Working with your hands - Hand scraping

[Richard King]

I feel the same thing as Tom Silva said at minute 2:20 - Working with your hands and building something. This is why I make part of my seminars learning how to hand scrape. Using the Biax Power Scraper is using an electric power tool, but your steering it with your hands. You have to learn hand and eye coordination.

I tell my students hand scraping is like shooting a bolt action rifle one bullet at a time compared to using a machine gun where you shoot automatic many rounds or scraping using a Biax. I can recall like Mr. Silva working with my Dad who taught me to scrape in the basement of our house, when he brought home straightedges my brother Tom and I could learn to scrape on when we were in our early years, maybe 8 or 10. I recall working summer vacations with my dad at Control Data and Onan on large machines scraping by hand. We didn't use the Biax until 1972 when we were rebuilding a Giddings and Lewis Boring bar for Kurt Mfg. The ways on the base were 12" wide and 25' long. Prior to that we hand scraped those large machines. Like Tom, I love to teach scraping and share what my Dad talk me. Working with my hands - teaching the readers - having my students teach on You Tube. What a legacy .

The thread about Scraping a Straightedge is how I learned to scrape and it is easy for me to recognize where it is high or humped as I scraped by hand for more then 10 years before going to a Biax. In the early years we only roughed with the Biax and finished with a hand scraper as back then Biax didn't sell finish blades. Many of my students say they will never buy a Biax as they are so expensive, but after using one in the class they end up buying one. Many still say they are only good for roughing. Those who say that have never been shown how to scrape using the proper blades and techniques. One doesn't get as much chatter by hand, I will admit that. One can increase productivity by 50 to 75% using a Biax Power scraper.

 

[bmikkalson]

Scraping is rather therapeutic for me. Very simple tools and accuracy out of this world . ( plus it looks cool) Do it right and it sounds like a steam locomotive push hard and get some smoke.

For power scrapers, you will never get me off the Anderson power pole. Taking 1” wide cuts .005 deep.

Rich , you heating up the garage soon for class?

 

[BT Fabrication]

I'd love to learn the art of scraping and come down from Canada to learn it. always rebuilding things, yet they are close but never close enough for my liking.
Unless you come to Canada ever?

 

[Richard King]

I have taught 5 up in Canada. 2 in Edmonton at Argus Machine, one in Coquitlam BC, 1 in Winnipeg at Western Engine, one in Barrie at a company that built Rotary Transfer machines and each class was a pain getting into the country (customs). We were trying to do another one in Coquitlam and invite people from the USA, but several didn't have passports and the idea of going to a brokerage to bring in their tools or project machines was a pain. Jeff Thiele was trying to help figure it out as it was going to be in Shane Carrs shop before he closed his shop (member "Collector") who I consider a good friend but we had to cancel it because of the customs. We were really disappointed . I have to thank Jeff for all hiss help. Jeff attended the last class I taught in Oklahoma 3 weeks ago. He is invited to come to the B&K class in March.

I am about to tell the members about one we will be doing in Bourn & Loch in Rockford, IL in March and one here in MN in January. We have another company in Beloit, WI looking at one in January or March. I will be teaching a closed class in a defense plant in Mechanicsburg, PA in February.

BK (Ben) is the operator to his Girl Friend Bertha the Anderson Power Scraper I have in my cluttered shop here in Cottage Grove, MN. I am thinking of doing a class here he 2nd week in January. I am finalizing the BK and the class in Beloit today. Then I will post times. Today, I'm going to get the Bobcat out to plow the 8" of snow we got yesterday. I love playing with the Bob Cat. Not as precision as scraping...lol

Ben hosted a class 4 or 5 years ago in St. Paul and pissed me off...lol... he was a difficult student....LOL But since then he has become a knucklehead friend that I really like. He is invited to any class I have here. His sense of humor and love of Bertha makes teaching the classes fun.