Thread: Anyone used this style of rasp

Link just went too a general page for me.

Cheers Matt.

Embarrassing enough, I actually did buy a couple of these.



They work surprisingly well and leave an OK surface. Somewhere of a medium grain. It basically some kind of saw wire wrapped around a stick. Very cheaply made and the wood of the stick is some soft wood. I used them recently on shaping some saw handles and also on hard wood work fine. What I liked is the variable roundness of the rasp. That is due to the oval cross section of the stick.

On the negative.
- the actual rasp section is fairly short. So no long strokes possible.
- they do not last that long. After doing two saw handles, I noticed the wire is coming loose and shifts around. It might last a little longer, but then time for the bin.

If you are on a tight budget and for smaller items a good value for money. But not really sustainable as you'll going to throw away quite a few over time as they are not made to last.

Sent from my SM-G781B using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by Cklett

Embarrassing enough, I actually did buy a couple of these.

Why embarrassing?

On the negative.
- the actual rasp section is fairly short. So no long strokes possible.
- they do not last that long. After doing two saw handles, I noticed the wire is coming loose and shifts around. It might last a little longer, but then time for the bin. ...

At 25 cents each, are you really worried by their longevity? How do they compare to a sheet of sandpaper?

China Rasp.jpg Source: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005...ct.mainProduct

Twenty five cents !!!!!

Originally Posted by GraemeCook

Why embarrassing?




At 25 cents each, are you really worried by their longevity? How do they compare to a sheet of sandpaper?

China Rasp.jpg Source: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005...ct.mainProduct

I made a quick comparison. I took 20 strokes on the edge of a piece of hardwood.

Right with the rasp, which was already used a bit

Left with some 40 grit sandpaper glued to a dowel of similar size. Closest I could get in form and length.



A small difference in terms of effort. But this specific sand paper I have will not last as long. Otherwise, judge for yourself....

Sent from my SM-G781B using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by Cklett

Embarrassing enough, I actually did buy a couple of these.



They work surprisingly well and leave an OK surface. Somewhere of a medium grain. It basically some kind of saw wire wrapped around a stick. Very cheaply made and the wood of the stick is some soft wood. I used them recently on shaping some saw handles and also on hard wood work fine. What I liked is the variable roundness of the rasp. That is due to the oval cross section of the stick.

On the negative.
- the actual rasp section is fairly short. So no long strokes possible.
- they do not last that long. After doing two saw handles, I noticed the wire is coming loose and shifts around. It might last a little longer, but then time for the bin.

If you are on a tight budget and for smaller items a good value for money. But not really sustainable as you'll going to throw away quite a few over time as they are not made to last.

Sent from my SM-G781B using Tapatalk

we suffer from a lack of people who will try things and report vs. wanting someone else to tell "the best way" which often ends up just being someone's opinion.

what you did trying these things is a good thing - thanks for reporting it. It's not out of the question that someone could affix the wire some way that it's proud and cuts but that the bottom side of it is tightly bound and glued to a substrate.

I guess the question will be for things that are less expensive than a hand cut rasp, are the alternatives better than coarse double cut files intended for wood and soft metals.

the whole rasp thing got out of hand in terms of what everyone "needs" as soon as auriou and liogier rasps became available everywhere. Nothing wrong with the rasps, but the idea that the average person who may do 1 hour of shaping a year should splash out on a bunch of rasps that may not even fit what they like to do work-wise (only to figure that out later) is dippy.

The trick with coarse files, though, is finding them used so that they're just a few bucks. Where I live, it's pretty easy to find them at flea market booths, but in some places, that may not be true.

Thanks for the replies guys.

My interest in these was mainly as carving tools. In many carving situations conventional rasps are of limited use because you only get such a short stroke.

Originally Posted by woodPixel

Twenty five cents !!!!!

Yep, Evan, you read right - 25 Oz cents each.

I was also astounded which is why I copied the Alliexpress advertisement above. Cheaper than sandpaper?

Shaping has to the worst job in the whole world.

Any tool that assists, gets into the edges, corners or kinks and makes it a tad easier is well worth the try.

Originally Posted by woodPixel

Shaping has to the worst job in the whole world.

Any tool that assists, gets into the edges, corners or kinks and makes it a tad easier is well worth the try.

That's the key statement. I don't carve a huge amount, mostly on reproduction furniture and what that would entail... Not trying to take tickets out on myself but I've been at it for over 40 years. In that time I've tried to use rasps for a variety of tasks to just as you said: make the job easier. I've used expensive Italian or French ones, super cheap garbage chinese ones, Japanese chisel files... Even tried, only once, those cheese grader looking things...

And they all have one characteristic that made me finally abandon them. They rip the shyte out of the wood, and or leave a ripple. The real bad ones carve large grooves that the teeth now ride in in each successive pass and really wreck the wood. As far as I'm concern, they make more work than they save.

Quality sandpaper doesn't rip wood apart and lasts a long time. If I need to do a lot of heavy sanding and remove a lot of material, I buy 60, 80, 120 grit linisher belts and tear them up as needed.

That reminds me I've got lots of rarely used rasps to add to my tool culling sell off.

Hi SD. What will you be getting rid of? I have been keen to try the Japanese style of chisel rasp

Sent from my SM-G986B using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by Mountain Ash

Hi SD. What will you be getting rid of? I have been keen to try the Japanese style of chisel rasp

Sent from my SM-G986B using Tapatalk

Seems Lee Valley doesn't sell them anymore. They're the half round and flat chisel rasps. I have the large and small ones they offered. I found, unless you keep changing angles which may not be possible, they create a washboard on some woods. Having equally spaced teeth will create that if you have annual rings that are similar in distance. I suspect they would work best on really gnarly wood.

SD, each of us finds tools & techiques that work for us & achieve our goals, and if you have evolved ways to get where you want that don't include rasps, that's fine & dandy. However, they can be highly efficient shaping tools that I would not be without; I can't imagine making a saw handle without a rasp or two.

Like any tool, there is some technique to be acquired to get the best out of them, but they are certainly capable of producing pretty good surfaces without the faults you list. I generally use at least two grades of rasp, one to do the bulk of stock removal, and a finer grade to refine that ready for a bit of scraping or sanding. There are always alternative ways to do any job, but rasps often offer me the most efficient method - I think I'd give up my spokeshaves long before my half-dozen rasps!

Cheers,

Originally Posted by IanW

I think I'd give up my spokeshaves long before my half-dozen rasps!

Cheers,

Absolutely!

Regards
Paul