[gdenby]

A good start. I find that scraping often results in a surface smooth enough that very little sanding is necessary. I have a few official scrapers, but mostly use a single edged blade designed for use in a picture matt cutter.

I like seeing the picture of your bench, and the vise-grip clamp mounted on it. I'm still mulling what I want my bench to be, and that looks like a very handy way of holding a stick for work.