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View Full Version : Using a Card Scraper for Figured Maple. Good idea? Possible?



Nick Sorenson
08-30-2011, 12:36 PM
I am new to scrapers, just picked up a Bahco Scraper and put a burr on the edge. I noticed that as I'm planing figured maple it's tearing out quite a bit. I'm getting sawdust at times and curls at times. It's hard to get consistent curls. So far sandpaper seems to be a better option but being new I wanted to ask.

David Weaver
08-30-2011, 12:58 PM
If the tearout is superficial then you can use a card scraper.

If it is deeper than superficial, you're likely to create an uneven surface with card scrapers.

Sharper plane, tighter mouth, thinner shavings to get to the point that tearout issuperficial, and pay attention to what causes the tearout and try to avoid doing it. Consider planing in any direction as being in play if it reduces tearout, as long as it doesn't threaten the flatness of the surface you're planing.

It helps to have whatever plane you're using set up in a way that you know it will plane curly maple. this might be a good excuse to build a high-angle tight-mouthed laminated style plane.

Aside, though, it's definitely easier to get a nice hand-finished look by running whatever you're doing through a shelix planer or a wide belt sander to near final thickness and then just light smooth planing or hand scraping to get the same look. It depends on what your objective is - get something that looks hand done, or to actually do everything by hand.

Pam Niedermayer
08-30-2011, 1:16 PM
...Aside, though, it's definitely easier to get a nice hand-finished look by running whatever you're doing through a shelix planer or a wide belt sander to near final thickness and then just light smooth planing or hand scraping to get the same look. It depends on what your objective is - get something that looks hand done, or to actually do everything by hand.

My experience has been otherwise when using a tailed planer. The snipe caused just as much planing as without the planer.

Pam

Nick Sorenson
08-30-2011, 2:11 PM
I am just trying to avoid sandpaper scratches (I don't mind using power where available). But I like the idea of using hand tools where they could save time. The concept of a scraped finish (vs pigtails from an orbital or longitudinal scratches from a block) interests me. But I'm brand new to the scraper and so far sandpaper and a block for finish sanding works better. But I've got a feeling it's because I'm still new to the tool. I've not really used a scraper before this (other than razor blades for leveling runs in a lacquered finish).

There are areas where I can't use a plane at all due to not enough room for travel, but a card scraper will work just fine.

David Weaver
08-30-2011, 2:34 PM
My experience has been otherwise when using a tailed planer. The snipe caused just as much planing as without the planer.

Pam

A better planer is in order, then, or at least a better setup. I guess it depends on the tools. If I had a power planer that created that much snipe, I'd replace it if I couldn't figure out how to eliminate it.

Several years ago (along with another fellow), I ran 10 QS panels through an old beach 52" oscillating drum sander to final thickness them. It took less than a half hour to fully thickness 10 panels, maybe it was close to 15 minutes. No tearout, no snipe, absolutely uniform thickness, and no lines since the drums were oscillating. What a machine. Took a mm of thickness off of a 20+" wide in panel in one like nothing.

I have also used a buddy's byrd head Delta DC 580 (a big planer, not a toy) to run some figured goods through, and the result was something I couldn't summarize as being anything other than spectacular. The finish was so clean and the edges so sharp on hard maple and cherry that the edges of the boards cut my hands, and they were shiny. I still hand finished them, but someone who decided they wanted to sand goods could've gone straight to whatever grit they wanted, maybe even even 600, and had no issues. I scraped the maple, but if I am being honest, it was a bit less shiny after scraping, even with a polished hook.

If I had either of those tools in my shop, I'd probably use them - sort of took the wind out of me, at that point I figured after tearing out the curly maple with a standard planer several weeks before (which prompted the guy with the shelix to buy it in the first place), that I had the hand up on machines with figured wood. I knew a new wide belt sander would take care of stuff like that pronto, but a planer - I wouldn't have expected that kind of finish.

Pam Niedermayer
08-30-2011, 7:31 PM
I was using fairly big planers in the community college workshop. At the point they didn't work all that well (snipe), I decided they weren't worth the cost, money, space or noise.

