Hand scraping is the art of using a hand tool to remove material from a machined surface to provide a surface of uniform geometry. Hand scraping is not something you just jump into and master; it’s a craft that takes a long time and a lot of patience to become proficient at. Over time, everyone who hand scrapes develops a unique look or signature pattern that is inherent to that person. With practice, you can tell from the scraping marks who performed the scraping.

These pictures of me were taken at Condor Machine Tool. In the next two photos, I am in the process of scraping a 100 year-old Noble Machine pole taper machine. This machine was used to put tapers on wooden utility and electrical poles in the early years. The owner of this machine, Dicke tool, wanted this machine reconditioned which included hand scraping machined surfaces to accurate tolerances. Here I’m using a carbide hand scraper, making a cut at roughly a 45 degree angle.

This is a small Pexto shear I purchased from Condor Machine, capable of cutting up to 16 gauge metal. The Pexto name is well-known in the metal forming industry and it’s been a very good machine for me. I started scraping the flat surface and Condor Machine put the finishing touches on it, including sharpening the blade on the Mattison surface grinder.

Here I’m hand scraping the rails of a Dicke Tool pole taper machine after disassembly.

Here are some of the tools used when hand scraping.