Lee Valley Cabinet Scraper Plane...

[bhayner]

Hello Group. I'm starting to work out the kinks in this plane but am still wrestling pretty hard with it. I've used cabinet scrapers for the last

4 years with no problems and fantastic results which is the reason that I bought a cabinet scraper plane. To make a long story short, I've sharpened it at least 5 times and adjusted it to the point of frustration and have only begun to get to the point of anywhere near where I want to be. I've got a decent collection of other planes and can put an edge on a plane iron that you can hear, but I just can't get to the point of satisfaction with this cabinet scraper plane. Has anyone else had this frustrating scenario play out ? I sort of feel like I wasted $140 that I could have spent somewhere else. Is there a trick to the hook angle or something. I've read and reread the directions to the point of knowing them by heart and yet still can't get any "shavings" off a piece of figured cherry. Any pointers, tips, or suggestions other than switch to oak would be greatly appreciated. Oh yeah, the reason that I can get such an edge on my other irons... I use Shapton stones. No, I don't work for them but I did buy a set and they smoke anything else on the market. Trust me, the money spent is well worth it.

[Alan Bierbaum]

Set it down on your bench. Drop the blade in and tighten it at vertical (90 degrees to bench). Tilt the blade forward just a little bit and then push the plane away from you. You might have to adjust the tilt to get your shavings. Works for me.

Alan Bierbaum

web site:

[A Dubya]

blade after tuning it, it can sometimes help to tilt the blade just slightly forward of 90 deg, to give more play in fine adjustment, (being able to bring it back to 90 deg if req'd)

Try using the blade by hand, and see if you get shavings, and at what angle. Someone on an earlier post, remarked that it also works well, without a hook (I haven't tried that).

If all else fails, try putting a similar hook on one of your card scrapers (end) and try that, as a temp.

Good luck, it's an awsome tool.

Cheers,

aw

[Conan The Librarian]

Yeah, I start it off a little forward of 90, set the blade in, making sure it's level, and then advance it until it takes a shaving. A word of warning though: You really need to test the setting on the particular piece of wood you will be scraping. It reacts differently to woods of different hardnesses, so what worked on hard maple might not work on cherry, for example.

That was probably me. L-N recommended setting up their #112 without a hook if you were new to using scraper planes. I've used them both ways, and can't say that I really prefer one over the other. Without a hook is less aggressive and you don't have to tilt the iron forward as far to get it to engage the work.

It certainly wouldn't hurt someone to try it without a hook at first.

And your suggestion to check the blade angle by using it out of the plane is a good one. That will go a long way towards getting someone to understand the geometry of the thing.

Indeed. Made even better by the fact that it can be used with the thick iron or a thinner one that can be bowed like in a #80. In fact, I haven't even picked up my #80 since getting the LV tool.

Chuck Vance