Hey everyone, I'd like to make my own straight edge just because I'm interested in scraping and maybe scraping in a mini lathe. I have a grade B surface plate and will be using a hand scraper.
I've been looking around a lot and reading through countless forum posts on here of people with similar questions. I'd like to make my own straight edge just to learn and have some fun.
Is it worth buying a 12-24" piece of cast iron or something similar to scrape it in myself? I can buy some G2 cast iron from Alro. But I've seen some straight edges made of aluminum for sale online. I could get some aluminum I beam and scrape that in too but it doesn't seem as stable as cast iron.
Edit: Called Alro and they would have to ship from Michigan. It would be $160 for a 3/4" x 1.5" x 24" piece of G2 cast iron. Doesn't seem worth it to me. McMaster sells a piece gray cast iron 1.25" x 2.25" x 24" for $135 before shipping. Will that also work?
Thoughts? Is it foolish to even undertake a project like this? I'm not trying to be a professional machine reconditioner. I just want to make my own straight edge for fun and to have a usable straight edge in my home shop.
I've been looking around a lot and reading through countless forum posts on here of people with similar questions. I'd like to make my own straight edge just to learn and have some fun.
Is it worth buying a 12-24" piece of cast iron or something similar to scrape it in myself? I can buy some G2 cast iron from Alro. But I've seen some straight edges made of aluminum for sale online. I could get some aluminum I beam and scrape that in too but it doesn't seem as stable as cast iron.
Edit: Called Alro and they would have to ship from Michigan. It would be $160 for a 3/4" x 1.5" x 24" piece of G2 cast iron. Doesn't seem worth it to me. McMaster sells a piece gray cast iron 1.25" x 2.25" x 24" for $135 before shipping. Will that also work?
Thoughts? Is it foolish to even undertake a project like this? I'm not trying to be a professional machine reconditioner. I just want to make my own straight edge for fun and to have a usable straight edge in my home shop.
Last edited: