Card scraper


trialbyfire

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OK so this thing is whooping my butt... I cannot for the life of me get this thing to make shavings. I got dust down no problem. I am attempting to follow Marc's method as I've had better luck making dust with his ass compared to others (Ng's, Matt's and a few other you tubers). Below are some pictures of my scrapper.d87ffd3d5fc2131626411de49fcc5f7f.jpgdf10da524d19bc11de542919a2958acc.jpgdc381bade3fb3ee7e1df5d49905a99b6.jpg

Am I not getting the sides and edge flat enough? I'm using these, it's all I got and they work pretty well for my chisels 2a2181268954125ad84d1552fcecf82b.jpg

Do I just need to keep trying? I have a feeling that the amount of pressure that is used on the burnisher is key. Should I do multiple "soft" strokes or a few "hard" strokes out a combo? I don't know and this is getting REALLY annoying.

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Scrapper...

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Scraper...

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They are finicky to get right...it takes practice.  One common error is turning too heavy of a burr at too aggressive an angle.  Try turning a light burr and test your progress before you make it heavier.  Also be sure you're starting with a perfectly square, polished edge.  And using a carbide burnisher, NOT a screwdriver.

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58 minutes ago, Tom Cancelleri said:

Get a Veritas Adjustable Burnisher. Made this for some WTO people in chat months ago when they didn't understand how easy it was to get a perfect and consistent hook.

 

 

 

I'm sold,  that looks like a good investment for bums like me. 

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Just to throw another one into the mix. William Ng's video is great and that technique has always worked for me.

This video is Matthew from Workshop Heaven showing how to use the French made ARNO Carbur2 Carbide Burnisher. Matthew sells them on his website but I believe you can also get them in the USA and Canada. Also Chris Schwarz has done a review of the burnisher here and rates it very highly. That link also contains Chris's method of turning a burr.

 

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Veritas burnisher/ jig worked great until a departing employee got sticky fingers. Never got around to replacing it. I have quite a few scrapers and when I sharpen I do them all. Keep having to look up the instructions every time I sharpen them too.  File marks have to be completely gone, edge smooth and very square. Pulling the hook takes practice.

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9 hours ago, Tom Cancelleri said:

Get a Veritas Adjustable Burnisher. Made this for some WTO people in chat months ago when they didn't understand how easy it was to get a perfect and consistent hook.

 

 

 

And.. ordered. Nice video man.

1 hour ago, trialbyfire said:

The Veritas variable burnisher is on sale at woodcraft.com of any one else is interested

Thanks for that btw. With shipping it's $10 cheaper than ordering at LV.

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I don't even bother turning the burr, I only sharpen with a file because I still follow up on all surfaces with 180. Turning the burr does refine the edge, but it is not necessary if you are going to follow up with sandpaper anyway.

I think turning the burr ends up being a poor return on time invested since the majority of woodworkers follow scraped surfaces with sandpaper, especially considering you can get amazing results straight from the file. 

I leave a file in the vice, I don't use a 90° guide, I just do it freehand, draw the card across the file 3 -4 times rotate it the other direction to draw the same edge over the file 3-4 times again. This helps create even wear. 

Leaving the file in the vice instead of clamping up the scraper saves a lot of time. 

I use the card in 3 zones: middle of card, right, and left. So each cutting edge has 3 zones of wear x 4 cutting edges, that is a lot of scraping you can do before resharpening. 

 

 

 

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I have the same Bahco card scraper, it is my favorite. 

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I use the approach Mike Pekovich describes in this video (I don't believe this is under the Members) :

http://www.finewoodworking.com/tool-guide/video/how-to-sharpen-a-card-scraper.aspx

I struggled for a while with getting a card scraper tuned up and working, but the investment is well worth the time and patience. 

 

One other thing to consider: what wood are you testing with? I don't believe all wood is "scrapable" or at least some wood seems better than others. I was never able to get a scraper to work well with african mahogany, regardless of the angle, etc. But it worked great with woods like maple for me.  

 

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1 minute ago, Marcus Hand said:

I use the approach Mike Pekovich describes in this video (I don't believe this is under the Members) :

http://www.finewoodworking.com/tool-guide/video/how-to-sharpen-a-card-scraper.aspx

I struggled for a while with getting a card scraper tuned up and working, but the investment is well worth the time and patience. 

 

One other thing to consider: what wood are you testing with? I don't believe all wood is "scrapable" or at least some wood seems better than others. I was never able to get a scraper to work well with african mahogany, regardless of the angle, etc. But it worked great with woods like maple for me.  

 

I have used African Mahogany a number of times on client projects over the years and have had good luck using the scraper on it. 

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6 minutes ago, toddclippinger said:

I have used African Mahogany a number of times on client projects over the years and have had good luck using the scraper on it. 

I'm definitely still developing card scraper skills, so I'm probably doing something wrong. I had two projects that I used African Mahogany and I would have different results, board to board. It was strange. I eventually gave up and grabbed the sander. 

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Yeah I've had no problems with African mahogany.  I just finished a project with it and it scraped fine.  The only issue I can imagine is trying to scrape something like pine...would be like scraping dog poo off your shoe with a butter knife.  It almost seems that the harder the wood, the cleaner the shavings peel off.

Keep in mind that African mahogany has reversing, interlocked grain...so if you have a piece that's quartersawn it could want to tear out on you, even with a well sharpened scraper.  There are some species of wood - mostly dense exotics - that just aren't compatible with hand tools.  Even Krenov admitted as much, which means it must be true.

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1 hour ago, Marcus Hand said:

I'm definitely still developing card scraper skills, so I'm probably doing something wrong. I had two projects that I used African Mahogany and I would have different results, board to board. It was strange. I eventually gave up and grabbed the sander. 

I agree the clean, dense woods such as maple or oak are easier to get shavings from. Without seeing your action in using a card scraper, it is difficult to know what exactly is going wrong. If you are not hitting the right operating angle, which may change depending on how you sharpen it, or if it is just not quite sharp. 

It is perplexing because you have had some success, just not getting consistent results. So the up side is this: you are getting it right some of the time:)

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All I use is a 600 grit diamond stone and shopmade carbide burnisher. The rest is technique. 

There is an article on a foolproof sharpening method on my website:  http://www.inthewoodshop.com/WoodworkTechniques/FoolproofSharpeningOfCard%28Cabinet%29Scraper.html

Plus there is a little scraper I made from a thick plane blade that is absolute magic. And it just sharpens on a grinder. No extra work.

Regards from Perth

Derek

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If you finish like Todd does on edge with a single cut file you do end up with a tiny tiny burr (Don't go back to the faces).  It won't be as robust as one that is turned, and can sometimes leave tiny tracks due to the cut of the file, but the tradeoff is in time spent sharpening.  

I've done it both ways, and I prefer turning a burr, but if I'm in a rush, or working something gnarly that quickly dulls the scraper I'll just use the file.

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