Typically, a wooden rasp is used for shaping wood and is often differentiated by the many tiny, sharp teeth that cover its surface. A wooden rasp can be machine made or handmade. Machine made rasps have an even pattern and regular shaped teeth. Although this may be desirable at first, having very regular intervals might leave deeper grooves on the woods which are more difficult to get out. On the contrary, handmade rasps have slightly irregular teeth because the teeth are made by hand. They also require much labor as compared to the machine made ones. But how can you choose the best wooden rasps?
Choosing the best wooden rasps
The kind of a wooden rasp that you need depends on the job that you have in mind. What determines this is the shape of the rasp. Since rasps have a flat side and curved side the flat side is ideal for working on the outside while the curved side is suited for the inside. In case, you have a more detailed work then you may wish to choose a modelers rasps. Apart from these, there are many other shapes of wooden rasps as well with some of them shaped for particular tasks. Besides, rasps can also come in different sizes. In fact, a longer rasp means you can take a longer stroke. Although shorter rasps are nimbler with each pass, they take less wood.
While choosing rasps it is important to consider the size of the teeth. This means that the larger the teeth the more aggressive the rasp will be. Smaller teeth are not only slower but also leave the wood smoother. The size of the teeth also known as the grain will indicate how coarser a rasp is while working on wood. Since there is no standard way of indicating the size of the rasp teeth it is important that you contact the manufacturers for their recommendations before choosing the one that you want.
Normally, handmade rasps are set to be used by both right handed and left handed people. Before settling on one, ensure that the one that you have chosen suits your hand well. A good set of rasp, with coarse teeth, is ideal for doing a quick job on the wood and a smaller rasp with finer grains is suitable for refining the surface. Moreover, rat tail rasps should be used for detailed work. Interestingly, handmade rasps will give you better results than machine made hence if you are looking for the best wooden rasps you do not need to spend extra cash.
Usage and caring for the best wooden rasps
As with other machines, proper care and usage is the key to effective maintenance of the rasp. Ensure that you choose the correct grade, size and shape for the project that you want to carry out. When rasping use a level of pressure that is ideal for the material that you are working on. Working on only one direction will not only get you a quality finish but will also protect the teeth from dulling too quickly. Also, for rasp to be kept in a good working order clean them with a file card or a wire brush. Do not forget to keep rasps in protective sleeves as this will prevent them from rubbing against each other.