I watched his video on turning stumps. It is interesting, but long. During the smoothing said that he was going to scrap it smooth. He proceeded to use what looked like flat scrapping tool.  Can someone tell me how this works, does it do a good job smoothing?

(If you watch the video, you will find that you will skip ahead}

 

 

Looks like a 1.5 inch round nose scraper. Yes you can get a smooth surface just have to learn how like any turning tool.

Thanks, I've never heard of them.  Would you compare it to a carbide round tool?

The carbide tools like the Easy Wood tools are scrapers.  The main difference is that the steel tools are ground so that they have a bur that makes them more effective.  In the right hands these scrapers can do wonders.  In the wrong hands, you can get a catch that will send a bowl into orbit.  

I agree whit Bill's description.  There are negative rake scrapers that are a little more forgiving but all of them require a light touch and a fair amount of practice.  Reed Gray (AKA Robo Hippy) has a good video on scrapers.

 

 

I use scrapers all of the time and they do create a smooth finish if kept sharp. The trick I use is to remember the the cutting edge must be "below center" on the outside and "above center" on the inside.

Nice think about scrapers is that they are easy and quick to sharpen on the grinder.

The thing about that burr is that with it you get an aggressive cut and without it a fine as angel hair cut. A trick on using scrapers is to dampen the wood with a spray bottle (water) then you cut the dampened area. This will reduce tearout and give a near ready surface you can begin sanding at 180 or 220.

Great videos. I know a lot now about scrapers. Never thought about water spray, great procedure. I"ll give that a try when I run into one of those pieces that has more tare out than I care for.

 

Thanks everyone!

There are two schools of thought on creating the bur.  The most prevalent is the bur created by using a bench grinder is sufficient although not very durable.  The other approach which I prefer is to hone off that weak bur and put a real bur on the edge using the same technique that you would use to put a bur on a cabinet scraper.  It is far more durable and actually cuts the wood as opposed to scraping that the grinder bur does.

37 minutes ago, Billy B said:

The other approach which I prefer is to hone off that weak bur and put a real bur on the edge using the same technique that you would use to put a bur on a cabinet scraper

Here's a little jig I made to do the burnishing-

 

 

 

 

 

Great idea on the burnisher. I have tried to make a jig except my idea was a single board with a hole for my burnisher. Got to make this now.

3 minutes ago, Gerald said:

Got to make this now.

Lew, that is slick!   As you can tell from my question, I have a lot to learn. There is not such thing as a dumb question.

I'll just keep on asking

1 hour ago, Ron Altier said:

There is not such thing as a dumb question.

I'll just keep on asking

Exactly! I always made it a point to reinforce that to my school students.