just bought a Stanley 3x5x~.050`` scraper, and it ain`t ready, I don`t think. Probly has the clear finish on th eedge even. Gonna search the web then come back. I don`t have a stone, but I do have SiC papers and a flat glass; even a roller, probly good for 3`but not 5`` width. How can I sharpen this thingÉ I think it is the burr I need.
Its first job is to scrape off bondo on my door jambs. I am impatient. Please help
and I have assorted files. I have small pink and green stones, |1x1/2x1/2.
You're right.
What you're looking for is a kind off mushroom profile if you were to slice through the blade. Try a kitchen knife sharpening steel.
im reading after filing and smoothing a flat edge to push a very smooth tool along the edge at 15 degrees. Is this where the sharpening steel comes inÉ
ok another one says max 10 degrees. So after step 1 and 2 , draw file with a kitchen sharpener up to say 10 degrees. I may not need to be to picky about my burr for this task.ie eg newbee do I need the draw file 10 degree a t all
'round here somewheres I have a magazine article all about bringing scrapers up. Mail me at "steve dot barry at bluebottle dot com" and it's yours by return. Seem to remember its about a 10Mb pdf document though, so make sure you can accept that sorta size attachment.
You can use a file to restore an edge that is no longer straight. You probably do not need to do this yet. Mount the scraper in a vice and protect it with wood on each side. If you do not have a burnishing tool use a large round shank Philips head screw driver. With the scraper edge pointing up and perpendicular to where you are standing hold the handle in one hand and the tip of the screw driver in the other. Put a "touch" of light oil on the edge of the scraper and begin pushing or pulling the screw driver shank down the entire edge of the scraper with moderate to heavy pressure and with the shank 90 degrees to the scraper edge. BE CAREFUL not to nick your self with the sharp corners of the scraper. Do this 6 or 7 times or until you feel a burr on "both "sides of the scraper edge. Then tilt the shank about 10-15 degrees and repeat 2 or 3 strokes. Then tilt the opposite direction 10-15 degrees and repeat 2 or 3 strokes. That should get you started with a bur edge on both sides of the edge.
Most of the sharpening steels tend to cut. You do not want to cut. Better to use a round shank screw driver. You want a smooth surface to form the burr.
Being in a hurry here won't help. Getting a card scraper ready for the first time (actually the first few times) takes patience. But it's worth it. A well tuned scraper will take off fine shavings, and quickly smooth a surface, fine tune the fit of tenons or the board fitting in a tight dado, or remove layers of finishes.
On-line resources:
A kitchen knife steel won't work...
If your scraper produces dust, it isn't working right yet...
Scraping bondo off the door jam is a job for a Paint scraper, not a cabinet scraper. You will get very frustrated.
Screw driver steel isn't that hard. Better to use a HSS drill bit shank.
R
Neither is scraper steel... unless you make your own from spring steel. Then you might get rc50.
er
Good advice. It takes a bit to learn how to get a scraper ready, and how to use, but it is well worth it. I have many planes and a drum sander but sometimes the scraper is the only tool for the job.
I have a bunch of scrapers and before I start a job I put a hook on the long edges of all of them. I hate to stop in the middle because I lost the edge.
Good idea. I have recently acquired a few more so I can do the same.
I used brute force with a poorly, completely erroneously tuned scraper. I layered the bondo thick last coat, and do not recommend this. My thinking was that I'd rather remove from a solid base than have to add a little later. But it was ugly with a dull scraper. I have to stop into a motor shop and get a wrist pin or lifter. Took pages and pages of sites to not know what to do. Why is that? But now until now I am back into r.w do I know how to do it. Before getting the scraper I used a sander and it was like killing a fly with a hammer. Had 2 coats of primer. Now I'm gonna oil primer again, shellac ( to eliminate pinkness), then oil paint. I have put a solid swath of red Bondo glazing putty over the pink Bondo with hardener on each of the ~140 holes, enough so shrinkage is not gonna be a prob. Much easier to sand. There was an issue of how much I scraped over the holes, pinching the inner bondo circle with the scraper, , &/or how much power sanding, creating a furry ridge around the circle.
Is there any problem with this sequence:? "bondo" w/ hardener glazing putty ("Bondo") shellac oil prime oil paint
I am thinking, the reason for the shellac is to hold down the pinkness, but the question, I am worrying is about compatibility.
You shouldn't need glazing putty. The way to use Bondo is to fill, let it set up firm but not hard and slick off with a chisel. If you let it get hard, the best tool is a Surform plane or blade...one of those things with holes like a vegetable grater.
In either case, a light sanding after should give a primer ready surface.
Pointless
Pinkness? You mean from the coloring in the Bondo hardener? How is shellac - a clear material - going to do squat for that? No reason to do squat, the primer will cover it.
Neither is a HSS drill bit shank. If you non't have a burnisher, use the face of a gouge or chisel.
John Martin
its a learning curve. it should be perfect. i've never had poly come off a wall, & prob same same for GP. i now have a feel for poly down to the molecular level - a necc skil!
Sorry, I have no idea what you are talking about.
Make your own burnisher by grinding and polishing an old triangular file to a smooth, rounded shape. Wet grind it so you don't draw the temper. Polish it to a mirror finish. Mine has given good service for over forty years. Put a file handle on the tang. Bugs
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