Luthiery Laboratories

After making a muddle of things with a razor blade and several other implements that proved to be less than satisfactory, I decided I needed to have the right tool - something roughly pencil-sized that can be handled with precision and ease, with a proper scraper edge. I took a look at StewMac, and found their binding scraper - exactly what I was thinking of. But with shipping, it would cost $15, and I'd have to wait a week for it, and after all, it's just a piece of steel. So I started thinking and remembered I have some 1/2" steel binding strap material. This is the stuff that is used around very large heavy boxes. It is a fairly hard and springy type of steel that would probably make a good tool. So I got busy in the shop and made three scrapers.

The first one is double-ended, one end cuts lefty, the other end cuts righty, that's why it is labeled. The ends are as blunt as they could be, in case you slip. The second one has a wicked point on it for tight spots, seemed prudent to make that single-ended. The third one is not for binding, it is just a small rounded scraper for whatever. I cut the material with sheet metal snips and shaped it on the bench grinder. The material is rather flexible on its own, so I added handles from popsicle sticks and tape. StewMac's website will tell you how to sharpen them.

They work pretty well, at least the first one, I haven't really tried the other two. They don't hold an edge as long as a real scraper, but that's alright, just a swipe over the file and it's sharp again. I'm sure StewMac's is better, and the price is not outrageous, but I was impatient. StewMac's other scrapers are well worth the price, especially their 'Ultimate' scrapers, which are terrific. Their scraper burnisher is also well worth having, to resharpen your scrapers; it is not all that difficult. For neck building, I have also tried a spoke-shave, but I found it was difficult to use on hard maple. Routing is likewise problematic on maple, the best ways to work with it are sanding and scraping.