Renaissance Tool
Scrapers are something of a controversial subject. Some turners regard them as little more than a poor relation to gouges and are critical of those who use them. Why this should be eludes me.
The scraper is one of the oldest tools in the woodturner’s armoury, but that does not mean it no longer has a place – far from it. Wherever there is a gouge mark or a shape to refine, the scraper is there to assist.
They are usually made from a single bar of steel, either flat or round, and have a bevel ground on them. This is not a bevel to rub as is the case with gouges, but simply a means of providing an edge and reducing the resistance to a cut made with the burr on that edge. They are a simple tool but can take some practice to master.
There are arguably three basic groups of scrapers: forming tools, which are not at all common today; finishing, or refining tools and hollowers. A forming
