FrikkinDust":1vu6munh said:
I have a question regarding my scraper. I'm attempting to scrape off the varnish finish from an old table as it's scratched (I will later re finish it) but my scraper stays sharp for about 3-4 strokes then it's useless.
Like Jacob said, you'll be better of using a paint stripper to remove old varnish. Nitromors is a well known brand, and although the formula was changed a couple of years ago to comply with a European Union directive on health issues, it will do a better job than a scraper in about 95%+ of cases. If done correctly with a paint stripper all you'll need to do afterwards is apply a new finish, almost certainly with no additional planing, scraping or sanding. This way at least you retain the original patina and colour of the underlying wood, whether it was varnished natural or if it was varnished after some other process such as dying, and/or staining, and/or grain filling.
On the other hand if your intention is to get down beyond the original finish to bare wood and then refinish, then I'd still use a Nitromors type stripper to get the old varnish off, then plane and/or scrape and resand to prep the wood prior to applying your new finish.
If you've already scraped to the point that you've revealed bare wood in at least some places then you have no choice but to get the whole thing to the same state, and all of the above suggestions are moot.
You may not be sharpening your scraper either incorrectly or correctly: I can't tell that from your initial question, and using even a well prepared scraper on varnish is generally a frustrating task as you've found because of the tendency to clog up. You've received plenty of suggestions for scraper sharpening, some helpful and some less so, so I'll leave that topic for others. Slainte.
