How does a glass scraper work?
Jamie_Buxton
| Posted in Power Tools and Machinery on
A broken piece of glass can be used like a cabinet scraper. You can even get it to make very fine shavings. Can anybody explain how it cuts? Every other woodworking tool – chisel, plane, cabinet scraper — has a true cutting edge. The cutting edge digs into the wood when you push the tool along the wood. However, I don’t think a glass scraper has such a cutting edge. It has a very sharp edge, but it is aimed backwards as the scraper moves along the wood. How can this cut wood?
Replies
It's quite simple really. We know that glass is not a solid, but is really a liquid and actually flows. Well, when you scrape with it the liquid glass actually creates a tiny wave in front of the edge. It just so happens that the form of that wave is exactly the same as the burr created when one sharpens a regular steel scraper. The bonus with glass, is if you scrape faster you get a bigger wave and thus more shavings! Fantastic...no?
(sorry, I've had a difficult week and needed a bit of levity)
Gees, you had me going until that last line!
Rich
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