I like and recommend D-Way Tools (brand) 1″ Long & Strong Curved NEG Rake Scraper BM-NRS-34-LSC.

Cutting the inside of a bowl with a Bowl Gouge always creates the best no sanding surface. However, there are times when you need to use a scrapper to remove some tool marks. When this is necessary I like to use a big beefy negative rake scrapper.

I have a 1″ wide x 1/2″ thick negative rake scrapper. I really like. Because it is big and beefy. It does a great job. My students really like it. It is an old Packard (brand) scrapper that I converted to a negative rake scrapper. It is no longer sold by Packard. The current Packard scrapers are only 3/8″ thick. Not thick enough for me.

For a long time. I could not find any 1/2″ thick scrapers that I could recommend to my students. Now that has changed. D-Way Tools (www.d-waytools.com) has a new 1″ Long & Strong Curved NEG Rake Scraper BM-NRS-34-LSC.

One, of my students got one and I tried it out. I really like it. The $110 price is more than I would like, but in line with similar tools.

The D-Way BM-NRS-34-LSC Scraper is 1″ wide x 7/16″ thick x 10″ long with a 2″ tang. 7/16″ is almost 1/2″

Why do I like 1/2″ Thick Negative Rake Scrappers?

Because, you can hang it over the tool rest with no chatter? Yea, that’s good. But, what I really like is I don’t need to adjust the height of my tool rest.

I have a collar on my tool rest, that sets the height to always be the right height for my 5/8″ bowl gouge to cut on CENTER. Thus it sets the height to be 5/8″ / 2 = 5/16″ below center.

The negative rake on the top of a negative rake scrapper moves the cutting edge down roughly 3/16″. Thus a 1/2″ thick negative rake scraper cuts on CENTER at 5/16″ up from the tool rest (1/2″ – 3/16″ = 5/16″).

Thus, I don’t need to adjust the height of my tool rest.

Other D-Way Scrapers

D-Way sells a lot of different scrapers. They may be great. I don’t known. I have seen some of them up close and they are not thick enough for me. Anything less than 1/2″ thick is to thin for me. Your mileage may vary.

The only D-Way scrapper I recommend is the 1″ Long & Strong Curved NEG Rake Scraper BM-NRS-34-LSC.

No Flat On the Rest Scraping

I only use Shear Scrapers or Negative Rake Scrapers. I NEVER use bowl scrapers flat on the rest!

I shear scrap most of the time! With a Bowl Gouge in shear scrapping mode or my dedicated Al Stirt style Shear Scrappers. See my Carl’s Modern Woodturning Tool Set blog entry for shear scraper info.

You CAN NOT shear scrap on the inside of a bowl. It is NOT SAFE. Thus, I use a negative rake scrapper on the inside of bowls.

Negative Rake Sharpening and Use

Check out Stuart Batty on the web and Youtube for Negative Rake Scrapper info. How to sharpen, how to use a negative rake scrapper, etc.