Bruce Mack
06-28-2022, 10:43 AM
I have been futzing with a Stanley (England) #80 for years on and off. It chattered or did a constipated, "I can't move", routine. Refiling of both the original blade or the Hock replacement blade which was warped and resisted flattening got me nowhere. The hook with a polished carbide burnisher seemed satisfactory, but whether pronounced or subtle it never gave me the fine predictable shavings I could get with my card scrapers. I have obsessed over this because I have 8 sheets of ~1/16" thick, 4 3/4" wide curly oak veneer I cut on my bandsaw. I intend to apply it to both sides of a baltic birch 9mm panel which will be the base of a serving tray. One side of each veneer is smooth, as I jointed the face of the 22" long board after each resaw. The other side has striations that feel rough to touch but would be ok as the glue-side of the sandwich. I will use PVA glue pre-applied to the veneer and iron it to the substrate. A test shows good adhesion, so the veneer slices as cut are adequate. The aesthetics bother me and I want smooth on each side. I bought the Veritas cabinet scraper, knowing that it would be beefier but possibly no better. Wrong. Not since I replaced my Paragon plane with the LN low-angle jack plane have I had a like experience. The Veritas blade was well ground and flat out of the box so, in my impatience, I turned a hook without the usual further fettling of filing and polishing the bevel. The Veritas is a beast, heavy and inexorable as it skims and smooths the rough side of the veneer. I get wispy shavings and a surface that shines. Mind you, I have simply clamped one end of the veneer to melamine particle board as a support surface. Now I'll be able to use either side of the veneer as the show side. When I have done my glue-up on the baltic birch I expect the final scraping to level the surface to be a performance piece. Yes, I could use card scrapers to do the same or sandpaper to give the smoothness without the shine, but I will go first class with the Veritas.