Pam

David Weaver
08-30-2011, 7:45 PM
It's too bad nobody took the time to set them up properly. All the more snipe that comes out of the DC580 can probably taken off with one or two passes of a smoother - definitely less than most tearout.

The beach sander...well, I wouldn't guess most people would get one of those in a garage shop and have the (3phase) power available to run a big one, but I would love to have one.

Pam Niedermayer
08-30-2011, 7:55 PM
It's too bad nobody took the time to set them up properly. All the more snipe that comes out of the DC580 can probably taken off with one or two passes of a smoother - definitely less than most tearout.

The beach sander...well, I wouldn't guess most people would get one of those in a garage shop and have the (3phase) power available to run a big one, but I would love to have one.

I don't know what a beach sander is. As to setup, I think the instructors knew what they were doing, and based on reading I did at the time, generally everyone said that snipe was inevitable. I love it when someone says the reason some machine or other didn't work is that they weren't set up properly, especially when sayer and said machine are a thousand or so miles apart and they've never seen each other. You do know how that sounds?

Pam

Pam

Jim Stewart
08-30-2011, 9:22 PM
First watch the youtube video by William Ng on how to sharpen a card scraper. This video is so good. It also will teach you how to hold a card scraper.

If you have planer tearout that you are trying to fix a Lee Valley bevel up smoothing plane is the best thing that I have found. You would need the 50 degree angle blade. Then go to the card scraper to smooth out the plane marks. Oh, the 50 degree blade must be very sharp and I round the edges on the plane blade to avoid marks. Final some 300 sandpaper on a flat block to finish.

I have a powermatic planer with the byrd shellex head and it will do a great job on figured wood. I also have the byrd head on my grizzly jointer. pricey by nice. I use the above steps after power planing.

David Weaver
08-30-2011, 9:23 PM
It sounds like I've seen machines that don't snipe much, that's what it sounds like to me. Even my lunchbox planer doesn't snipe much if the work is supported. Like I said, a pass or two with a smoother, and it's gone - less deep than all but the most minimal of tearout, certainly less than you'd get with a cambered iron in busy curly maple.

I get the sense that you haven't worked with machines much if you believe that snipe that would "create more work" using a machine than hand planes to thickness or face a board is inevitable.

Pam Niedermayer
08-30-2011, 10:13 PM
It sounds like I've seen machines that don't snipe much, that's what it sounds like to me. Even my lunchbox planer doesn't snipe much if the work is supported. Like I said, a pass or two with a smoother, and it's gone - less deep than all but the most minimal of tearout, certainly less than you'd get with a cambered iron in busy curly maple.

I get the sense that you haven't worked with machines much if you believe that snipe that would "create more work" using a machine than hand planes to thickness or face a board is inevitable.

I've worked with machines a lot, like maybe 30 years or so. I did choose that one of those machines would not be a planer or joiner. All the others have been no problem. And this is to say nothing about how boring it is standing there and feeding those machines.

It's so nice to talk with such a superior man. You can stop anytime now.

Pam

Prashun Patel
08-30-2011, 11:00 PM
You might be able to reduce the tearout thru the planer by lightening up on the passes and flipping the direction of the feed.

As for dealing with the tearout after the fact, there are lots of ways to do it, and everyone has their favorite. Card scrapers are great, but do take a lot of muscle. You really just have to watch a bunch of videos and practice. You will eventually learn how to burnish properly. If you are getting inconsistent shavings, you might be rolling the burr too steep or not enough. When you finish burnishing, can you feel the burr with your thumb? You should be able to.

Also, don't try to sharpen 2 sides of the same edge; start with just one. You need firm pressure on the burnisher, but only a couple passes.

Nick Sorenson
08-31-2011, 7:42 AM
I can feel the burr with my thumb but yes Prashun it may be too steep or too much. I'll have to get a feel for it. I'd like to use this instead of final finish sanding (120-220) if I can make it work.

Jessica Pierce-LaRose
08-31-2011, 8:12 AM
As others have said, William Ng's video is very helpful.

I think the biggest mistake I made when I first started using card scrapers was applying way too much pressure turning the burr. It takes surprisingly less pressure than my first instinct was. I've seen plenty of others make this mistake.

