Card Scrappers - Advice, my first

[Mark Lincoln]

I watched http://www.finewoodworking.com/ToolGuide/ToolGuideArticle.aspx?id=5299

I am sure I will need to watch it again as I gave it an 80% attention. Not having ever touched a scraper I have a hard time paying complete attention. This is the kind of video I like to watch with the tool in my hand.

I learned about them in a thread on here. Sounds like just the tool I could use on occasion.

Any advice on what to get?

I saw these:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000JRDLP0/ref=pd_luc_mri?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

What is there to look for when buying one?

[Paul Murphy]

The scraper you show is probably fine, but perhaps a little spendy. I would choose one that is stoned and ready for burnishing, just to see what that looks like.

I recently bought a couple of these, and like them:
.032" (0.8mm) Super-Hard Scraper $5.75
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=32670&cat=1,310,41069&ap=1 (http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=32670&cat=1,310,41069&ap=1)

I also have and like this one, bought when they were Sandvik ($8.50):
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=32671&cat=1,310,41069&ap=1 (http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=32671&cat=1,310,41069&ap=1)

Consider a holder for whatever scraper you get. This is the one I like:
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&cat=1,310&p=32669 (http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&cat=1,310&p=32669)

I would also buy a carbide rod burnisher (or one of hardened steel) to create your hook.
I have one that is fairly long, seems to make holding a constant angle easier. Whatever you use, it should be very smooth, and harder than your scraper.

I would buy 2 or 3 scrapers because they are cheap, and in the beginning you will be searching for the angle/pressure that works for you to get a hook that you like. If you burnish with too much angle/pressure, you will have to lean the scraper at a severe angle just to engage the hook. Also, filing/stoning scrapers isn’t so bad, but getting the stuff out is half the job…might as well do 2 or 3 while you are at it! Finally, if you have a few sharpened scrapers ready, you can finish a scraping task without having to stop and sharpen.

Wise choice to buy a scraper, they are a fantastic little tool!

[James Taglienti]

Scrapers are very nice... probably any older saw steel will work... you can burnish with the shank of a round screwdriver. handheld scrapers are, for me, the easiest to burnish, because they require less finesse.
The two cherries is cool in the fact that it comes prepared, but in reality i can smoke through a burr on a scraper in about 5 minutes. Luckily it only takes about 30 seconds to put a new one on...

[Doug Roper Chairmaker]

Mark,
Another source for card scrapers is Lie-Nielsen. I contacted them direct and was able to purchase only the .032" cards since I had no need for the thinner ones that they include in the sets they sell.

Another scraper you might consider are the ones made by Bahco (Sandvik) available from Highland Hardware.

Both of these scrapers are made of quality steel of medium hardness that will hold an edge well and sharpen relatively fast.

As mentioned above, if the wallet allows, purchase two or three or more. It's easy to sharpen all of them at once and then get to work, changing to a fresh card when one gets dull without the interruption of stopping to sharpen all the time.

[James Carmichael]

I'm not sure it matters that much. I use a Clifton, purchased from WoodCraft, also an old shop made gunstock scraper (aka scraper shave), and a #7 plane iron ground at 45-degrees for really hogging away wood.

I don't get the $30 burnishers. As the other James said, just about anything will raise a burr. I use cheap old router bits.

[Derek Cohen]

It is worth the small cost to buy a proper burnished rather than try and use a screwdriver shaft. Modern steel, as used in new scraper blades, is harder than the old saw blades that were cut up. Screw driver shafts may have worked on these, but are less likely to work on the harder steel. PLUS any nicks in the softer shafts will transfer to the scraper edges and will impair the finish of the scraped wood.

Scraped surfaces do not compare favourably with planed surfaces. I have always found scraped surfaces to have a matt finish compared with the shine of a planed surface. You can get a scraped surface to shine if you burnish it, but that is not the same as the finish off a good smoother. Before scraping, first try a higher cutting angle in your plane.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[glenn bradley]

I bought a cheap set of Cliftons; $10 or so for a rectangle, convex/concave and a gooseneck. Woodcraft maybe? Been using them ever since. I did pick up a couple of the thin ones from Lee Valley for some inlay work I did. They worked out very nice but are an obvious extra, not a primary.

I cut a slot in a squared up length of ash scrap and wedged in a mill file to give me a square reference face. I got a Veritas variable burnisher for Xmas but used an old valve out of a 57 Chevy with great success before that.

- file
- stone
- burnish
- scrape

[Tom Marchner]

Make sure you get a burnisher and learn how to restore the scraper edge. It is a process very different from sharpening other kinds of blades. There are good articles in books and some videos I think on YouTube and the Fine Woodworking web site.

Card scrapers are a marvelous tool for smoothing grain that is too difficult to plane.

[Don Dorn]

Getting a burr hasn't been my problem. If I get tearout from a plane, I found that my scraper didn't help a great deal. The reason is that I was finding the "dig" spot and moving it forward to the point that I was rolling material in front of it. Then, a friend convinced me that getting dust (or slightly more) is not a bad thing. I simply backed off my pressure even though the burr is the same, then found it made a world of difference.

Don't go crazy learning to put the burr on - it's not rocket science. Joint the edge, then use your burnisher to push everything toward the middle (consolodating the edge), then move the scraper off the edge of your bench to expose the edge and at nearly a 90 degree angle (slightly less), "roll" the edge toward the outside of the scraper. Do this lightly - many people use way to much pressure. I make only a couple of those light passes, flip it over do the same and then the same with the other side. Has worked well for me for a long time and takes a minute or two is all.

[Salem Ganzhorn]

I'm not sure it matters that much. I use a Clifton, purchased from WoodCraft, also an old shop made gunstock scraper (aka scraper shave), and a #7 plane iron ground at 45-degrees for really hogging away wood.

I don't get the $30 burnishers. As the other James said, just about anything will raise a burr. I use cheap old router bits.

I have tried screwdrivers, router bit shanks, HSS drill bits. I could not get a consistent hook with these. I am cheap but I bought a 20$ crown burnisher. And now finally my card scrapers make shavings :).

Maybe this just shows my lack of skill (which is true :)) but it was worth it to me.

Salem