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Thread: Veritas cabinet scraper initial review

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Corcoran, MN
    Posts
    372

    Veritas cabinet scraper initial review

    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.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2021
    Location
    Spartanburg South Carolina
    Posts
    386
    Thank you for the review, well done.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2019
    Location
    Pittsburgh, PA
    Posts
    827
    Thank you for the review as well. Have you tried a smoother plane? It can leave a bright surface as well.

  4. #4
    I too have found the Veritas scraper to be superior to the original Stanley #80. Slightly larger and definitely more robust, the Veritas "80", properly honed and burnished, can deliver ready-to-finish surfaces. I would recommend having two cutters (4 edges) prepared if you are doing a larger slab, so that you don't have to stop work so often to sharpen. Turning a hook on your burnished, sharp edge expedites smoothing. Increasing the tension knob and thus curving the blade, can make it cut faster, but also can scallop the surface if you add too much tension.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Corcoran, MN
    Posts
    372
    Quote Originally Posted by Rafael Herrera View Post
    Thank you for the review as well. Have you tried a smoother plane? It can leave a bright surface as well.
    I have one, Rafael. I don't trust my skill on thin veneer yet for fear of tear-out but your suggestion prompts me to try it on the bottom surface of the tray once I have done my iron-up. Thank you.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Corcoran, MN
    Posts
    372
    The resawn surface is corrugated, not striated. It takes longer to scrape than I expected but four out of six slices are done. If I were doing more veneering I'd try a Wood Slicer blade but this will be my first and last. I can still laugh, though.
    Last edited by Bruce Mack; 07-02-2022 at 6:56 PM. Reason: photo

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