The other mistake I made initially, and have often seen is poor edge preparation prior to turning the burr.

I've had great luck with a card scraper on fairly highly figured maple I bought from LMI for an instrument for my brother. Works well on some of the "mahogany-alikes" with the tearout you get from the interlocked grain that changes directions on you, too.

Mike Holbrook
08-31-2011, 11:12 AM
David mentioned building a plane especially for handling these tough woods. Since that happens to be something I have been doing lately I am curious what type plane/set up others might use for this work. There are some Japanese planes, Pam mentioned. I have been studying those designed to tune plane bottoms with high angle blades. I was thinking about building a plane specifically for a laminated blade at high angle. I think this type plane could accomplish similar results to a scraper? It would seem that the heavier blade might have advantages and maybe some disadvantages. I am guessing that such a plane would need to be constructed and set up with tight tolerances to "scrape" that small a shaving in tough wood, which is why I am saving it for last.

David Weaver
08-31-2011, 11:52 AM
It doesn't need to scrape, planing is preferable, anyway, because it will work on woods that are marginal in hardness for a nice scraped finish.

For economy, If I were in your shoes, I would build a single iron plane in krenov style if functionality is your concern, and build it with a 55 degree angle and a mouth that is nonexistent at first (i.e., exactly closed at the iron edge). You can open it a few thousandths after that to create a very tight mouth that makes it very hard for you to worsen any tearout situation.

It should negate the need to scrape at all if built properly (and you can build it quickly).

Also, using a single iron will allow you to do neater mouth work with a mouth that follows the iron more closely (which will stay tightly closed as you lap the bottom of the plane in the future). Doing so with a double iron will create clearance problems for chip flow.

I don't favor that type of plane (I recognize that it's very effective) and built a couple of infills instead, but same premise - very tight mouth, 55 degrees and single heavy iron. For curly maple, they are essentially foolproof. I have not scraped any figured wood since I built them.

Save the japanese plane venture for later, it is not the best solution for immediate use on curly maple for someone who is not a japanese plane user. Consider anyone who tells you otherwise to be semi-religious about using japanese planes (I have a lot of them, I use them on curly maple, it's not the place to start with them).

Thick O1 would be my first choice for an iron. There's no need to have a laminated iron, especially if you are going to power grind (and you should unless you want to sharpen for entertainment).

Mike Holbrook
08-31-2011, 1:22 PM
Actually I may have the plane you mention in kit form now Dave. Steve Knight made two 7.5" plane kits for me. One of the kits was made with a higher, 55 I think, blade angle. The plane kits Steve built for me are all single iron, built to have adjustable mouths. The kit is similar to a typical HNT Gordon plane, even the blade angle.

I have Steve's remaining 01 1/4" blade stock too, 12 of them. I ordered a small Japanese plane from Tools From Japan with normal blade angle to try out. TFJ has planes with higher angles too but I will learn more about those steels and the care and feeding of that type plane before I invest in them.

David Weaver
08-31-2011, 2:54 PM
Steve's irons are the ones i was thinking about, but I didn't want to throw that out there and make it sound like you need to have his.

Steve's O1 irons, at least the three that I've used, are better than any other O1 iron that I've used. They are hard but not chippy and take a very nice edge.

Care with the bedding of the iron is also important (the iron should have pressure at the top and close to the mouth and be evenly bedded laterally), but it sounds like you have what you need to make just the tool for the job.

You will enjoy the japanese planes, I think. The margin for error is just a bit narrower (on figured woods with a lower angle). The couple of times I've used a japanese plane on curly maple, I used a standard 8/10 plane (about 40 degrees in effective cutting angle, and a little less than that at the bed), but I have steeper - they just generally aren't necessary for the thin slices you'll take with a smoother. But an unexpected deep cut can create pretty spectacular tearout, and if you make a purpose-built 55º plane with a tight mouth and a well bedded iron, you will be challenged to get any surface imperfections above and beyond "a tiny bit fuzzy in a spot" in curly maple.

