What is a rasp’s coarseness? |
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The term ‘coarseness’ refers to how rough or smooth the face of a rasp is. This is based on the size of the teeth and the distance between them. | |||
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The coarseness of a rasp can be measured in three different ways. | |||
American pattern system |
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Some rasps will be listed as coarse, bastard, second cut, smooth or dead smooth in a similar way to files. | |||
Teeth per row |
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Other rasps may be described as having a certain number of teeth per row. This refers to the number of times the triangular punch has been hit during each diagonal pass across the face of the tool. | |||
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The higher the number of teeth per row, the finer the rasp will be. | |||
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Grades |
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Rasps can also be measured in grades, from 1-15, with 1 being the coarsest and 15 being the finest. Grade 1 has a small number of large teeth on each row, whereas grade 15 has a lot of very small teeth. | |||
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Grade 1 is so coarse that it tends to only be produced for industrial use! | |||
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Whichever system is being used, all you need to do is choose a grade, cut or number of teeth per row that will be fine enough for the finish you would like. |
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