woodbutcher Posted October 23, 2017 Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 ...with anything other than an actual burnishing tool? I have tried screwdriver handles, prybar shafts, anything that seems like it would be harder than the scraper, but nothing I have tried gives me anything i can snag my fingernail on, much less take shavings with. I am fully prepared and intend to buy a dedicated burnishing tool, I was just wondering if anybody has had success sharpening their card scrapers with anything less. I have heard and read that you can. Not working for me though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted October 23, 2017 Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 in for info ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted October 23, 2017 Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 A lot of this is technique based, but let’s start with more detail. Are you oiling as you go? Whose scrapers are you using? Do you know the metallurgy or any other specifics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodbutcher Posted October 23, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 Havent used oil. its a Bahco scraper from Rockler. Ive tried light and firm pressure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted October 23, 2017 Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 The tech document on those recommends oil. Just something to try. Are you drawing as you sweep ie moving diagonally across two axis? Are you at 10° or something close? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immortan D Posted October 23, 2017 Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 Mark has a video on sharpening card srapers. I pretty much followed his instructions to the letter and it worked out fine every single time. I use a Crown burnisher, I guess a carbide burnisher would achieve faster results. Here's the video: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted October 23, 2017 Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 I used the shaft off an old HSS drill mounted in a dowel handle and a Crown round rod for awhile with equally decent results. I use goose-neck and other scraper shapes and found the Veritas Tri-Burnisher to be a good fit for this tighter curves. If you have an old valve out of a car motor around I have heard of folks using those. Any material used should be harder than the material you are using it against. William Ng drowns his scrapers in oil but, I find a tiny bit to be adequate. I do not know that your failure to achieve a burr is the burnisher's fault yet. As mentioned, even a screwdriver should give you a good burr. It just won't do it very well very long and can gall. The fact that you are not getting one at all makes me focus on the prep prior to trying to lay one on. the video above has got it well covered. Here's another. And another. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immortan D Posted October 23, 2017 Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 On a side note, I have a two cherries scraper set which consists of thin scrapers and are very easy to burnish. In the other hand, I have a Robert Larsson which is way thicker and seems to be made of a much harder metal, takes twice the time and effort to get it ready for use. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodbutcher Posted October 23, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 Thanks for the responses guys. Ive watched Matt Cremonas video on the subject, Ill have to check out the other ones too, especially Marcs. Ill try it again, but may just break down and buy a burnisher, so I can eliminate that as a possibility of my failure to get a burr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted October 23, 2017 Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 The hardest thing about sharpening a card scraper is overcoming reluctance. You have to press down hard, while drawing it across as fast as possible, but still under control enough to not hurt yourself. I think the "fast" part generates some heat, and also helps to even out the human error part that comes into play when trying to go too slow. I was at a Bob Ballard talk where he told a story about Prince Charles going diving with him somewhere in the North Sea. Prince Charles was sitting on the edge, while the crew was piling his equipment on. They were strapping on something like 80 pounds of weight. Prince Charles said that he had calculated that he would only need about 40 pounds. Bob Ballard said that he told him, "Yeah, that first 40 pounds is to overcome bouyancy. That other 40 pounds is to overcome reluctance". 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barron Posted October 23, 2017 Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 Glen-Drake used to sell a combo file/burnisher that works great. You can use the file part to prepare the scraper, the use the burnisher edge to finish up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisc Posted October 23, 2017 Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 The Veritas burnisher instructions recommend rubbing your finger behind your ear and rubbing that on the edge of the scraper. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheeset202 Posted October 23, 2017 Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 There are a ton of videos on this subject and they all have little twists to them. I found Marc's to be very good. Keep it simple. Square the edges with a mill file, there are various aids out there to help you achieve a square edge. Once this is done I never go back to the file. From here hone the edge and face of the scraper with a 1000 grit to 3000 grit stone, use the edge of the stone to hone the edge of the scraper to avoid putting ridges in the surface of the stone. Again there are various aids you can use to keep the edge of the scraper square to the stone. I use a Veritas tri-burnishing rod, recommend you purchase a proper burnisher. Lay the scraper down flat on the edge of your bench and draw the metal out with a few quick swipes across the face side. The drawn edge will be Shiney! Hold the burnisher perpendicular to the edge, then tilt around 5* and draw across