Help with my #80 scraper, please!

[Bob Jones]

I am a victim of The Schwarz. Yes, I bought a #80 Stanley scraper after he praised it on his blog and in the D. Charlesworth article in PWW mag. I bought it from Walt at Brass City, so at least I did not loose my mind on ebay. Anyway, I did EVERYTHING the article said to do and it is just not right.
I am getting nearly invisible shavings on a poplar board that is flat and fairly smooth, but it is leaving the poplar surface VERY rough, as if it were sanded with #120 grit sandpaper. What gives?

Here is what I have done so far.
1. Flatten and smooth the bottom of the plane with sandpaper on glass. I even filed the edges smooth.
2. Bought the HOCK blade, and sharpened it. I used a 45deg primary bevel and about 48 deg micro bevel. It was sharp enough to scare the hair off my arm. Seriously - very sharp.
3. Bought the HOCK burnisher and turned the hook just like the article said. I used the 75 deg backer block and everything.
4. I used what I would consider a very light touch with the burnisher. Admitidly, I have never SEEN anyone do this, so I am not sure it if was light enough.
5. I could reel the hook with my finger. It felt a bit like a burr left after grinding to the edge - maybe not quite that aggressive.
5. Put the blade in the plane with the bevel facing me - the hook forward - tightened the screws to hold it in then tightened the middle screw just a bit.

I tried it on poplar and cherry and get the same cruddy result. Any tips would be appreciated.

[Bob Jones]

FYI - I let my daughter draw on this bench - it will be hers one day if she wants it. :)

[Mike Siemsen]

I suspect you rolled the burr to hard. Tage Frid said it should be softer than the first time you touched a girl's hand. Re sharpen as per the article and try it without the burr, then just barely touch it with the burnisher and see how you fare. You could also have the blade set too deep or, Heaven forbid, in backwards.
Mike

[Johnny Kleso]

Lot of times I read not to turn the burr on a thick blade, try that first :)

[David Weaver]

If you're screwing around with something that has no adjustment, the burr has to be close. Hone it off like a plane blade for now (well, the angle may be 40-45 degrees, I guess. Polish it like a plane iron, don't forget the oil on the burnisher, as walt says, you can even get a tiny bit off your skin on your forehead or nose and put it on the edge.

Roll the burr lightly. *Without* putting the iron back in the scraper, hold it at the angle it will be in the scraper and see if it grabs. If not, roll the burr a tiny bit more, try again. Do this until the burr catches at the same angle the iron goes in the tool. Once you have a catch, the burr is right or close and you can put it in and try it.

Charlesworth's suggestion to make a jig and just hang the very edge of the iron over it so you can roll a burr is a very good suggestion. I don't use it with an 80, but with the big thick A2 iron scrapers, it works excellent every time, no trial and error.

[Prashun Patel]

I'm having probs getting my cabinet scraper to even take shavings, so yr ahead of me. But here's what I know from CARD scrapers:

If the surface is rough, it might be because your edge or yr burnisher has nicks in it. Are you sharpening to a fine grit? Examine yr edge under a jeweler's loupe and you'll see if you have a smooth edge.

Since yr taking shavings, I think yr SHARP enough, but perhaps not SMOOTH enough....?

[Terry Beadle]

Be sure to check the grain direction of the stock surface.

Yes, scrapers usually allow omni-directional strokes but wood has it's own mind.

From your description, you have followed David Charlesworth's instructions correctly. I agree with the suggested testing of the burr free hand.

In case you wondered.... the 80 does work wonderfully the way you are trying to prepare it. I will say the burr is extremely sensitive to the tension screw's adjustment. Try it without any tension on the screw and only apply a little to the blade in very small increments...say about 10 min on the clock per adjustment.

Enjoy the shavings...they will appear !

[Chris Fournier]

To take a step back, I'd recommend that you put the original inferior flexible blade back in the 80 (after sharpening) and give it a whirl. I like this bodied scraper because of the flexible blade!

Your issues are likely sharpening related as others have pointed out. Truth is that this scraper, with the original balde can indeed take a very heavy burr and work well but for finish work ease up on the burr.

I joint my scraper blade on a 12" mill file held horizontally in my metal vise. First thing I do is file the old burr off, now put an edge on, nice and easy and you'll get a great flat finish. Honestly, if you can file well, you can move right on to burnishing but a trip to the edge of a stone 800/1200 to really clean it up will help. Face and edge!

Lay the scraper blade face up on the edge of your bench with the cutting edge facing you. Take the burnisher and draw it along the face of the cutting edge at about a 5 degree angle. This will actually draw the edge. Light touch and right to both ends of the edge - alternate strokes. Now clamp the blade with the edge vertically in your vise and draw the burr at the angle that you like. Easy does it and feel for a hair of a burr to develop. Stop. Install and try the blade. Remove the blade, add more burr and try again. Rinse repeat and you'll know for yourself how the burr cuts to your satisfaction.

[Mark Wyatt]

I've had this problem before and here is what I find works for me. First, like everyone says, make sure your burr is right. I do this by using it as a card scraper. That way I can adjust the angle of approach to the wood and see it the burr is set at the right hook to match the #80 body when I put it in the plane. If not, I reform the hook.

Second, when I put the iron in the plane, I do it with all the screws slightly loosened. Then, with the screws loose, I run the plane over a piece of known flat stock to get the iron seated at the right depth. It will make a noise but not actually cut the wood. Then I tighten down the two screws which hold the iron fixed. The plane will now generally raise some very slight shavings. Finally, I tighten the thumb screw about a quarter turn and slowly dial it in from there until I'm making pretty shavings.

[Bob Jones]

Thanks for all the tips. I was probably using too much pressure with the burnisher. When I work up the patience I will try again. I am not looking forward to regrinding the edge - but that is another topic. Thanks!

[Bob Stroupe]

I've never used a #80, but when I was trying to figure out how to roll a burr on my homemade scraper shave I had luck just flattening and re-burnishing it. However re-grinding with a mill file, scary sharpening to 1500, and burnishing it with almost nothing but the weight of my polished screw driver made a difference.
Also in use I found I don't need to use nearly as much pressure as I would need with a regular card scraper using very light pressure I can take some of the finest shavings I've ever seen leaving behind a finish I don’t believe I would sand. I can also press into it and get heavier shavings than I can usually get with a card scraper. Even though these shavings are still pretty fine the finish it leaves behind suffers.
I’m using a 45 deg bevel and it does work on poplar, but it is easier to get the results I want on harder wood, which is what I made it for. I’ve read in one of the articles that a 45 deg bevel is too aggressive, and using a sharper bevel angle is better for softer wood. I haven’t tried it myself. It seems like that would make it easier to over roll a larger burr which as far as I can tell would be detrimental…