I got to see Eric Lofstrom last night up in Salem, OR. While we do some things similarly, his approach to the NRS (negative rake scraper) is considerably different than mine.... It came up a while back about me seeing some one who had a small carbide rod, maybe 1/8 inch in diameter, inserted into a wood dowel, and was using that for burnishing his burrs, well, that was Eric. "I was with Bonnie Klein once and told her that I used a NRS for heavy roughing. She didn't believe me, but I was taking off 1 1/2 inch wide shavings." Hmm, I can do that with my standard scrapers, but with a NRS? My attempts with burnished burrs on the NRS and my standard scrapers left a lot to be desired for a good cutting edge. Well, I went out to the shop, found some carbide drill bits that some one gave me a long time ago, drilled a hole in some drill rod, inserted the bit, and tried it.... Having the NRS sharpened on a 600 grit wheel took most of the wheel burr off, and I just took a few short strokes. Very good turned burr! So, I have to try it with all my scrapers......
Eric is an elementary school teacher, so his presentations are very well done. If you ever get the chance to see him, don't miss the opportunity. His dad is/was an engineer like mine, and we both suffer/enjoy the engineer's syndrome: If it ain't broke, take it apart and fix it anyway!
I really wish there was a way to get 20 or more of us together for a play date, exchange tools, techniques, ideas...
robo hippy
Eric is an elementary school teacher, so his presentations are very well done. If you ever get the chance to see him, don't miss the opportunity. His dad is/was an engineer like mine, and we both suffer/enjoy the engineer's syndrome: If it ain't broke, take it apart and fix it anyway!
I really wish there was a way to get 20 or more of us together for a play date, exchange tools, techniques, ideas...
robo hippy