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Here's a picture of one that I copied from Dan Miller. He posted it on the New Builder Challenge. Made from an old plane frog and so can be adjusted just like a plane. It's one of my favourite tools.

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We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at guitars.

lee valley makes a simple scraping tool for this:

http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.a ... cat=,69873

I guess that is good if you have money to burn...

Mine didn't cost a penny and it pretty much does the same thing.

But I have to admit, theirs is prettier


@Joe Sallis, That is some beast there... Both yours and Arnt Rian's look like they would work quite well.

Bob

[quote="


@Joe Sallis, That is some beast there... Both yours and Arnt Rian's look like they would work quite well.

Bob[/quote]

Quite well is an understatement.

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We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at guitars.

[quote]I guess that is good if you have money to burn...

Mine didn't cost a penny and it pretty much does the same thing.[/quote

I don't think one would have to have money to burn to buy that. $60 is pretty reasonable for that. My time is about $45 per hour. Yes yours is simple and simple is elegant and I would most likely adopt your method but you have done the R&D. How much time did you spend with: posting about this on the forum, doing the drawing for the sander, making your blocks, trying the tape, etc. I am the beneficiary of your efforts but I bet you have more than $60 in this.
I am only reacting to the statement of "money to burn." I think that tool is a reasonable and viable solution for someone. That said I have Delron , Nylatron, UHMP, around so I will use your method.
L

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Cut to size.....Beat to fit.....Paint to match.

@Link Van Cleave,

I said that because my money is going into much larger things than perfling cutters. I have been repairing guitars for over 20 years but not professionally. I just recently started my business because I have been getting more and more work over the last few years. So that $60 is more wisely spent putting into my shop for new equipment like say... a new bandsaw to replace my 45 year old dying one, or a thickness sander so I don't have to use my hand planes every time I need to thickness something, or maybe a side bender so I don't have to bend stuff on a hot pipe anymore.

Since I have been pretty much forced into retirement by our economy this shop is about all I have. I don't have a steady flow of clients coming through the door so I do have the time. No one is paying me $45 an hour to sit around so rather than make no money when I don't have the work I can (and do) try to make as many tools as I can. I am just getting into building guitars and as I am sure you know it is not cheap.

On the other hand if I did have a steady flow of clients then I completely agree with you, my time is better spent making money

And besides I really enjoy it when I can make something that works well and I am able to pass the idea on to others

So, Time? I have plenty, Money? Not so much... (or have more important places it can go)

I am glad you like the idea enough to want to make one. It will save you $60...

Cheers,
Bob

Time and money, it always seems like I always have more of one than the other. Right now it seems like I have no time but some money. And I have started making both bindings and purfling. I think the bindings are in good shape but the purfling will need some work. As soon as I have time. That little Lee Valley's scraper looks like what I have been looking for. So thank you for that.

I'm also very interested in the original post. I will look closely at that and see if I can apply it to my purfling needs. Thank you for that post.

Happy building

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EddieLee

Ha!

That tool from LV is so like what I was scratching my head to 'invent', but was way too lazy to build, so my blocks are a 'good enough' solution...

Nice to know I was on the right track...

@EddieLee
Isn't that the truth. I have been through times where there have been an over abundance of each and neither one is a good situation. I am fortunate that I am somewhere in between right now. But it took me 60 years to get here...

I posted a more detailed explanation of what I have in the Fixtures section called Easy Perfling Strip Jig if you are interested in more details.

@meddlingfool,

Yes you are correct, If it is good enough and works well you can't ask for more than that. Much like my side bender, A piece of 2 1/2" stainless steel exhaust pipe I pulled from the muffler shop down the road and a heat gun. It seems to do the job until I can buy a heat blanket and controller.. "Good Enough"

And your sanding blocks are what gave me the idea. I made one and it worked just fine but I don't like sanding dust so I use my scrapers in place of sandpaper when ever I can. There is an advantage to using the scraper on those strips, you don't get sanding dust under the strips so you don't have to keep cleaning it out. If you look in that picture I shot you will notice a nice neat pile of scrapings behind the strip.

But thanks much for sparking the idea.

Bob

It's a shame I still haven't figured out how to get a proper edge on a scraper....

I had a bit of an issue with that also at first but I wasn't using a proper burnisher... I was using a very old round punch thinking it just needed to be good steel. Then got one of those all in one burnisher and it made my life easy. You do need to treat them much like a plane blade by occasionally flattening the back and squaring up the edge. I always made the mistake of pulling the burr out too much thinking it was going to cut really well.... wrong.... If you pull it too much you will mash it down the first couple of scrapes you do. So just a little rub on the edge and a quick slice at about 15 degree angle is all it takes. You should just barely be able to feel the burr. The trick is to have a good burnisher. Now I can put an edge on my scraper in just a few seconds.

I have also seen guys not even burnish them but just put a file lengthwise on the edge of their workbench so it just sits proud of the bench top. Then lay the scraper down on the bench and slide it across the file. It makes a nice square edge with does cut pretty well but it just doesn't last long.

Bob

Maybe this will help. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=667p5az9dps

L

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Cut to size.....Beat to fit.....Paint to match.

Good tool idea Joe, thanks for sharing.
I just happen to have a USA Stanley 4 1/2 with a cracked body and was looking for something to do with the other bits.
All I need now is the bench!

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Get a car/truck exhaust valve. Cheap but effective burnisher.

Who am I to advise you, and I know this isn't really the right/normal way to do it, but I'm currently getting a decent edge on a scraper by squaring it up with a coarse Stanley oilstone on a shooting board, then clamping it in a vice and pressing the piece of hard round steel along the edge. I seem to be getting better results that way than with the Veritas variable burnisher I got at Christmas! Even less ideal, but I've got a fairly decent edge with a knife honing steel.

I also found one of my steel rulers to be an excellent scraper. And the burr doesn't seem to disappear either! And to think, at first I didn't like the ruler because of the burr!

Colin, like a wrote originally I stole the idea from Dan Miller. Even the picture is not mine, it's his. Mine does look exactly the same, except the frog is not so rusty. With a table saw it took me less than an hour to make.

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We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at guitars.

Guys, several great suggestions in this thread. Thanks! Up till now, I've been buying pre-made purflings, but I've got to give this a try.
Link, that's a really nice video!

Hey Link, Yes thanks for posting that video.

I have always pulled the burr out from the face of the scraper, I guess you would say the "traditional" way it is always shown.

One thing I have always done is scrape backwards. I started doing it a long time ago when someone showed me how you can see the scrapings coming off the scraper so you can judge better where you are scraping. Now if I try to do it the "right" way I feel like I am working blind.

Does anyone else pull their scraper rather than push it?

I will have to give your way of putting the burr on and see how it works. It appears it would be much easier.

Cheers,
Bob