Pam Niedermayer
08-31-2011, 4:43 PM
David mentioned building a plane especially for handling these tough woods. Since that happens to be something I have been doing lately I am curious what type plane/set up others might use for this work. There are some Japanese planes, Pam mentioned. I have been studying those designed to tune plane bottoms with high angle blades. I was thinking about building a plane specifically for a laminated blade at high angle. I think this type plane could accomplish similar results to a scraper? It would seem that the heavier blade might have advantages and maybe some disadvantages. I am guessing that such a plane would need to be constructed and set up with tight tolerances to "scrape" that small a shaving in tough wood, which is why I am saving it for last.

I've never worked with curly maple (no particular reason, never came across a supply), so I'm not all that sure how to handle the tear out you're experiencing. The Japanese scrapers are used to scrape plane soles made of Japanese white and red oak, plus Hon red, a specially hard oak, most likely much harder than curly maple, more like ironwood (from which the HNT's are made).

Making such a scraper is no big deal, mouth is fairly wide, insert blade and scrape. Of course, my saying that is probably an indication of my hopeless obsession with Japanese planes, NOT. :)

Pam

Bruce Volden
08-31-2011, 6:30 PM
Seems I remember reading about someone "misting" the wood with H2O to raise fibers and then using a plane. Correct me if'n I'm wrong.

Bruce

Steve Branam
08-31-2011, 9:16 PM
First watch the youtube video by William Ng on how to sharpen a card scraper. This video is so good. It also will teach you how to hold a card scraper.


Wow, beautiful! Here's the link to his video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nz6EpQu2HRo.

This is the video that brought me success: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKZWqdPFul8&NR=1. His method is very similar to Ng's.

You'll notice that they both take just a quick swipe with the burnisher, and it's ready to go. Seems like the most common mistake is trying to muscle the burr over like you were trying to bend 1" steel plate by hand: clamp it in a vise and apply two-handed pressure on the burnisher. I certainly made that mistake until I saw this. That's probably the correct method for rolling the edge to make it safe, not sharp!

Harvey Pascoe
08-31-2011, 9:22 PM
I'm surprised no one mentioned this: When scraping curly figure you must NOT scrape parallel to the wavy figure. You should scrape at an angle of 30 degrees or more to the figure. The reason is some parts of the figure are harder/softer and if you are scraping parallel, you are gouging out soft material between the waves and will end up with a wavy surface. That is why you aren't getting a consistent curl.

As for planers/jointers, if you hand hone your knives to 4000 or better you can plane the worst figured wood w/o any tear out. I do it all the time and my scrapers are more or less retired.

As for using a hand plane w/o tear out, I've never been able do it except for a scraper plane.

Steve Branam
09-01-2011, 5:32 AM
Here's an additional video of Dougal Charteris using the scraper: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAlcgWKdIlo

A (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAlcgWKdIlo)s long as we're looking at his stuff, this one is a truly minimalist approach to flattening the back and sharpening a chisel (this is a new blue-handle fresh out of the package): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxgXlKOw5d8. It also shows a quick free-hand stropping with a loose piece of leather.

Sadly, though his website says he is going to add more stuff (in 2009), this is about all he ever posted. I would love to see much more from him.

Nick Sorenson
09-01-2011, 1:38 PM
Those are great videos. His card scraper videos look like they're from 2010. I am getting curls on hard non figured maple just fine. I think I was pressing too hard and too many strokes with the burnisher. I'm still not getting curls like Dougal is getting though. That's really something!

george wilson
09-02-2011, 11:08 PM
We kept our planer at work adjusted to not snipe. My 15" planer at home does not snipe either. They must be properly adjusted,though.

A planer that has regular blades that have a bevel ground on the leading edge will plane figured woods quite well without tearing,because the negative cutting angle scrapes rather than cuts. Takes more power,of course,but with a decent motor,it is fine. I never have taken off real heavy cuts anyway.The Northfield planer in the millwork shop has unusual segmented carbide inserts in it. They are unlike the common Byrd or Shelix spiral heads offered in some new planers. These inserts are nearly vertical,and are reground with a grinding attachment on the planer,rather similarly to the normal type of grinding attachments that are used with conventional knife planers. I have run curly maple through that planer with NO tear out at all. It is a great planer. Rather scary to put a nice figured plank of maple through it,but it NEVER tears!! That scraping action really works.

