New card scraper

[Sir Percy]

Do these come pre-sharpened, or do they need sharpening?
Cheers,
Percy

 

[Trafalgar]

Hello Percy, the edges will need to be squared, polished, and a burr turned before they will work well.

Chris Tribe, a forum participant, has a great presentation here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KqPFQHqWJg

 

[Sir Percy]

ta

 

[Sir Percy]

Out of the box, though, would I need to file and square - just go straight to burnishing?

 

[bridger]

I've never seen one that was ready to go out of the box. I have seen advertisements for scrapers that claimed to be fully prepped, just never bought one myself.

Most of my card scrapers are shop made from handsaw blade steel.

 

[Trafalgar]

Out of the box, though, would I need to file and square - just go straight to burnishing?

You'll get some performance with just a burnishing but the edge won't last long (they don't really anyway). When it goes off after the first burnishing then do the full treatment per the Chris Tribe video.

 

[custard]

Percy, if this is for your wayward Sapele, remember you have to scrape evenly over the entire surface. If you just scrape in the area where there's tear out then you'll get a depression that'll be horribly obvious once the finish is applied.

Scraping properly is a lot of work I'm afraid, it's not the quick and cheerful solution it sometimes get painted here, you'll need plasters for your thumbs because the scraper gets very hot!

Good luck.

 

[Mr T]

I think scrapers are usually pressed out of sheets leaving the sides rounded. If this is the case you will need to file back to get a good square edge before finishing on a stone then turning the burr.

Don't forget you don't have to go through this every time, it is possible to re-turn the burr a couple of times before having to re-file. If you have four good burrs you should be able to keep turning the scraper so that it doesn't get too hot. As Custard says don't just scrape in one place as this will leave a depression. I like to keep the backs of my knuckles rubbing the surface to stablise the blade and also act a bit like a plane bottom.

Chris

 

[Paddy Roxburgh]

As Chris says you will need to file the edges square. You can "ticket" the edges and turn the burr with the rod of a hardened screwdriver. This is how I was taught to do it. There are several you tube videos showing this. Recently however I bought a carbide burnisher from Workshop Heaven, I think it was about £20 and I really like it. Some may call it a gimmick but it is very quick and easy to use. Matthew does a video on using it.
If you are going to do the entire surface of your work I would recommend a no. 80 cabinet scraper rather than card scrappers. I have recently been using iroko and it is the only thing other than the belt sander that will deal with the reversing grain (I have had some success with a 15-20 degree back bevel on a no. 4, but the no. 80 scrapper is better). they can be had on ebay for £20 or less. Paul Sellers does some good videos on using and sharpening them. I use the carbide burnisher on the no 80 as well
Paddy

 

[sometimewoodworker]

Percy, if this is for your wayward Sapele, remember you have to scrape evenly over the entire surface. If you just scrape in the area where there's tear out then you'll get a depression that'll be horribly obvious once the finish is applied.

Scraping properly is a lot of work I'm afraid, it's not the quick and cheerful solution it sometimes get painted here, you'll need plasters for your thumbs because the scraper gets very hot!

Good luck.

You can go with the veritas card scraper holder, it's better than plasters

 

[Sir Percy]

Hmm. I think I need a separate thread for the full picture...

 

[Mr T]

I've tried the Veritas card scraper holder a couple of times and not got on with it. One of the nice things about using a card scraper is the intimate contact between you, the scraper and the wood. The holder breaks this contact, making it a more mechanical process. If the scraper get hot turn it round to use a different edge.

I also prefer to use the card scraper over the Record 08 scraper "plane". With practice and using the knuckles to control the level of cut I believe you can get as good a cut with the card scraper.

Chris