Card Scrapers

[Allen (AJ) Breese]

I know I should have searched it on here before buying my first card scrapers, but it is something I should have done years ago. I won't say I'm a expert at using them yet but the stuff I can make disappear is amazing! I can't wait until I get them all figured out. Now the problem! I don't someone with OCD should be using them, I fixing scratches & tear out in place that will never be seen, just because I can!

[glenn bradley]

It is amazing all the things a little piece of steel can do for you.

[Lee Schierer]

I now use my scrapers all the time on projects. Once you get the hang of forming the burr you can make a lot of shavings quickly.

[John K Jordan]

I know I should have searched it on here before buying my first card scrapers, but it is something I should have done years ago. I won't say I'm a expert at using them yet but the stuff I can make disappear is amazing! I can't wait until I get them all figured out. Now the problem! I don't someone with OCD should be using them, I fixing scratches & tear out in place that will never be seen, just because I can!

Amen!

I've been using (mostly curved) scrapers on woodturnings for lots of years now and I don't know how I could work without them now. While others are power sanding with 80 grit paper to remove tool marks I scrape smooth then start with 320 grit or so, occasionally 600 is all that's needed. Not only does scraping remove tool marks and ripples but unlike sandpaper they keep the surface flat even with adjacent soft/hard areas in the wood.

I buy curved scrapers when I find them and also grind a radius on a traditional rectangular scraper as needed. These are some of what I use. The gently curved ones on the left are those I use the most for larger things including gently dished turnings.

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I've also been using an entirely different type of hand scraper lately, those sold by Stewart MacDonald made from non-flexible 1/8" thick tool steel, used with a ground edge instead of a burnished burr. These are marketed to violin and guitar makers and in some situations are superior to the flexible scrapers. I bought some O1 tool steel strips and plan on making some like this in various shapes.

375678

BTW, I have found high quality used scrapers for almost nothing at yard sales and such.

BTW2, For years I used a 5/16" carbide rod for burnishing. The second picture here shows some 3/16" rods I got from Reed Gray - these seem to work better, I think they can apply more force to the edge because of the smaller radius of the cylinder - burnishing a scraper takes a lighter touch now. (I don't know if Reed still has a surplus of these little rods but if someone wants one I may know someone with a few spares.) A HSS or tool steel rod, drill bit, or tool shaft also works, even a screwdriver in a pinch.

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BTW3, When I lend a "standard" card scraper to someone without experience (recently to renew the top of a cutting block table) I put it in a Veritas scraper holder which not only puts the proper bend in the scraper but gives them some nice handles to grip. I don't use this otherwise but it would be excellent for someone with hand strength or dexterity problems. http://www.leevalley.com/us/Wood/page.aspx?cat=1,310&p=32669

JKJ

[steven c newman]

Sometimes, just a freshly cut piece of glass will work. And, if you are good at cutting glass to shape, you can match about any profiled molding. Easy enough to sharpen, just re-cut a new edge. Most Glass Shops have a scrap bin, that you can dig through for free.

Tip: Dip the glass cutter tool in Kerosene, before you cut the glass.

[John K Jordan]

if you are good at cutting glass to shape, ...
Tip: Dip the glass cutter tool in Kerosene, before you cut the glass.

Another way: cut the glass with big scissors underwater. The edge needs to be ground afterwards, but the glass won't break. I think this is because of the same thing that the kerosene does - fills in micro cracks as they are created so they are unlikely to propagate. I once used this method to solve a problem we had in the lab of making a round quartz glass window for a vacuum chamber.

JKJ

[Bruce Haugen]

I've also been using an entirely different type of hand scraper lately, those sold by Stewart MacDonald made from non-flexible 1/8" thick tool steel, used with a ground edge instead of a burnished burr. These are marketed to violin and guitar makers and in some situations are superior to the flexible scrapers. I bought some O1 tool steel strips and plan on making some like this in various shapes.

JKJ

Do you plan on hardening those StewMac O1 scrapers, or do you think that annealed O1 would be hard enough to maintain an edge? I saw them on the email I get from StewMac and thought I'd take a shot at making them, too.

[Tony Leonard]

They are wonderful little tools! However...I am in the middle of applying finish to a table that has three shelves made of mahogany with inlay. I decided I needed to scrape rather than sand to eliminate clouding up the lighter woods in the inlay. Well, now that there are a few coats of finish, I can see that I am no that skilled with a scraper! Oh my! The surfaces definitely have that "hand scraped" surface texture! Oh well. Live and learn. Honestly, most folks won't notice. There are a few tiny nicks that I didn't see, but after a few months of use, those will fit right in. This is a "user" table for sure. The good news is that the maple and satinwood in the inlay is nice and bright!

