DIY Burnisher for sharpening a Card Scraper

[Dynamite]

I have just bought this card scraper set from amazon and suddenly realised that Im going to need to sharen them. I have never owned a card scraper and now realise I need a burnisher but dont want to pay for one of the ones out there as they are so expensive for what they are. Im wondering if theres anything anyone can advise on that I might have already.

I've heard that screwdrivers could be used but I've been told they need to be very hard (harder than the scraper) so might not work. I would really like to recycle/re-use something if possible or find an everyday item to be re-purposed. I dont mind making my own handle either as I have plenty of scrap wood.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07G46TWTB?ref=ppx_pt2_dt_b_prod_image
Much appreciated... Rob

 

[D_W]

Try a screwdriver that has a good polish on the shaft. If the card doesn't mark it or give you a feel that you're cutting into it, you have all you'll need.

hard HSS router bits, lathe bits, good quality butts of cobalt drills or other high hardness drills, all will do fine. Try to choose something with a good polish.

This test of not marking isn't even met by all of the commercial burnisher offerings - my first burnisher was a crown brand burnisher and parts of it can be dug into by a card. I use it as the pin for a leg vise now and just use a polished high hardness segment of drill rod that hock sells, but realistically would make my own going forward.

 

[niall Y]

To be honest I've always used a screw driver. Some modern screwdrivers have a soft shaft with a hardened tip, which are not Ideal. Failing that I use the back of a small gouge that has harder steel.
It's something that that from time to time, I think I should do something about, But, life's too short Perhaps a cheap solution is to get some silver steel rod and harden it and then fit it in a handle. The base of a drill bit might work, but given they can damage quite easily, they are probably not as hard as their cutting tips

 

[--Tom--]

You can get carbide rod cheaply and easy enough to set in a handle.
Otherwise a decent drill shank should work well enough

 

[Argus]

Any smooth piece of steel that's harder than the card steel will raise a burnished edge. I've seen people use large masonry nails......

I use a tool-steel rod, 3/8 " diameter, that was originally intended as a turning gouge blank. One end is hardened, the other still soft and I have fitted a handle at that end.

It's worked fine on all my card scrapers for the past 30 odd years.
I should stress that the burnishing process is the last part of re-drawing the edge on a scraper. It follows filing, cleaning up the edges, honing the sides etc.

I hate to mention it on this forum, but it is, after all, a form of sharpening......everyone does it a little differently!

Sorry about that!

 

[Tony Zaffuto]

Well over a dozen or more years ago, when I was active on the "Old Tools List" (email), I sent out polished carbide pins from my manufacturing plant, across the globe by request of the recipients. I did this at no cost, for the carbide or postage, as this is what we did on the "old tools list"! Most were members of the list and many sent my nice gifts in return (about a half dozen pieces were sent to David Charlesworth, for his school)

The carbide I sent, had a mirror polish and the grade was so fine, that your description would be that it felt "oily" (it was not). Many are now offering carbide burnishers and I'm writing this to say, save your money! Unless highly polished, carbide is not worth the cost! You can do as well as a piece of drill rod, or a polished screwdriver shank. I have looked over virtually all carbide offerings, and there is no advantage to spending money on it as it does not have high enough polish to make any difference. I will say, some offerings have curves, etc., formed into them, but I never had an issue turning a burr with a straight shank.

 

[thetyreman]

if you don't use one often just use a screwdriver, I bought a proper burnisher, think it's a clifton one, can't remember the make but it's good, I use a scraper a lot though so it was worth it for me.

 

[D_W]

Well over a dozen or more years ago, when I was active on the "Old Tools List" (email), I sent out polished carbide pins from my manufacturing plant, across the globe by request of the recipients. I did this at no cost, for the carbide or postage, as this is what we did on the "old tools list"! Most were members of the list and many sent my nice gifts in return (about a half dozen pieces were sent to David Charlesworth, for his school)

The carbide I sent, had a mirror polish and the grade was so fine, that your description would be that it felt "oily" (it was not). Many are now offering carbide burnishers and I'm writing this to say, save your money! Unless highly polished, carbide is not worth the cost! You can do as well as a piece of drill rod, or a polished screwdriver shank. I have looked over virtually all carbide offerings, and there is no advantage to spending money on it as it does not have high enough polish to make any difference. I will say, some offerings have curves, etc., formed into them, but I never had an issue turning a burr with a straight shank.

