Scraper plane.. I think i am getting it ..

[Rick Fisher]

For quite a while, I have owned a Veritas Scraping plane. I have never had any luck with it .. One time I remember it made such a horrid sound, like finger nails on a chaulk board..

Well, I decided to buckle down and learn.. So I watched every You Tube video I could find, and read anything I could find.. I knew I had never paid enough attention to learning how to set it up ..

The best video I watched (for me) is the one from Lie Nielsen.. At first I laughed because the fella talked so slow and commented on every little thing.. It occurs to me now that after watching it twice, I needed it explained that way..

Anyway..

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m455/jokerbird_photo/P1010549.jpg

May not be perfect, but its the best I have ever done.. I have gotten dust, chatter that damaged the surface, and noises similar to a cat being tortured a block away.. But after much time listening and following all the steps.. I got shavings..

Its a cool feeling ..

[Sam Takeuchi]

One of the main reasons for chatter and dust is dull blade. The key is really learning how to hone and burnish (if you like burr on the edge). Once edge well honed, scraper "cuts" very smoothly even though it takes a bit more pushing than normal plane.

After I bought Veritas scraper plane, I didn't mess with it seriously for six months or so, mainly for the same reason. I was pretty content with card scraper until them, but after deciding to learn to use it, it didn't take long to get used to it and now I use it semi frequently. It's a wonderful tool.

I use thick optional blade. Using stock blade makes such annoying howling sound I can't stand. No annoying noise then.

[Tony Shea]

The biggest mistake I've seen people make with these planes is setting the blade far too deep. I honestly think this is the most common cause of chatter in a scraper plane. The blade really doesn't even need to be burred to get decent results. A nicely polished straight edge blade is perfect for removing just a tiny amount of material and getting a nice smooth surface. And just getting dust instead of shavings from a scraper plane is not always a bad thing, and in some cases is the preferred shaving type for getting a nice smooth surface.

I agree that the LN video is probably the best video on understanding the setup. I actually was taught by Deneb at the LN showroom during their Open House.

[Brian Cameron]

I basically came to the same conclusion...use the thicker replacement blade and reread and understand the set up steps...made a world of difference

[Rick Fisher]

The video by Deneb is amazing. Even after watching it one, I went out to the shop and did it wrong and got chatter.. So I watched it again.

I honed the blade on an 8000 waterstone and did not leave a burr.. Deneb says in the video you don't need one.. But moving the blade forward or flattening the angle to get rid of chatter was the ticket..

I was so impressed with the Lie Nielsen video that I felt a bit guilty for using it to set up a Veritas scraper.. lol

One of the things that really helped was watching him use the blade as a hand scraping blade, then using that angle to set the angle on the plane.

I gotta work on my technique.. I figure I will hand scrape scrap wood for 20 minutes a night until I feel more confident. I have been using hand scrapers for a while, but am really tired of the burnt thumbs thing.. lol

[Derek Cohen]

For quite a while, I have owned a Veritas Scraping plane. I have never had any luck with it .. One time I remember it made such a horrid sound, like finger nails on a chaulk board..

Well, I decided to buckle down and learn.. So I watched every You Tube video I could find, and read anything I could find.. I knew I had never paid enough attention to learning how to set it up ..

The best video I watched (for me) is the one from Lie Nielsen.. At first I laughed because the fella talked so slow and commented on every little thing.. It occurs to me now that after watching it twice, I needed it explained that way..

Anyway..

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m455/jokerbird_photo/P1010549.jpg

May not be perfect, but its the best I have ever done.. I have gotten dust, chatter that damaged the surface, and noises similar to a cat being tortured a block away.. But after much time listening and following all the steps.. I got shavings..

Its a cool feeling ..

Hi Rick

You can do MUCH better than that! What you have there is mostly dust. Let's sort that out.

The shavings you show indicate either that the blade was dull-ish or that there was no hook. Perhaps, thirdly, that you used the scraper blade at the wrong angle.

When I first began using a Stanley #112, about a dozen years ago, I did so without a hook. I got quite poor results, but I was still reluctant to use a hook as I was unsure what to do. So I ended up using the plane quite rarely for some years. When I returned to the #112 it was with a different approach in mind. Firstly, I swapped the blade from the thin Stanley to a thicker LN. Then I ground the primary bevel at 30 degrees (not 45 degrees) as this made it easier to turn a hook, and thirdly I thereafter only used the plane with a hook. The results I get can be quite spectacular, with shavings resembling those off a smoother.

The LN video with Deneb is very good, and should be a must-view. I do disagree, however, with his preference for a blade without a hook.

Turning a hook is easily done with a burnisher. The hook does not need to be large (smaller is better), but you must keep in mind that the hook will alter the angle at which the blade is held in the plane, and it is important that you experiment with it first as-if it were a card scraper, and then transfer this angle to the plane. Also keep in mind that this is a preliminary setting only, and you will likely need to adjust it once in the plane.

Thick blades need to be cambered slightly, just like those in a smoother. Thin blades in a #112 need to be set up in the same way, but I do not think that they work as well as a thick blade. I did some testing in this regard, and wrote an article on the results: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/WoodworkTechniques/Thick verses thin 112 Scraper Plane blades.html


This is the result on interlocked Jarrah. The shavings are short and tight ..


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Planes/Scraper planes/IMG_4177.jpg

On Tasmanian Oak, which is straighter grained, the shavings are less likely to break off ...


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Planes/Scraper planes/Thick20verses20thin2011220Scraper20Plane20blades_h tml_m1531a516.jpg

Stretched out ...


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Planes/Scraper planes/Thick20verses20thin2011220Scraper20Plane20blades_h tml_m10de3756.jpg

I have even managed to use a Stanley #4 as a scraper plane by honing a 45 degree bevel (to beef up the edge on the thin blade) adding a hook, and then reversing the blade ...

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Planes/Scraper%20planes/IMG_4185.jpg

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Rick Fisher]

Thanks for the feedback Derek. I read the info on your wall as well..

There is not hook on the blade, as I followed the instructions on Deneb's video exactly. I suspect the blade is not quite sharp enough as well.. which is frustrating.. I sharpened it on a Norton 4000/ 8000 waterstone using a LV honing jig.. I am not really sure how to make it any sharper.. lol I plan on attending a LN open house this winter and will hopefully learn a bit more on sharpening ..