‘A dying art’

A master journey from Minnesota was in Springfield on Friday, teaching nine students from the United States and Europe the craft of “scraping,” a machine trade skill that can only be done by hand.

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2016-10-01 / Front Page ‘A dying art’ Master journeyman teaches the art of ‘scraping’ in Springfield By TORY JONES BONENFANT toryb@eagletimes.com Instructor and master journeyman Richard King of Cottage Grove, Minnesota, teaches a class on machine hand-scraping on Friday, Sept. 30 at Gear Works in Springfield. — TORY JONES BONENFANT Instructor and master journeyman Richard King of Cottage Grove, Minnesota, teaches a class on machine hand-scraping on Friday, Sept. 30 at Gear Works in Springfield. — TORY JONES BONENFANT SPRINGFIELD — A master journey from Minnesota was in Springfield on Friday, teaching nine students from the United States and Europe the craft of “scraping,” a machine trade skill that can only be done by hand. “Now it’s almost morphed into an art form. A dying art,” said Don Shattuck, who hosted the class at his gear design and machine shop, Gear Works in Springfield. Richard King, 66, a master scraper, journeyman, instructor and machinery builder, traveled from Minnesota to give the class at Gear Works. King is the president of King-Way Scraping Consultants, and has been precision machine scraping, machine building and rebuilding since he was 12 years old. He learned the craft of scraping from his father, he said on Friday, Sept. 30. “It’s a lost art,” he said. “People all over the world are interested in taking classes.” Machine scraping is the term for an artistic skill thought by some to be more difficult than wood carving. Those who have the skill can become tool builders or rebuilders for machines that are worn out, he said. Machine scraping, also known as hand-scraping, eliminates relying on the accuracy of other machine tools, and eliminates distortions caused by clamping forces and by the generation of heat, according to a manual in King’s classroom. Machines have to be aligned within one millionth of an inch, and hand scraping is the only process for that kind of precision, King said. King has taught classes in locations including Germany, Puerto Rico, Taiwan, Vancouver, Canada; and several locations in the continental United States, including at MIT in Boston. Once, in North Carolina, master blacksmith Peter Ross of Public Broadcasting System (PBS) fame took part, he said. Last year, 16-year-old Hunter Hightower took his class as his wish for Make-A-Wish in Portland, Oregon, and “he has really gotten into scraping,” King said. The entire program for a journeyman is 2-4 years, but most companies can’t find employees with this skill, he said. “Right now, you can’t find anyone who’s a really good scraper … most are retired people,” King said. Nine students registered for the class, which costs $1,500 per person for classroom and hands-on training with tools provided by the instructor. The class is taking place from Friday, Sept. 30 through Tuesday, Oct. 4. Adult students of varying ages traveled from around the region and even Barcelona, Spain, to take the class. Some had brought their own tools. On Friday, students were using vintage new, and hand-made scraping tools, mostly made in Germany and Switzerland, and working with King’s guidance. They had plans to work with power tools on Saturday. Shattuck, also a master journeyman, said that there is a need for skilled workers who are trained in this trade. He has “a couple of employees” who are semi-retired, but would have enough work to keep 10-20 employees busy, and has a five-year backlog on machines waiting to be rebuilt, he said. His shop on Pearl Street does not have a large retail presence, but manufacturers will ship large machines to him that have not been scraped in a long time — sometimes 60 years — and are in need of work. His machine tool company has two roles: to design and manufacture gears, and to build the machine tools that make the gears, he said. He said he often gets machines that need rebuilding, including Fellows machines, which he said has long been a powerful name in the machine industry. Edward Fellows invented the process of gear-shaping in Springfield, he said. “When people have a Fellows machine that is worn out, they will pay very good money to have it rebuilt.” Those who take the class can greatly benefit in the long run, according to King The average pay to work with a journeyman starts at about $15 an hour, at least in Minnesota, but a good journeyman can earn up to $30 an hour, King said. Shattuck said that he hopes, from hosting the class, to identify new potential employees, and to “create an interest in the trade” among people who may not yet be aware of it. He also said that Springfield and nearby towns have competitive prices for industrial property, and it would only take a couple of years to take the training. Shattuck said the machine tool business did not go away because of a lack of orders, but because the technology advanced, and “there wasn’t a labor force to meet it.” “We need people. This is the kind of trade where you love what you do,” he said, comparing the “passion for refinement” to that of a gunsmith or a watchmaker. The students had varied plans for what they will do with this skill once the class is complete and they have returned home. Wayne Hilliard of Shaftsbury, Vermont, said he plans to rebuild some of his own equipment, and look at the possibility of a “retirement business” in the future. Hilliard also has machine tooling in his family. His uncle, David Hilliard, made “40 Rod” target rifles with telescopic sights in the 1860s, and sold them into the war. The American Precision Museum in Windsor has one of the rifles and a target pistol on display, along with his uncle’s hand-rifling machine, he said. King said he planned to take the class for a tour of the American Precision Museum on Saturday. That museum has machines that were all hand-scraped, King said. He wanted to bring the students there because “that’s the roots of our business,” he said.