cabinet scraper sharpening wisdom sought

[Rob Luter]

Scott, if you wish to create a uniform burr, it is important to have enough steel to do so. This translates to first "drawing out" the steel ...



You want to pull the steel outwards with the burnisher. You will not create a proper hook without doing so. About 5 strokes from the left and 5 from the right.


The burr/hook should be done in two parts to avoid fracturing the steel ...

Turn the hook at about 5 degrees. Do the 5 and 5 again ...



Then do it again but at closer to 10 degrees.

The burnisher here is a thin length of polished carbide rod given to me about 15 years ago. It is fantastic - polished carbide does not need any lubrication. Others steels will gall the steel plate.

The one-size-does-it-all burnisher ... that is turns a hook at the perfect angle, and on both sides of the steel ... is the Accu-Burr, which I referred to in my earlier post.

Regards from Perth

Derek

This is exactly the process I use/ It works great every time.

[steven c newman]

Somedays..a scraper holder just seems to work..
Panel Making, scraped flat #1 Panel.JPG
Flattening glue joints...
Panel Making, Scraper Shavings.JPG
Stanley also called this a Cabinet Scraper.....and it is a LOT easier to sharpen, BTW....and..my fingers don't get burnt in use..

[Scott Winners]

Yup, yup. I have been trying to not post walls and walls of text.

For the drawing out step/ strokes I have now an ink line on a maple block - so my carbide is guided to a uniform angle end to end and time after time- so my draws should be uniform corner to corner and day after day.

Then a different guide for turning the drawn 'cat's ears' into a burr.

[Jimmy Harris]

Another thing I've come to realize is, don't worry about shavings vs. dust with a card scraper, cabinet scraper, or scraper plane. Sometimes it's a useful metric, like if you're comparing two scrapers on the same board, but some boards just want to dust. Instead, focus on the quality of the surface. That's what really matters. You're not using a cabinet scraper to make shavings. You're using one to make a smooth surface.

Also, as noted, consolidating the metal before you turn the hook is important. Something I haven't seen, but might have been mentioned but I just missed it, is sometimes the scraper gets work hardened and won't turn a good hook. But it'll just work harden on the bottom edge, so if you file a bit more off, you can usually get a working edge again. I haven't had this issue with any of the scrapers that I've bought new or during use, but I've had to deal with that on most of the old scrapers I've bought. And that's one reason I flatten my edges with a file instead of a grinder. Unlike a plane blade, we're working with soft steel here, not hardened, tempered steel.

[Richard Coers]

This is one of the most common discussions in woodworking, only surpassed by hand cutting dovetails. Always been endlessly discussed like it's new technology and no one really knows how to do it. Scraping wood started even before steel was invented. It's not magic despite what people imply. You know it's a common discussion since there are endless inventions and ideas marketed as the perfect way to make a burr on the edge of a simple piece of steel.

[Charles Edward]

Inveterate tool tuners and fettlers should love scrapers -- there are an infinite number of hooks that can be turned that produce heavy stock removal to practically no hook at all for de-whiskering a surface and every setting in-between.

[Warren Mickley]

Unlike a plane blade, we're working with soft steel here, not hardened, tempered steel.

Scrapers, like saw plates are hardened and tempered; they are tempered more than plane irons to render them somewhat softer.

[Tony Shea]

I used to flatten and hone a card scraper up to the same grit I used on chisels and plane irons. I now typically stop at the 5000 grit stone and really don't spend too much time on that. The key is spending enough time getting rid of your used up burr and getting the edge straight. After that I honestly think drawing out the edge per Derek's recommendation is a critical step that so many people skip. Drawing the edge was a game changer for me. I also used Derek's recommendation of burnishing at multiple different angles, which is something I learned by accident as I had not seen his scraper edge tutorial yet. The most recent game changer for my scraper edge is no doubt the Accu-Burr Burnishing Rod. Of all the changes I've made to my scraper burr preparation, the Accu-Burr Burnishing Rod is the biggest game changer for me. I can't recommend this tool enough to people.

[Jimmy Harris]

Scrapers, like saw plates are hardened and tempered; they are tempered more than plane irons to render them somewhat softer.

You're right. I was getting my terminology mixed up, thinking tempering and quenching are the same thing. I'm not a blacksmith.