I have a little Delta lunchbox planer that works really well,too. We had one at work that would plane some woods smoother than the big Powermatic. I got one for home because of that,but my Bridgewood 15" planes so well I haven't had to use the Delta. I had thought it would be nice to just take it outside and generate mulch,rather than cleaning out the too small dust collector drum. Haven't made any large projects for a while,though.

If you have several boards to plane,and you can't manage to get your planer to not snipe,butt each board against the last. Then,only the last one will get sniped.

Chris Fournier
09-02-2011, 11:47 PM
Scraping curly maple is tricky. Curly maple is a funky combination of end and long grain and the card scraper will follow the grain and you'll end up with an undulating surface that follows the grain. Not nice under a finish I can assure you. As has been mentioned you'd be best off to have a very sharp benchplane and use this to obtain a decent flat surface. Do some testing and you'll see what I mean.

george wilson
09-02-2011, 11:59 PM
I worked with curly maple on a great many of the stringed instruments I made. Scraping at an angle is definitely a good thing to do. I also used to just plane straight ACROSS the grain to get most of the planing done without tear out,then scrape at an angle. You do have to have skill to keep the board true and flat planing across the grain,but it can be learned.

Derek Cohen
09-03-2011, 5:59 AM
I am new to scrapers, just picked up a Bahco Scraper and put a burr on the edge. I noticed that as I'm planing figured maple it's tearing out quite a bit. I'm getting sawdust at times and curls at times. It's hard to get consistent curls. So far sandpaper seems to be a better option but being new I wanted to ask.

Hi Nick

The William Ng video is good. However he could emphasise something a little more, a point that tends to be not well understood by those new to cabinet/card scrapers. This is drawing out the edge before turning the burr. I just cannot emphasise enough how important this part of the edge preparation is. It is more important than the angle you turn the burr (I turn the burr at about 10 degrees, and if you go higher than this all you do is adjust the angle at which you scrape. No big deal). You cannot turn a burr without first drawing out the edge. No edge, no sharpness, only dust.

You get tearout if the edge is rough. Or the grain is soft and running in the other direction.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Military%20Chests/Scraping3.jpg

Regards from Perth

Derek

Prashun Patel
09-03-2011, 9:11 AM
Derek and the others are far more experienced than I. However, I can say that I do not draw nout the burr, yet I am able to scrape fine. Perhaps my edges are not quite as durable and perhaps my final surface is not as smooth, but I can take shavings very well. All I do is file the edge relatively square with a mill file. Then I use a screwdriver or burnisher to roll the edge - about 4-5 times.

I think there are lots of nuances which will improve yr results. However, for learning to just make shavings (IMHO, the hardest part of learning to use a scraper), I think a simple prep style like mine might be easier to master.

Once you 'get it', it's like magic eye; you'll wonder how you had a tough time doing it before. Like riding a bike. Just keep practicing.

Derek Cohen
09-03-2011, 9:40 AM
Hi Prashun

I do question the surface quality you get with your method. :eek:

If you use this for a finish, do you get a reflective surface after scraping?

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Military%20Chests/Scraping7.jpg

Think of the profile of the blade as if it was a molding plane - the mill file marks will transfer to the wood. That is why one takes the time to finish the edge to a mirror, just like any plabe blade. I would be interested in the results you get from comparing the two methods.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Chris Fournier
09-03-2011, 9:51 AM
I think that Derek has overstated the do or die case for drawing an edge prior to pulling a burr on a card scraper. As Prashun has pointed out you can but a burr on a freshly jointed edge with no problems and the resulting surface quality left from this scraper can be excellent. If you choose not to draw then you must do a very good job of jointing and I then take the edge to a 1000 grit stone prior to pulling a burr. The edge prep must be very good.

If you prefer to draw an edge then pull the burr the jointing, honing phase can be a bit faster. I use both methods depending on the application. For rough glue removal I just joint a fresh edge and draw not at all!

If you're getting shavings, not dust and the surface is glassy without streaks (chippy or crumbled burr) then you are doing just fine.

