Replies

1. 
   TomS | Aug 14, 2002 09:02pm | #1

   http://www.brendlers.net/oldtools/scraping/scraper.htm

   Try this one.

   Tom

2. 
   dhpascoe | Aug 14, 2002 09:09pm | #2

   Very easy but not same as plane. You use a standard mill bastard file.

   Put scraper in vice. Use a couple pieces of wood each side of the blade to square the file with the blade at perpendicular angle. File in one direction only until edge clean and flat. Note direction of file teeth cut. You can feel it cutting well when it's the right direction, teeth toward direction of movement.

   To get the cutting edge, you're going to peen the edge over on each side. I use large dia. drill bit shank, holding at about 45 angle, pressing down hard and drawing it along the edge. Very quick and easy, takes about 10 minutes.

   DAve of Fla.

1. 
   Ed33 | Aug 15, 2002 05:32am | #5

   Thanks.

3. 
   HowardAcheson | Aug 14, 2002 09:58pm | #3

   Here is the way I was taught years ago to sharpen a hand scraper. After filing and being sure the edge is flat and 90 degrees to the sides, put the scraper flat down on, and slightly back from, the edge of your bench. Run your burnisher along the flat side of the scraper pressing at so the burnisher is tight at the edge. This starts causing the edge corner to extend. This is a step that burnisher jigs can not do.

   Now put the scraper in your vise extending up about an inch. With your burnisher, run it along the edge at 90 degrees from the sides. Take 2 or three not too heavy strokes. This causes the corner raised in the first step to be bent toward the sides of the scraper. Then tip your burnisher up slightly (10-15 degrees--really makes no difference) and take two continuous, firm strokes on each corner. That's it.

   You will have to try scraping at various angles to find the "sweet spot." As the scraper becomes dull, go through the same three burnishing steps as above. You can burnish 10-20 times before stoning or filing is again required. It takes less time than changing sandpaper in a sander.

   I greatly favor a real burnisher for two reasons. First, it is really hard metal. Second, it it highly polished. Both of these attributes mean that there is little chance of galling (or tearing metal from) the scraper edge. Galling makes for less than a smooth cut. The smoother the burnisher, the smoother the burr. Screwdriver shafts may or may not be hard enough and the chrome plating will eventually deteriorate. Using a valve stem from a car that has been highly polished is an alternative but why not just get a burnisher.

   Finally, you can control the aggressiveness of the scraper by the way you file/stone it and how you use the burnisher to make the burr. Stoning with a fine stone after filing and then using lighter pressure on your burnisher will give you a less aggressive but finer cutting burr and a smoother finish. I have a thicker scraper that I sharpen to an aggressive cutting burr that I use for initial work (ie: ripple removal after jointing/planing) and then a set of thinner scrapers that I put a finer edge on for finish smoothing and cutting down and smoothing varnish finishes.

   Finally, to prevent frustration, scrapers work best on hard woods. Using them on pine is generally unsuccessful.

   For an excellent description with pictures get Bob Flexner's "Understanding Wood Finishing."

1. 
   Ed33 | Aug 15, 2002 05:31am | #4

   Thanks for the help.

2. 
   DennisS | Aug 16, 2002 09:09am | #6

   > ...Using a valve stem from a car that has been highly polished is an alternative but why not just get a burnisher.

   Because the shop where I have my car tuned gave me some old valves for free! (grin)

   I told them what I wanted them for and the said Volvo were the best.

   Dennis

1. 
   bill_1010 | Aug 17, 2002 05:22am | #7

   your carbide router bits will work too, use the shank.  Put duct tape over the old carbide so you dont slice up your hand...

4. 
   RANGERP75R | Aug 18, 2002 07:50am | #8

   EDWARD2717:

      You probaly got it done by now, but I will say I learned same technique as Howie.  There is another excellent book by Clifton Lee ( Guide to Sharpening ) covering sharpening almost all tools.

      I took a week off years ago to watch Japanese carpenters that had been brought from Japan to build a top end Japanese Steak House here. These guys made simple some of the most intricate joints I have ever witnessed. Every 15 or 20 pulls of their saw they would stop and sharpen.

      Success starts with a first step on a long journey. In my theory that first step should be taken with a sharp tool in your reach!

   Happy Woodworking..

   Sarge.

1. 
   quatersawn | Aug 20, 2002 02:44am | #9

   Believe it or not, I've had good luck burnishing with a chefs rod, the device  that cooks use to throw an edge on their knives. Most of the Buthcher block knife sets has one. Works REAL well. And Quick.

1. 
   DonStephan | Aug 20, 2002 04:19am | #10

   One suggestion I would add is to "draw" file the edge of the scraper before honing. As I understand the term, draw filing is effected by holding the file horizontally and perpendicular to the scraper. When I tried this technique the scratches in the scraper edge were significantly less deep, so that much less honing was required. And I found that the burnisher has to be pushed against the scraper edge with quite a bit of pressure in order to turn a good edge (Sandvik scrapers). Keep at it until you get the hang of it - nothing better than an effective scraper. I keep three on hand so I can continue working if one needs to be re-burnished in the middle of a job.

2. 
   RANGERP75R | Aug 20, 2002 04:50am | #11

   Mark:

      Just made post to you elsewhere. I agree that any extremely hard metal will work from what I've read. I have Leonard Lee's book Guide to Sharpening. I learned most of what I know from it with exception of scraper sharpening. Picked that up from Tage Frid at a seminar at the old Highland Hardware location here Atlanta 70's. Lee is the president of Veritas and Lee Valley Tools I believe. It is an execellent investment as he seems to be a master of such.

      Back to point. Burnishers are great, but any extremely hard metal will work from what I've discovered in the shop. What I have learned (and this Forum is helpful to find out others theories) is there are sometimes several approaches to success. The best one is the one that works for you. It doesn't have the be the expensive choice or the most excepted choice. It needs to be the one that you feel comfortable with. Keep it simple. The bottom line should always be the same though...SUCCESS...Doesn't matter if you arrive in a beat-up old VW or a Luxury Limo, as long as you get there!!

   Drop in anytime and have a good evening,

   Sarge..