Rasps clogging

[NTD]

So I recently received a Nicholson #49 in trade with Thwackaddict.  It really seems like a nice rasp, does not gouge the wood and such...but, it sure clogs easliy!!  Is this normal?  Is maybe my wood not dry enough? (osage)

[bigcountry]

Mine clogs alot too.  I use a rasp brush. 

[4est Trekker]

I use the very same rasp on osage with no clogging issues.  Could be two things:

1) Wood isn't seasoned completely
2) You're not using the correct stroke, which will allow the wood to clear from the rasp's teeth.

I would bet it's #1.  Just my $0.02 

[NTD]

Thanks for the feedback.  4est, is your #49 pre-brazil? 

[wundabred]

try a farrier's rasp.   never clogs, never fails

[NTD]

LOL.  I've have 10 farrier rasps and while they work well and I'll always have one at my workbench they are far from a ideal for tillering and fade out shaping   

Maybe the Nicholsons are like that restaurant that EVERYONE talks about and rants about how fabulous the food is and then you eat there and find out for the price you'd rather of gone to McDonalds....

[ricktrojanowski]

I love my Nicholson.  It has finer, closer teeth that clog easier than a farriers rasp.  But a file card takes care of that quickly.  It isn't really meant for hogging off wood as you would with a Shinto or farriers.  More for the final stages of tillering in conjunction with your scrapers. 

[profsaffel]

I have a Stanley Surform rasp. It clogs like the devil, but I tolerate it. A rasp brush helps if you have this problem.

[NTD]

Okay, I'm thinking it was the wood I was working on, which broke, before I could even glue it up....   After breaking the other set of slats I started on a new one and the #49 was quite sweet, still clogged a bit quicker than my others but not bad at all, I loved the way it left a relatively smooth surface.  I think I might keep it.

[Alpinbogen]

My #49 and #50 Nicholsons are among my most used bowmaking tools.  Some woods clog them more than others (hickory, for example).  Clogging isn't too much of an issue with osage.  A file card cleans them quickly when needed.  A farriers rasp is good to hog wood off, but I put it down and am done with it well before the wood is bending.  Way too coarse for tillering and finer work.

[Thwackaddict]

Nate it might be the zipcode you live in.If you would like you could send it back to Va and I will see if it clogs bad here  

[NTD]

Nate it might be the zipcode you live in.If you would like you could send it back to Va and I will see if it clogs bad here  

Nah Randy, I'm quite happy with it now...it just didn't like that piece of wood and to think of it neither did I.  Thanks for the trade!!!

[profsaffel]

I have a Stanley Surform rasp. It clogs like the devil, but I tolerate it. A rasp brush helps if you have this problem.

I just reread what I wrote. "clogs like the devil" I always figured Lucifer to be more of a disco kind of guy. 

[Thwackaddict]

Haha, that wood was prolly bad ju-ju anyways! Your quite welcome,My Pleasure!!lookin forward to doin more business in the future!

[Cacatch]

If your wood is still not dry, or if you have any kind of oil or grease on the surface, that will do it. I have recently been working on hickory and black locust staves that are still fairly green (reducing to help dry faster), and my rasp has been clogging. I don't know what number I have, but it's a Nicholson something.

CP