Prashun Patel
09-03-2011, 1:58 PM
I guess I did not state my case correctly: I don't find it necessary to draw a burr before rolling it. In my experience, burnishing a jointed edge at an angle will draw and roll the burr in one step.

As for finish quality, I agree, my method does not produce that - but because I don't hone my edge - not because I don't draw a burr. I usually use my scraper in a heretic way: to remove mill or tearout marks when a plane won't do. I then follow up with a smoother or (yikes) sandpaper. I don't scrape an entire surface; just too much work for me. Used this way, scratches on the scraper edge get removed.

My technique is not optimal, but it works for me, and for raising shavings, it *might* be the best place for a newbie to start.

Derek Cohen
09-03-2011, 8:43 PM
When it comes to sharpening methods - be it for a plane blade, chisel or cabinet scraper - I am more interested in the re-sharpening side. That is, how easy is it to re-hone the edge?

With regard to cabinet/card scrapers, I can re-use the same jointed edge about 4 or 5 times, minimum, before stoning. This is made possible only because the edge is first drawn before turning a burr. If I attempted to turn a burr without drawing the edge I doubt that I could reuse the same edge. You will quickly use up the movable steel.

Using an edge directly of a draw file does not affect the quantity of the first shavings. It affects the quality of the shavings. Drawing the edge affects the quantity.

I will use a scraper to level boards, like a jack plane - which some may see as serious scraping with cards. I find it easy enough (no, I do not have heat-proof thumbs) simply because I get a really good edge and can keep using it for a long while. The easier the edge cuts, the less effort needed to push/pull a blade, and the less the heat generated.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Military%20Chests/Scraping2.jpg

I have been doing a lot of scraping recently, so these thoughts are clear in my mind: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/Scraping.html

As I said before, I am always interested to hear the results of experimentation. Go and compare the different methods.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Prashun Patel
09-03-2011, 9:13 PM
Derek-
I defer to your experience. I'm a relative novice.

Chris Fournier
09-03-2011, 11:34 PM
When it comes to sharpening methods - be it for a plane blade, chisel or cabinet scraper - I am more interested in the re-sharpening side. That is, how easy is it to re-hone the edge?

With regard to cabinet/card scrapers, I can re-use the same jointed edge about 4 or 5 times, minimum, before stoning. This is made possible only because the edge is first drawn before turning a burr. If I attempted to turn a burr without drawing the edge I doubt that I could reuse the same edge. You will quickly use up the movable steel.

Using an edge directly of a draw file does not affect the quantity of the first shavings. It affects the quality of the shavings. Drawing the edge affects the quantity.

I will use a scraper to level boards, like a jack plane - which some may see as serious scraping with cards. I find it easy enough (no, I do not have heat-proof thumbs) simply because I get a really good edge and can keep using it for a long while. The easier the edge cuts, the less effort needed to push/pull a blade, and the less the heat generated.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Military Chests/Scraping2.jpg

I have been doing a lot of scraping recently, so these thoughts are clear in my mind: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/Scraping.html

As I said before, I am always interested to hear the results of experimentation. Go and compare the different methods.

Regards from Perth

Derek

I can't make any sense of this post Derek. You are interested in re-sharpening which you equate to re-honing? Why has jointing a fresh edge not been included in your definition of re-sharpening. To follow your logic I would assume that grinding is not a part of re-sharpening for you either, is this the case?

Burnishing by definition refines a surface by moving the material in a plastic way and making it smooth. You most certainly can take a carefully jointed edge and burnish a hook that will give a flawless finish.

I can't understand your comment regarding using a card scraper like a jack plane. A card scraper is a free, hand held cutting edge, a jack plane is a referenced or fixtured cutting edge - they are not levellers on the same level! Why would you use the two interchangably to level a board?

Derek Cohen
09-04-2011, 1:08 AM
I can't make any sense of this post Derek. You are interested in re-sharpening which you equate to re-honing? Why has jointing a fresh edge not been included in your definition of re-sharpening. To follow your logic I would assume that grinding is not a part of re-sharpening for you either, is this the case?