I think someone gave me an unpolished carbide pin, but I'd have to look at again to make sure they didn't send one of yours that was polished. The one that I have has a little notch in the bottom, i guess to be held in a tool, that may solve that mystery.

At some point, I'll buff it with diamond bar. the rod that hock makes works so well that I've not encountered a scraper hard enough to ruin its polish, so it's clear which wins the war when rolling the burr (just as the crown burnisher loses it).

if the scraping is finish scraping, the rod has to be able to both squash small imperfections and not create any others. A carbide burr or cobalt tool bit with a grainy finish will actually hone or tear an edge, which is where you're leaning with comments.

For some reason, a lot of really hard cheap screwdrivers have a plating on them that's ultra hard, but I haven't had to try them. They're probably OK on edges.

(realistically, I'd just make it now, anyway - I can harden and temper steel that's both harder and tougher than hocks, and then just buff it - but again, it doesn't gain much - especially after cleaning up the face of a card and leaving oil on it).

 

[G S Haydon]

I found this one to be expensive and reasonably priced

Kirschen 3915000 Round Scraper Burnisher with Wooden Handle, Brown/Grey Kirschen 3915000 Round Scraper Burnisher with Wooden Handle, Brown/Grey : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

 

[Inspector]

Many moons ago (more than I would like to admit to) I made a burnisher from a worn out chainsaw file. I drilled a hole in a piece of plywood on the drill press the same diameter as the file. Then lowered the table, put the end of the file in the chuck. The tang and smooth bit of file into the hole in the plywood and clamped the plywood to the table. Then I used all maner of worn sanding belts pieces from 60 grit on up to 180 and then on with emery papers, oil with the finer grits, until the file was polished. Finished off with crocus paper and oil. The plywood steadied the bottom end and the drill press did all the work. The mirror polish was perfect and I still use it. It is long enough to grip without the tang poking me so that's how I use it. I could cut it into 2 or 3 pieces and handle them if I wanted to and might someday. Polish up whatever hard steel you have. Throw away long screw gun bit, a worn router bit shank, a punch from the tool box you never use. It doesn't have to be a file.

Pete

 

[Marcusthehat]

I use a No. 3 Posidrive, one of a set of oval blue handled screwdrivers I bought about 40 year ago, the shafts visually look the same as, and appear to be as hard as the screwdriver tips, and are wonderfully smooth and polished.

 

[IWW]

Hard is good, but it doesn't have to be super-hard to work. I learned about scrapers from Tage Frid, the old doyen of woodworking back in the last century & he used a screwdriver for the job so I followed suit. Scraper material is not very hard, one of the reasons for forming the 'hook' is to work-harden it & make it more durable, so softish steel such as your average screwdriver shank will work, just not as well as something that is harder & polished. "Polished" is the key, as others have already mentioned.

There are lots of inexpensive ways to make your own burnisher. About 20 years ago I picked up a 100 x 6mm rod of polished HSS for a few dollars at a wood show, & stuck in a handle.

This works really well for me, the small contact area applies plenty of pressure so it only needs a few light strokes to form a useful hook, whether the edge is curved or straight. I use card scrapers a lot so it's seen a LOT of use & so far remains nicely polished & unmarked.

Lubricating the burnisher is a good move and a tip I got way back (was it Frid again?) is to rub your index finger on the side of your nose & wipe it along the burnisher. There are large sebaceous glands on your snoz and the oily secretion makes a dandy lubricant. Its also handy 'cos I don't need to go searching for it when I need to lubricate the burnisher - so far, I can rember where my nose is (but the day may soon come.....)

Cheers,.

 

[Ttrees]

Lubricating the burnisher is a good move and a tip I got way back (was it Frid again?) is to rub your index finger on the side of your nose & wipe it along the burnisher. There are large sebaceous glands on your snoz and the oily secretion makes a dandy lubricant.

Is it better than ear wax?

 

[sometimewoodworker]

I have just bought this card scraper set from amazon and suddenly realised that Im going to need to sharen them. I have never owned a card scraper and now realise I need a burnisher but dont want to pay for one of the ones out there as they are so expensive for what they are. Im wondering if theres anything anyone can advise on that I might have already.

solid carbide drill bits are not expensive the one under at retail is $4.50, they will do an excellent job all you need is a handle

Solid carbide, dia:6mm, 2FL, cutting length:25mm, overall length:50mm,

 

[Limey Lurker]

A chrome plated screwdriver will work as well as anything: that's all I have used for the past 64 years.

