Adam King Studio Fine Furniture & Antique Restoration

I first laid eyes on this small wonder when my instructor at The Worcester Center for Crafts produced it out of his front pocket. Throughout my time there, I saw him use this gem in seemingly endless ways. It tamed tearout, smoothed applied edges, and even helped form small bits of replacement molding. It became evident that this was truly an indispensible tool. Finally, the day came when he gathered us around and showed us how he made it. Now, I’m going to do the same for you. So, gather round and let’s make my favorite tiny tool in the shop.

The materials list is simple: a small one inch paint scraper blade form the hardware store and a piece of hardwood stock measuring 7/8” thick by 1” wide by 7” long. Any hardwood will do. This can be a great project for those little precious scraps of exotic wood lying around.

Very little measuring is needed. Locate the center of the thickness of your blank and measure back from the end about an inch and mark that spot. This is the center of the hole to accommodate the curved end of the blade.

Drill a ¼” hole with a forstner or brad point bit. Using a counter sink bit, lightly chamfer around the holes to keep the blade from catching on any edges.

Cut down the center on either side of the line to the hole using the bandsaw or a backsaw. However you cut it, you need the slot to be just under 1/32” in width, which is just a fraction smaller than the thickness of the blade.

Now, you can mark out the finished shape of the scraper to suit your hand. As you can see in the photo above, I've laid out the design so that the ends are tapered at the blade. This is to prevent them from rubbing against the material being scraped. Rough cut the shape at the bandsaw, and finish with rasps, scrapers, and sandpaper. To insert the blade lightly tap it into the handle with a tack hammer until it’s seated. The tension from the tight fit of the handle, plus the round end of the blade is enough to hold it in place during use. Apply your finish of choice, and now you’re ready to make shavings!

To maintain the bur, simply use a file on the bevel edge of the blade. After a few passes, you have a bur sufficient for general use.

As you can see in the photo, I drilled a hole in the handle for hanging on the tool board next to my card scrapers.
Don’t be surprised when you find yourself reaching for this tool on a daily basis. You’ll find all kinds of reasons to defer to this little guy.

Now that we’ve all made one, let’s share! This tool can be customized in almost limitless ways. I would love to see your version of this scraper. Just provide a link, in the comment section below, to the photo on your blog or webpage, or you can email the photo(s) with a brief description. I'll share the photos in a later post.

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