Hi Chris

I am using sharpening and honing fairly interchangeably here. The point is that one does not wish to start from scratch when an edge gets dull. Ideally you want a method to re-fresh an edge quickly and simply. For example, stropping a plane or chisel blade. It is not (always) necessary to regrind a primary bevel or create a new secondary bevel in that example. Similarly, with a cabinet (card) scraper one does not need to joint the edge and/or polish the edges each time the scraper stops making curlies and instead creates dust. All one needs to do is burnish the edge again. However there is a small limit to the number of times one can do this if you do not at first draw the edge.

I can't understand your comment regarding using a card scraper like a jack plane. A card scraper is a free, hand held cutting edge, a jack plane is a referenced or fixtured cutting edge - they are not levellers on the same level! Why would you use the two interchangably to level a board?

Cabinet scrapers are magnificent tools! They are incredibly versatile. Not only are there different shapes that one can form with them (for moldings), but they create different shapes just by how you hold them. The easiest form of the latter is by curving the scraper blade. I prefer the thin blades for heavy work and thin blades for finer work. The thin blades are easier to camber, while the thicker blades are, of course, easier to keep somewhat straight.

For a deep shaving - whether to hog away waste or target a small section of tearout - a deeper camber is indicated. Just bend the blade more. This is what I refer to as a "jack" scraper. You are not hogging away 1/16 thick chips. Instead you will remove shavings that are similar to a rank set smoother. An example of use is in the current build of two military chests: I needed to plane the sides up to the dovetails. I dared not go over the dovetails as this would lead to spelching (break out). It is difficult to control a plane so that the blade stops at the start of the dovetail. I planed across the dovetails with a LA Jack, then scraped to the edge of the dovetails.

When finishing I do not like mixing surface treatments as this shows up later, so I finished the cases with a scraper. To do this I switched to a scraper with a finer burr. A wide burr is good to create thick shavings, but thick shavings can become coarse (as with a rank set smoother). Again, a sharp edge produces a better finish, and it is more likely that you will make the effort to re-sharpen the edge if it is a quick process (draw the edge, then burnish).

While a finely scraped surface is still not as polished as a finely smoothed surface, I am quite content with the finish I can achieve with a cabinet scraper. I also find these tools so easy to use that I cannot recall when I last used a #112.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Chris Fournier
09-04-2011, 4:39 PM
I too prefer to keep the sharpening process as simple and swift as possible, sharpening is ancillary to woodworking in my woodshop, quite frankly it's ancillary to metal working in my machine shop!

I personally don't believe that drawing the edge of the scraper prior to pulling a burr gives you any more "free" touch ups than going straight from a jointed edge to pulling a burr. In my opinion, drawing the edge actually reduces the trueness of the scraper prior to turning the burr. I have found that looking at the drawn edge under a magnifying glass/loup that the drawn metal is very variable in shape and form. Turning the drawn edge exacerbates the variation - most common at the start and stop points - even when you flip the scraper to even out the inputs of the burnisher.

For me the dirty quick/efficient method is to joint and hone the edge and draw a burr - round one. To referesh I remove the tired burr on a mill file - card scraper face on the file. Then I re-burnish the edge and turn a burr for the second sharpening. That's as good as it gets for me unless I'm doing a lot of scraping in which case I'll just re-pull the second burr. This third refresh will never be good enough for a finished surface but when I have a lot of scraping to do it's quick and dirty.

I have card scrapers coming out my ying yang so for the finish passes I reach for a fresh scraper with a fine burr. I label my scrapers with a Sharpie - glue/hog/finish. I curse myself when I put a tired scraper back in the deck - lazy sod!

Bi-metal bandsaw blades - 1 1/2" width as well as old saws are my stock for custom scrapers. I agree with you 100% that a custom profiled scraper is the most pleasant and efficient path to a finished molding profile; unless of course you have a very nice shaper which I now do and the moldings are ready for finish right off the knives. Money solves all problems...

Mixed methods makes for a poor looking finish so I now tend to scrape all surfaces and then quickly hit them with 220 grit paper. I do a lot of dye work and sanded surfaces seem to take the dye most evenly. A natural cherry piece (colouring chery is a mortal sin) will most often be a scraped and finsihed piece - I like the aesthetic and tactile difference from a sanded piece.