Learning to scrape - with help from Richard King

[p3bhambama]

Hey guys newish member here. I've lurked around for a while - being a long time woodworker who has just in the last year begun a journey into learning machining. One of the first subjects that really caught my interest is scraping, and having watched all the videos on youtube I could find along with reading many threads here on PM, I reached out to Richard King who I had heard mentioned so many times and seen so many of his classes being held on YouTube. I honestly wasn't expecting a response given that I can't currently afford to take one of his classes. I was very wrong.

Not only did Richard respond to my email, but he faithfully responded to a dozen or so follow up ones I sent asking questions about methods, tools, and what I was/wasn't doing correctly. I'm frankly blown away at his kindness to take the time to do so. I'm sure there's lots of people out there in similar situations such as myself, wanting to learn and a little lost at where to start. I feel fortunate that someone like Richard, with his experience and reputation all over the world, not only posts on here helping regularly, but took a not inconsequential amount of time to guide someone he doesn't know from Adam.

That's basically all I've got but thanks to all of you here who provide an incredible knowledge base for those of us who are trying to learn and most especially a huge thanks to Richard King for taking pity on someone who has the interest, but no skills lol. It speaks volumes of him as a true teacher at heart. He and his son are still teaching classes and I'm certain if you are interested and can swing it, he has an upcoming class you could join.

https://kingwayscraping.com/services/#tools

 

[Richard King]

Thank You for the kind words :-) Your one of the "kids". Now tell the members your stories.... or maybe cut and paste our emails? I really like your last one telling how you discovered how much a difference a sharp blade makes.... your story. Thanks again...Rich

 

[p3bhambama]

My pleasure to speak to everyone on how you've helped me Richard. It means a great deal.
I'm no tech wizard so in lieu of copying and pasting our emails I'll summarize that Richard early on stressed to me the importance of a sharp scraper blade and how a slow speed diamond lap is critical to properly sharpen the scraper blades at a five degree angle.

Following his advice I kept my eyes open for an Accu-Finish machine - I bid on quite a few at auction but they all went in the $1,500 range. A few months ago I bid on and won a Leonard Grind-R-Lap machine which is somewhat similar to the Accu-Finish though perhaps not quite as nice. However Richard assured me they were nice machines and would suit my needs. Recently it arrived at my house and using 600 grit diamond I proceeded to sharpen my scraper blades in the manner Richard recommended.

The results were as I said to him "as if I have never scraped before". The sharpening of the blades truly made all the difference in the world. I should've known this would be the case since Richard insisted it would - but also because I have cut more dovetails by hand with a chisel than I can remember, and a sharp chisel not only makes the whole thing easier, it offers control as it takes much less effort to push the cutting edge through the workpiece. Scraping with a freshly lapped carbide blade is very similar - it goes from "skating" over the surface to instantly grabbing and being predictable in the amount of force required to make a proper scrape.