair. I hung onto the one I have now just because I like it, and it is a very nice machine for my little shop. There are a lot of nice Asian clones out there that would make excellent machines for a small shop or any shop at that.

I have done a lot of scraping to create flat surfaces and have tried a few times to do some frosting/flaking with poor results; that is a real art form. I have watched several guys over the years that did it full-time, and boy, they can make it look simple.

Here is a photo of my Bridgeport table. Old school does not improve the surface but makes it look like something built with a lot of care.