Slipped a little closer to the edge

[Lee Schierer]

This past summer, for my birthday I purchased a set of scrapers and a burnishing rod. I played with them a bit when they came but wasn't really happy with the results. This week I started on a replacement table top for a coffee table I made for my daughter several years ago. It seems her new puppy liked the taste of red oak and chewed up a corner of the original too bad to repair. After gluing up the top, there was a small amount of glue squeeze out and a slight unevenness between two of the boards. I stared working with the scraper and still wasn't getting the type of shavings I thought I should get. I did a little searching on the internet and ran across a sharpening video from Fine Woodworking (http://www.finewoodworking.com/2012/10/24/how-to-sharpen-a-card-scraper). I tried the technique and was pleasantly surprised by the results. My scraper work ten time better than it had before and I was very pleased with the results. I carefully scraped both sides and the surface is very smooth. I definitely will be using my scrapers more on future projects.

My question is do you need to sand the surface after scraping or does scraping leave a smoother surface for finishing than say 220 grit paper?

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Lee

To answer your question ..

In this picture of a curved drawer front, the shape was created with planes, but I needed to sand it back to ensure it was flat. Sanding ended at 400 grit. I did not like the dull finish, and so proceeded to scrape it. You can see the difference ...

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/FinishingTheDrawers_html_7f541cdc.jpg

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Robert Engel]

I don't sand unless I have to, for example if the grain has been raised by the finish or if its totally contrary. I always hand sand, never use a ROS.

I also don't use a scraper all the time, usually just when there are issues with the grain.

I, too struggled with prepping a scraper. I've watched several videos but the one by Mike Pekovitch is probably the best.

I'm certainly no expert, but here are a few things that give me consistent results:

1) use a quality scraper the metal makes a big difference in results
2) use a guide block when honing to maintain 90° - a simple block of wood or a jig
3) hone all the way to 8000 grit & use a magnifier to check the polish
4) only put a 2-3° angle on the hook
5) keep the burnisher handy because you can reset the hook 1 or 2 times during use.
6) refiling the burnisher is not necessary every time, only occasionally.

Nothing is more satisfying than seeing those nice shavings coming off, hey?

[William Fretwell]

The scraper leaves a finer finish. Sandpaper has a place for some jobs but is actually difficult to do well and dust removal is a problem in the final finish.

[Normand Leblanc]

Robert,

Using a magnifier made quite a difference for me because I couldn't see my progress. The magnifier showed me that, when I was filing I was creating a concave along the edge and my stones were not removing it. I was ending with a polished edge at each end and not where it's important - in the middle.

Normand

[Bob Glenn]

I don't sand unless I have to, for example if the grain has been raised by the finish or if its totally contrary. I always hand sand, never use a ROS.

I also don't use a scraper all the time, usually just when there are issues with the grain.

I, too struggled with prepping a scraper. I've watched several videos but the one by Mike Pekovitch is probably the best.

I'm certainly no expert, but here are a few things that give me consistent results:

1) use a quality scraper the metal makes a big difference in results
2) use a guide block when honing to maintain 90° - a simple block of wood or a jig
3) hone all the way to 8000 grit & use a magnifier to check the polish
4) only put a 2-3° angle on the hook
5) keep the burnisher handy because you can reset the hook 1 or 2 times during use.
6) refiling the burnisher is not necessary every time, only occasionally.

Nothing is more satisfying than seeing those nice shavings coming off, hey?

Robert, Number 6, refiling the burnisher? Am I missing something?