Al Carruth scraper and micro clamps

Just a heads up on some new tools. I just received the new Al Carruth's scraper from Stew-Mac. Stew-Mac tools can be hit or miss, but it is a hit for sure in this case. As a builder of arch top instruments, I can tell you that trying to turn a burr on a french curve scraper is a pain in the ass. To sharpen this you just lap it on a diamond sharpening stone and it works very well.

Also, I have had and used Irwin Quick Grip clamps for a while now, but until recently they have been a little big and expensive, The new micro size clamps are great. They are a perfect size and are two for $16 at Home Depot. I now have 20 of them and they are being used a lot.

Brad

Thanks for the review Brad, that scraper has been calling rather loudly to my wallet for a month. I don't build archtops yet, but it sure looks nice.

Hey Brad, are the smaller version fo the scraper suitable for shaping the heel?

There is only one size, but I just used it for the final shaping of a Honduran mahogany neck and it worked great. One caveat however, the full sharpening process requires a hollow ground edge, which means you have to have a six inch bench grinder with a fine emery wheel. It came already ground, all I did was lap both sides on a diamond hone and it was ready to go. As hard as the metal is, you will not have to do the full sharpening procedure very often, in fact it appears that you won't have to do any sharpening at all very often. I expect that it is going to excel at scraping bindings.

Brad

Looks like we're doubling up on tools Brad. I've got a rack of those clamps. Really would be at a loss if they went missing. And I got that scraper the other day as well. It really is a nice little tool. I've been using some M2 tool steel as little square scrapers that work great, but they are only 1/2 as thick as the Carruth one, and the extra thickness seems to make a big difference.

I've been enjoying myself sick with the scraper as well.