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I have mentioned seam scraping a few times, and find few folks know what I mean. Scraping is an old machinist's trick from the middle ages before powered machine tools. If a person needed an iron plate that was perfectly flat he used a stone gauge that had been ground flat, used some dye and that plate to find the high spots on the iron plate, and level the high spots with a chisel, held vertically to the plate. The scraping chisel had a weird edge, almost a 90 degree angle to the axis of the chisel, but shy a few degrees. Then, woodworkers picked it up as a means to get a really smooth finish quicker and better than sandpaper. It works on plastic too. To do it, I have a seperate X-acto handle with an OLD # 11 blade. I hold the blade vertical to the surface, which means the cutting edge is just a few degrees from 90 to the plastic surface (due to sharpened beveled edge).
So, lets say I have applied putty to the seam. Or, maybe the sides are not even- one sticks up maybe 20 mils from the other side. Now pull the knife towards you and it will peel off a few mils of plastic or putty.
Another use is removing fine flash lines. Say you have a cylindrical piece, which has some fine flash along the seam. Pulling that scraper along the seam will remove that flash very nicely.
I use an old blade because scraping does dull the edge quickly. So I don't throw out blades until they have been in the scraper handle for awhile :-)
Don Stauffer in Minnesota
Todd Barker - Colorado Springs, CO
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Geez, just noticed I mispelled scraping on the title of the post!
Don Stauffer Geez, just noticed I mispelled scraping on the title of the post!
Yeah, I kind of went along with the answer "The Most Interesting Man In The World" gave:
"I have no idea what this is...."
(Stay thirsty, my friends!)
Greg
George Lewis:
Hey Don I believe you can change that if you edit your post - editing includes titles.
I'd like to. How does one EDIT a post?
I've done a lot of scraping in my day, but just tried your technique with the #11 at 90 degrees. I think I've tried every other angle imaginable. Unbelievable how well it works, thanks Don!
Can edit your own posts by clicking the little yellow pencil icon far bottom left. Just below "Edit Tags" and next to the "report abuse" icon.
Ah, thanks. That was easy! So THAT is what that pencil is for!
Glad that worked, Don. You're welcome but that was inconsequential compared with all the great stuff I've learned from you since I joined up.
I had used this and when I restarted back in the hobby picked up right where I had left off. I did find you can use anything hard as long as it has an edge........cabinet builders use scrapers to put a smooth finish on wood........I have found you can use the back side of that knife if you hold the angle just right. Oh and don't forget to use small controlled strokes when scraping or it can get ugly quick!
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