 

[Tony Zaffuto]

With burnishing, polished and “the right touch” are the key. Years ago, I heard/read it described as the same pressure as buttering bread.

Dear old departed Dad could take a file, grind it square and pull up curlies. I’ve taken a sharp chisel, and pulled it (standing straight up) as a scraper. In any case, one needs to play around with a scraper more than reading about it (and experiment on hard wood!).

 

[D_W]

With burnishing, polished and “the right touch” are the key. Years ago, I heard/read it described as the same pressure as buttering bread.

Dear old departed Dad could take a file, grind it square and pull up curlies. I’ve taken a sharp chisel, and pulled it (standing straight up) as a scraper. In any case, one needs to play around with a scraper more than reading about it (and experiment on hard wood!).

Same - with carbide, you can roll a burr on things that really shouldn't have a burr rolled on them. it's just sort of the same hardness spread between carbide and really hard steel as high hardness O1 is to saw temper steel. While redoing my floor a month or so ago, I rolled a burr with a carbide on a 65 hardness "almost M2" chinese iron. It worked fine. there's a little something here for folks who want a scraper that's harder or finer than the typical card edge, but that may also be of limited use.

Question - are the carbides you're talking about oil filled like some bronze? I can't do anything with carbide other than buff it with diamonds, so I know almost nothing about it.

 

[Ttrees]

With burnishing, polished and “the right touch” are the key. Years ago, I heard/read it described as the same pressure as buttering bread.

Dear old departed Dad could take a file, grind it square and pull up curlies. I’ve taken a sharp chisel, and pulled it (standing straight up) as a scraper. In any case, one needs to play around with a scraper more than reading about it (and experiment on hard wood!).

That's the way I'm doing it straight off the file,
after using that lovely massive edge up from grinding the saw plate to the right shape.
Straight off the single cut file doesn't have the same edge life though,
or should I say, you'll get more done with the larger burr from the bench grinder,
and trying to get such a burr with the file will result in an edge which will fail the first stroke it seems.
Best solution I've found is more curvature is added if not there already, so one can make use of the whole tool, which is coincidentally what one will do after an hour,
as it's hard work on the hands, especially so if having to scrape a door.

Was getting about one door panel done before filing again, just knocking off loose stuff before that though.

Would this ragged edge have ruined carbide or other hard tools like cobalt
compared to honing the saw plate beforehand?

Tom

 

[Tony Zaffuto]

Same - with carbide, you can roll a burr on things that really shouldn't have a burr rolled on them. it's just sort of the same hardness spread between carbide and really hard steel as high hardness O1 is to saw temper steel. While redoing my floor a month or so ago, I rolled a burr with a carbide on a 65 hardness "almost M2" chinese iron. It worked fine. there's a little something here for folks who want a scraper that's harder or finer than the typical card edge, but that may also be of limited use.

Question - are the carbides you're talking about oil filled like some bronze? I can't do anything with carbide other than buff it with diamonds, so I know almost nothing about it.

Not oil filled, and we no longer use these style of mold pins. If I find a piece laying around, I'll ping you.

T

 

[Tony Zaffuto]

That's the way I'm doing it straight off the file,
after using that lovely massive edge up from grinding the saw plate to the right shape.
Straight off the single cut file doesn't have the same edge life though,
or should I say, you'll get more done with the larger burr from the bench grinder,
and trying to get such a burr with the file will result in an edge which will fail the first stroke it seems.
Best solution I've found is more curvature is added if not there already, so one can make use of the whole tool, which is coincidentally what one will do after an hour,
as it's hard work on the hands, especially so if having to scrape a door.View attachment 143193

Was getting about one door panel done before filing again, just knocking off loose stuff before that though.

Would this ragged edge have ruined carbide or other hard tools like cobalt
compared to honing the saw plate beforehand?

Tom

Would not have harmed the grade of carbide I used. Some of the lesser materials, it might. For fun, if you have a plane blade sharpened straight, try using that as a scraper, as an experiment.

Using scrapers is a prime example of overthinking a simple process: you find what works and you stick to it! A scraper edge can be refined by filing and honing, but unless you have the touch with a burnisher, you can ruin all that effort.