Tapering thin strips for hull planks

RickNoyes

RickNoyes

Joined
Mar 4, 2021
Messages
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Location
Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Thought Id share this method of tapering thin strips for hull planks.

I have concentrated on making ships boats for the past few years and have found that cutting thin tapered strip on my mini table saw is problematic. To overcome this I cut parallel strips, typically about 1.5mm thick and then taper them manually using sharp cabinet scrapers. The example shown has been tapered from 1.5mm thick down to 0.5mm using the large scrapper. The advantage is that it’s relatively quick and removes the saw blade marks with ease reducing or eliminating the need to sand. I would recommend you obtain quality scrapers and a burnishing rod from a to a reputable tool supplier as opposed to cheap internet versions and wet stones to keep them sharp.

Hope this is of use, happy modelling.

Cheers Rick
IMG_20240325_092429_HDR.jpg
 
Do you have recommendation to a good "reputable tool supplier " for items you suggest, it would make it easier on some of those who don't know difference on venders.
 
Somehow I did not get it, RickNoyes. I can see how one can reduce the thickness of the strip with a scraper. This is what I see on the picture you presented. The plank looks all same width (parallel sides). How one with a scraper can reduce the width of thin 0.5 mm thick strip from let us say 2 mm width at one end to 1 mm on the other end I have difficulty to imagine. Can you explain, please?
 
Firstly I purchased my tools from https://www.timbecon.com.au/ in Australia and when I lived in Canada I used to get tools from https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca. Both of these companies have very good stuff.

In answer to your question Y.T I start with a parallel strip approx. 1.5mm thick. I then scrap off the saw marks on both sides which reduces the overall thickness slightly. I then place the strip on a standard plastic kitchen cutting board (you could use anything to get obtain a slight height increase above your benchtop), preferably something that doesn’t slide about.

I then position the strip at the edge of the cutting board and angle the scraper taking away material from the edge of the strip by applying more pressure on the side I’m trying to reduce the thickness on. You need to pull the scrapper towards you and support the strip at the opposite end to prevent it slipping. As always, allow the tool to do the cutting and don’t force it. If you try and do it in the opposite direction, i.e. hold one end and push the scraper towards the fixed point (where you’re holding it) it is likely to break as the strip is very thin. Pulling rather than pushing the scrapper so to speak.

Hope this makes sense.

Cheers Rick
 
Stew-Mac here in the USA is a Luthier Supply house- they carry scrapers and burnishers-

Luthier Scrapers - StewMac

Shop Luthier Scrapers at StewMac. 100% satisfaction guaranteed. Order today with StewMAX FREE Shipping!
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Also Woodcraft-
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Cabinet Scrapers, Floor Scrapers & Wood Scrapers

Shop Cabinet Scrapers, Floor Scrapers & Wood Scrapers and more woodworking products for sale from Woodcraft! Buy online or find your local Woodcraft store. Free Shipping on select items.
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Also Rockler

And a razor blade or utility knife blade can be made into a good scraper as well.
YouTube for how to sharpen, burnish and use.
 
This is a tool and process I have never seen. I'll try to learn the process before I buy the tool. Thanks for the information.
 
Y.T. said:
If you have a piece of thin stainless sheet metal, just sheared on a shear press - you already have good scraper tool.
Click to expand...
Thin stainless sheet metal doesn't make a scraper itself. Actually, stainless steel would be a bad choice for the scraper. You will need at least a 'tools' stele, which will require sharpening and honing.

www.instructables.com

Homemade Card Scrapers

Homemade Card Scrapers: It's hard to think of a simpler yet more effective woodworking tool than the cabinet scraper – a flat, thin, post card-sized sheet of spring steel dragged by hand across a wood surface to leave a glass-smooth finish. - MacdonaldSome time ago I got m…
www.instructables.com www.instructables.com

 
Y.T. said:
I use stainless steel scrapers sold by Lee-Valley all the time. They are sold with carbide burnisher for sharpening. See picture below. By the way I recommend them to everyone. :)


View attachment 438937
Click to expand...
why do you think they are made from stainless steel? I use the same set, they are made from a tooling steel. It might contain some components that don't get rusted but regular Stainless steel is too soft to hold the edge while burnishing.
This is an excellent set, I also recommend it.
 
Gents. SS can and is used for numerous cutting implements including scrapers.

However SS is not a single type of steel but a generic name for Ferrous (iron based) steels which generally include varying degrees of alloying elements but in particular Chromium and Nickle.

For example it is generally believed that SS is not magnetic. Nothing could be further from the truth. Just take a magnet to any table knife fork or spoon from your drawer and a magnet will readily attach itself. This is due to the high iron content and low amounts of Chromium and or nickel. It is also assumed that SS doesn’t rust. Again if you scratch say 316SS (a corrosion resistant stainless steel) with a iron nail and leave it to weather, the scratched area will corrode.

The SS tools mentioned by Y.T. may be made from something like 440C stainless steel at a guess which contains 80.75% Fe, 17% Cr, 1.05% C, 0.4% Mo, 0.4% Mn, 0.4% Si. Note there is no nickel.

While tool steels such as mentioned by Jimsky which could be D2 tool steel contain considerable amounts of Chromium but just under the amounts sort of where true Stainless Steels are categorised. 83% Fe, 11%-13% Cr, 1.4-1.6% C, 1.1% V, 0.7%-1.2% Mo, 1% Co, 0.6% Mn, 0.6% Si, 0.33% V, 0.03% S, 0.03% P.

So…Your both correct.
 
I'd be surprised if those scrapers were made from stainless steel. Lee Valley doesn't offer a knife, a plane blade, a chisel that uses anything other than tool steel. Sometimes they give you a choice as to which steel you want in your tool but it's never stainless..
 
Van said:
I'd be surprised if those scrapers were made from stainless steel. Lee Valley doesn't offer a knife, a plane blade, a chisel that uses anything other than tool steel. Sometimes they give you a choice as to which steel you want in your tool but it's never stainless..
Click to expand...
I think Rick has explained nicely that we often treat Stainless Steel as just regular steel that will never rust. However, it is a misconception, and our kitchen knives are good examples that are made from HSS or even carbon steel and will never rust.
 
My… what have I started...

The emergence and significance of heavy-duty scrapers in ancient stone toolkits
Human Palaeontology and Prehistory (Prehistoric Archaeology)
Results show that tools referred to as heavy-duty scrapers were made on thick cobbles during the Oldowan, and later, at the onset of the Acheulian, on Large Flakes, while smaller-sized items in Late Acheulian sites assume end-scraper morphologies. Source Comptes Rendus Palevol, Volume 17, Issue 3, March–April 2018, Pages 201-219

Types used over millennia
Rocks i.e. flint in particular
Bone
Antler
Glass (volcanic early on and manmade later)
Metals probably starting with copper then progressing to bronze and then the plethora of steels.

Getting back to Y.T.’s comment using a thin piece of sheared SS. Yes it will work but dependant on the variety (of which there are five different types: austenitic, ferritic, martensitic, duplex (austenitic-ferritic), or precipitation. And I did a quick count of about 36 variations of these 5 types of varying hardness.)

So if you have access to metal shears and any old piece of thin steel, SS or otherwise and need a quick scraper munch off a piece and save yourself the time of sharpening. When dull discard and munch again. This type of scraper is likely to have daggy edges due to the shearing process so you won’t get quite the smooth finish you desire.

Note Daggy is an Australian/Kiwi (New Zealand) term for the sticky bits on a sheeps bottom but is used to convey meaning of anything a bit rough.
 
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