I have been using scrapers for years, but I have not settled on a 'good' sharpening method. I normally file and then hit them with diamond paddles before the "laying over of the burr." Works well, but I've seen some other methods that look like they produce a better shaving than what I get.

Tony

[Patrick Chase]

They are wonderful little tools! However...I am in the middle of applying finish to a table that has three shelves made of mahogany with inlay. I decided I needed to scrape rather than sand to eliminate clouding up the lighter woods in the inlay. Well, now that there are a few coats of finish, I can see that I am no that skilled with a scraper! Oh my! The surfaces definitely have that "hand scraped" surface texture! Oh well. Live and learn. Honestly, most folks won't notice. There are a few tiny nicks that I didn't see, but after a few months of use, those will fit right in. This is a "user" table for sure. The good news is that the maple and satinwood in the inlay is nice and bright!

I have been using scrapers for years, but I have not settled on a 'good' sharpening method. I normally file and then hit them with diamond paddles before the "laying over of the burr." Works well, but I've seen some other methods that look like they produce a better shaving than what I get.

If I'm worried about surface quality then I hone my scraper basically the same as I would a smoothing plane iron before turning the burr.

It's also important to have a smooth and sufficiently hard burnisher. My surface quality got noticeably better when I ditched my old, excessively soft Crown. I replaced it with a Pfeil, but a length of precision-ground and hardened drill rod would probably work every bit as well. A lot of people also have good luck with carbide rod.

[Phil Mueller]

“If I'm worried about surface quality then I hone my scraper basically the same as I would a smoothing plane iron before turning the burr.”

Patrick, does this mean you put a 25 or 30 degree bevel on the scraper first? Haven’t seen this done in any tutorials, but seems to make a lot of sense...

[Patrick Chase]

“If I'm worried about surface quality then I hone my scraper basically the same as I would a smoothing plane iron before turning the burr.”

Patrick, does this mean you put a 25 or 30 degree bevel on the scraper first? Haven’t seen this done in any tutorials, but seems to make a lot of sense...

Whoops, I should have been clearer. I meant the same in terms of refinement. I hone card scrapers at 90 deg, and plane scrapers at 45 deg (before turning the burr).

I've never gone as low as 25-30, though I suspect that the edge might be prone to "crumbling" during burnishing at such low angle.

[Phil Mueller]

No problem. I thought maybe you were doing a back bevel on your card scrapers before turning the burr. Makes me wonder why a 45 degree bevel on a card scraper wouldn’t work....

[Patrick Chase]

No problem. I thought maybe you were doing a back bevel on your card scrapers before turning the burr. Makes me wonder why a 45 degree bevel on a card scraper wouldn’t work....

It would obviously work. After all, the way you determine the ideal cutting angle for a scraping plane or cabinet scraper iron is by using it as a card scraper. With that said, the reason we use 45 degree bevels on cabinet scrapers and planes is to be able to turn a larger, lower-angle burr. IMO neither of those attributes is as desirable in a card scraper as in a plane or cabinet scraper.

[Phil Mueller]

Thanks Patrick. Being curious, if I was sitting in your living room with a nice scotch in my hand, and we were having this conversation, I’d say, well my good man, why wouldn’t it be as desirable?

[Patrick Chase]

Thanks Patrick. Being curious, if I was sitting in your living room with a nice scotch in my hand, and we were having this conversation, I’d say, well my good man, why wouldn’t it be as desirable?

The lower-angle burr requires a more upright scraper angle. That's good for a plane because it avoids interference with the knob, but it's contrary to how most folks hold card scrapers (with a fair bit of forward lean).

Large burrs are best suited to more aggressive cuts that require more force. The tote on a scraping plane or the handles on a cabinet scraper are well-suited to ergonomically generate that amount of force. A simple card scraper, not so much. If nothing else the resulting heating would make it somewhat uncomfortable.

[Phil Mueller]

Got it. Thank you.

[Rob Luter]

Another way: cut the glass with big scissors underwater. The edge needs to be ground afterwards, but the glass won't break. I think this is because of the same thing that the kerosene does - fills in micro cracks as they are created so they are unlikely to propagate. I once used this method to solve a problem we had in the lab of making a round quartz glass window for a vacuum chamber.

JKJ

Surely you jest?

[Chet R Parks]

Rob,
He's not jesting, it works! I've done it with thin glass, you can't cut inside corners/curves but outside is fine. The reason that I heard it works is because the water absorbs the vibrations???
Chet

[Matthew Springer]

I'm still working on my scraper sharpening technique (after a decade of using them). My results got a lot better when I went over to a 1/4" carbide rod from McMaster. I found I was using too much pressure on the initial edge which was leading to a brittle edge. Using a more solid feeling rod (a 1/4" carbide rod is heavy) made me not press quite as hard, which seems to have helped edge retention.