the edge about one or 2 times at the most. Done! When you stop making shavings burnish the face and the edge again. The angle that you burnish determines the angle you have to tilt the scraper to cut. I have found I can re-burnish the scraper many times before needing to re-hone on the face and edge. I use oil when I remember but that is usually not the case when I re-burnish the edge. You should be able to re-burnish all 4 edges of a card scraper in under a minute! Curved scrapers use the same procedure, just a little trickier to handle. The first time you hone the scraper after filing it will take awhile due to the scratches from the file. Afterwards, it's a minute or two on the stone and back to burnishing. The finer the stone you use the finer the shaving and smoother the finish on the wood, just like a plane iron. I find a 3000 grit stone gets me to light sanding with 180-220 grit paper. Some people scrape and the wood is finish ready. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 Screwdriver is no good. You really do need a burnisher. If you wanna take all the guesswork out of it, get the Veritas burnisher...the one that's egg shaped. Can't remember exactly what they call it but it is absolutely auto-pilot. If you can't turn a hook with that thing then you can't butter a piece of toast. LOL I have a standard burnisher and the Veritas...and unless I'm sharpening a curved scraper I grab the egg nine times out of ten. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post derekcohen Posted October 24, 2017 Popular Post Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 All you want to know about scraping but were too afraid to ask Prepare the blade with a magic marker ... Flatten the edges on a worn 600 grit or 1200 grit diamond stone ... Joint the edges .. Draw out the steel at edge .... 5 light strokes, moving the burnisher inside to out .. Burnisher? Carbide rod (shop made) .. Turn the edge ... 3-4 light strokes, first at about 5 degrees, then another 3-4 at about 8 degrees .. Now use ... One of the best scrapers I have it the rear end of a 3/16" thick O1 plane blade ... Grind a fine hollow to create a burr. I am using a 80 grit CBN wheel ... Now use ... Fantastic! Regards from Perth Derek 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 5 minutes ago, derekcohen said: Regards from Perth Derek Derek, how many times would you say you can turn a new hook before you have to go back to the stone and establish a new square edge and start over? My initial hook on a fresh edge will last a fairly long time, but even just the second one seems to dull (break?) almost instantly. I realize it's a much weaker hook but having to square my edges for every sharpening is annoying. Any tips? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post derekcohen Posted October 24, 2017 Popular Post Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 Hi Eric I usually turn about 4-5 hooks before returning to the stone. The secret is to keep the hook small and not let the angle get beyond 8-10 degrees. The larger the hook, the weaker it is. Large hooks are created by too much down force. Keep the stroke light - like buttering bread. Also, I turn the hook in two movements, as mentioned above. This will prevent the steel from fracturing as easily. Regards from Perth Derek 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodbutcher Posted October 24, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 11 hours ago, Eric. said: Screwdriver is no good. You really do need a burnisher. If you wanna take all the guesswork out of it, get the Veritas burnisher...the one that's egg shaped. Can't remember exactly what they call it but it is absolutely auto-pilot. If you can't turn a hook with that thing then you can't butter a piece of toast. LOL I have a standard burnisher and the Veritas...and unless I'm sharpening a curved scraper I grab the egg nine times out of ten. Eric.- this burnisher here the one youre referring too? http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=32633&cat=1,310,41070 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 2 minutes ago, woodbutcher said: Eric.- this burnisher here the one youre referring too? http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=32633&cat=1,310,41070 Yep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Randy Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 Don't know why the OP is having some difficulty, but some other sources are Christopher Schwarz and Mike Peckovich from Fine Woodworking. Christopher has a great article on sharpening scrapers and there is a video online at finewoodworking.com by Mike (but it might just be available to FWW online members). Either of these provide step by step guidance on scraper sharpening and even I was able to understand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjongsma Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 I'd second @derekcohen's suggestion about using a light touch. When I first started, I thought I really needed to bear down with the burnisher to turn the edge, and I was never able to achieve a good edge on my scrapers. It was only after I watched a video recommending a very light touch on the burnisher that I was finally able to get acceptable results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeventyFix Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 I really got into the card scraper during the sculpted rocker build. What an incredible time-saving tool. To take a surface that's rough from a rasp to something quite smooth and ready for sanding with so little effort. A must have in my woodworking toolkit. Admittedly, I use a burnisher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodbutcher Posted November 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2017 Quick update: so I found something that is working pretty good for turning a burr. Its an Irwin screwdriver from Lowes. Im getting pretty decent results, I use this scraper all the time now! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted November 27, 2017 Report Share Posted November 27, 2017 Great. Thanks for following up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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