anyone worked much with scrapers? I've seen David Marks using them for everything, and I'd like to get some feedback from 'real' people on their use. Was thinking of picking one up this week when I trek over to Highland.
One reason I'd like to play with them is I've been having huge tearouts with my planes recently. Probably because I dont have them tuned well, I know :(
I use them. They do work. David uses hand scrapers mostly. There are also cabinet scrapers like the Stanley #80 and #12 and scraper planes like the #112, #212, and #85.
Marks uses the Stanley #80 almost as much as the hand scraper. I haven't gotten a good feel for the method to his scraping madness, though... I.e. when he's chosing the #80 over the hand scraper and vice versa.
Scraping and hand planing is something I need to read up on. I have a hand scraper and burnisher, but that's it. The more I watch Marks, the more I realize I should broaden my horizons. :-)
Brian.
I have a good size blister on my right thumb right now from scraping this weekend.
I highly recommend the Veritas Variable Burnisher (Lee Valley). Until I got mine, I never really got a good edge.
I just started using one. I haven't gotten my technique down for creating the bur. The bur that I am creating doesn't last very long, but I need practice. It seems to be a real sandpaper saver.
I have a Stanley #80, which I use for crotch/strange grain. I do have a set of hand scrapers and have filed and burnished, I even tried putting a 45 degree edge on the straight....I also would love to know how he (Marks) gets such large shavings while hand scraping. I did find that after freehand sharpening on the 1" belt sander at 45 deg. I was able to increase the size of the shavings, but not substantially....:-(
Scrapers are awesome. I find I can scrape with or against the grain, just don't try to scrape across the grain.
I rarely use sand paper as I find that the finish left by a scraper, or well tuned smoothing plane cannot be improved upon.
The whole trick is in the burr. It takes very little pressure with a burnisher to create a good burr. Preparing the scraper before drawing the burr is important. You need to make sure that the face and edge of the scraper are very smooth and square before drawing the burr. A very small burr creates very nice shavings.
Good luck.
I've got a number of scrapers. Card scrapers, a Stanley #80 & LN #112.
The card scrapers I use for small touch up jobs, the Stanley for scraping off glue from panels and such like and the LN instead of a ROS/sandpaper and clouds of choking dust.
Sandpaper's for peasants ;)
I'd get your planes tuned-up first though - it will mean less work in the long run. Whilst you're at the hardware shop, buy some silicon carbide paper and a piece of glass & Scary Sharp them.
I recently put a Hock blade on my 80 (a Christmas present from SWMBO) an now that is one fine machine for taking wispy little curlies.
Glen
All the time.
Before you go, familiarize yourself with scraper sharpening methods.
Make sure you have everything you need, pick up what you don't.
A dull scraper will turn off a new user in seconds.
Barry
They work well but aren't for taking off a lot of material. Unfortunately for you they also need "tuning".
I have them located all over my shop. I'm constantly honing them. The veritas burnisher works very nicely. Once you have them, you will try to figure out how you got along without them. Make sure to get the goose neck shaped one also. It works very nice smoothing coves. SH
As Barry says, learn to sharpen them. I've just got to the point that I can properly get a good burr. It only takes about two minutes to sharpen all 8 edges on a flat scraper now. At first I was trying too hard to get it sharp but now that I have learned the subtle technique it's simple. I agree that if you don't persist and reach this level where you can sharpen them quick, you will give up.
-Bruce
On Tue, 06 Jan 2004 01:46:56 GMT, tmbg wrote: I have three Sandvik cabinet scrapers. Two rectangular and one curved. When properly sharpened they are real time savers. Sharpening a scraper properly takes about the same amount of time as a chisel or plane blade, but when your done it will shave off wood as fine as any smoothing plane. I was tought how to do it by a Danish cabinetmaker...I'll gladly post the procedure if you desire.
Walking in the forrest...
TJB
It may depend on the wood. With straight-grained poplar I can make shavings the length of the board with a block plane--not something I can do on most other woods. I haven't tried to make long shaving with a scraper.
It is also possible to tune a scraper. WIth a big 15 degree hook you can remove wood fast or with a fine 5 degree burr you can just take the bumps and sags off a finished surface.
I found that out quite by accident when I was trying to remove all the paint from a cabinet and discovered that I was just leveling the surface on the topcoat the way the scraper was burnished.
Yes, I'd like to see it... I'm especially curious how you sharpen a gooseneck scraper
The myth about scrapers is that they give a better finsih than planes. They don't, but they don't abrade surfaces like sandpaper does, so no grain raising concerns.
As for fancy widgets for sharpenng scrapers, check how Tage Frid did it: a mill file and a 1" chisel.
All those silly gadgets that hold files square are a waste. And those carbide tool rod thingies, to give you soome magic hook angle. A scraper is a hand held piece of $6 metal. If the angle is wrong, then angle the scraper with your hands.
I use Knight planes, Lie Neilsens, I have an old Norris, my my Ray Iles infil smoother gets used a lot. Those planes have great and expensive irons. But the idea of spending more than a few bucks for a scraper blade is just plane silly.
I really have to get the get hold of the books you seem to be reading or who ever you went to as a woodworking teacher..
A scraper will give you exactly the same kind of raised grain problems that removing stock by any other method will.
Wood is formed from interlocking strands of fiber. Raised grain, probably more accurately called raised fuzz, results from milled wood being dampened and then drying. When wet, the strands swell. When dried, they shrink. What does not shrink are the ends of fiber strands that were severed in the milling process. These remain standing proud of the surface and have to be removed with a very light touch to avoid severing more strands and ending up with the same situation you started with.
A scraper cuts and severs fiber strands just like any other means of milling wood and results in exactly the same situation and all the standard precautions have to be taken. Especially when using water based products..
I always heard it as they leave a better surface than sandpaper. I always considered a scraped surface almost identical to a planed surface.
Barry
Hi Barry
Yes, they will leave a nice shiny surface which, unless you go way way up on grits, sandpaper won't. However, shiny or not, there are still severed fibers laying there waiting for the wood to be dampened. You won't have any problem, sanded, scraped, or planed, if you go directly to an oil finish, some degree of a problem with shellac, and lots of fuzz if you are using a water based product.
Picture strands of dried out cooked spaghetti all intertwined and running in one direction or better yet roman noodles. If you were to shave off a layer of X depth, most of the strands would still be intact, but some would be cut off leaving two tag ends at the surface of the shaved area. No matter what you shave your wood. or pasta. with you can't avoid shaving some strands so there are tag ends to raise their fuzzy little heads under the right conditions, like, when the wood is dampened either with a water based stain or water based finish, then dried and the stain or finish cures and the cells shrink back to size.
It's a simple matter of wood fiber structure and there is no magical way around it..
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.