Re: Newbie discovers Stanley 80 scraper plane

[David Binkowski]

Which one is $30? I spent $85 on a Kunz, and it was on sale.

[Glen]

I got my 80 at a yardsale for $0.50! (Old gloat)

Glen

[George]

You could do as well with a $1.89 hand-held scraper. That's the part that does the work. Does get a bit warm in use, however. If you have a large area, might consider taping the ends of your thumbs and index fingers.

Now consider the dial-a-curl burnisher from Lee Valley. Got one for my eldest, because he didn't have years of experience freehanding - then I used it. Bought it next opportunity and haven't looked back.

[Nate Perkins]

Hi David,

I guess it is more properly called a cabinet scraper than a scraper plane. Here is a link to one source:

paid a bit less buying it at the local wood store:

[Swingman]

Don't let anyone rain on your parade.The #80, or it's reincarnation, is a very handy tool and you can leave it to your grandkids. Beside the usual assortment of handheld scrapers, I own the Veritas version. It excels at scraping glued up panels, and is the tool of choice for same.

It is a bit unwieldy for smaller pieces and parts that have already been assembled, so you still need those thumb burners.

[Larry Jaques]

On Fri, 29 Aug 2003 11:40:26 GMT, "George" pixelated:

Gloves allow the feel of the scraper but not the warmth, so give that a try next time. Cotton gloves over nitrile gloves (which are then used while finishing) works even better.

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[Nate Perkins]

You are probably right, but I have yet to learn the knack of correctly turning the edge on the handheld scrapers. I've tried several times, following advice here and elsewhere. I have got them to where they will make some okay shavings, but nothing in the same league as the no

1. This thing makes shavings that are a couple of feet long, paper thin.

I have also spent quite a lot of time tuning my flea market planes, but nothing makes shavings like that.

Probably a lot of this is that I've just got lucky and learned how to turn an edge on the beveled scraper blade easier than on my other tools.

My intent of course was not to disparage anyone else's tools, or their methods -- but only to express a newbie's jubilation at actually producing some very cool shavings with a very cheap tool.

Cheers all, Nate

[CW]