John Saxton
29th January 2002, 12:13 AM
As mentioned in Shane's article recently posted in the Finishing forum the question of using scrapers was one that I thought I'd pose to all you Knowledgeable gentlemen who might frequent this great BB.
There are varying views on the use of a scraper but that may be biased on the individuals application to sharpening the instrument and its subsequent employment.
The scraper blade comes in varying degrees of thickness and is used accordingly with reference to the hardness and grain direction so how do you sharpen your scraper?
Many folk have their own approach to how this is done some with the thought of basically with a flat file and a screwdriver as a burnisher.
There are tools out there not necessarily cheap to assist in achieving the edge(Burr)you want and the sharpness required for the timber you intend to address.
Wild grain on a flat surface may be best addressed with a scraper to a point where even a finely dressed bench plane may not accomplish which would be a rarity indeed in the hands of a skilled craftsman.
Once one has attempted the use of the scraper and the fine removal of product without the need of dust mask or dust-extractor it begs the question that with time permitting life still holds somne small pleasures when the shaving sometimes lighter than paper with the finish without the use of sanding papers a pleasing and cheaper factor to those who use the scraper.
I'm not one of those that use the scraper any more than any other but do have an array that occasionally I find helpful particularlly the curved ones that are good at getting into places that my orbital wont without chewing up paper.
There are times that with a Jarrah timber I'll use the Scraper even after using the orbital sander for the finish it can still produce.
At least once in a lifetime someone should enjoy something as simple to use as the scraper.
The thought process in the use of the same is in your approach (like any good woodworker to the sharpening) of the blade.
Given that todays thinking is for the use of sanding mediums in tis variant form ..give the scraper a go sometime if you haven't already it's relatively cheap in comparison!
Cheers http://ubb.ubeaut.com.au/ubb/smile.gif
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Johnno
There are varying views on the use of a scraper but that may be biased on the individuals application to sharpening the instrument and its subsequent employment.
The scraper blade comes in varying degrees of thickness and is used accordingly with reference to the hardness and grain direction so how do you sharpen your scraper?
Many folk have their own approach to how this is done some with the thought of basically with a flat file and a screwdriver as a burnisher.
There are tools out there not necessarily cheap to assist in achieving the edge(Burr)you want and the sharpness required for the timber you intend to address.
Wild grain on a flat surface may be best addressed with a scraper to a point where even a finely dressed bench plane may not accomplish which would be a rarity indeed in the hands of a skilled craftsman.
Once one has attempted the use of the scraper and the fine removal of product without the need of dust mask or dust-extractor it begs the question that with time permitting life still holds somne small pleasures when the shaving sometimes lighter than paper with the finish without the use of sanding papers a pleasing and cheaper factor to those who use the scraper.
I'm not one of those that use the scraper any more than any other but do have an array that occasionally I find helpful particularlly the curved ones that are good at getting into places that my orbital wont without chewing up paper.
There are times that with a Jarrah timber I'll use the Scraper even after using the orbital sander for the finish it can still produce.
At least once in a lifetime someone should enjoy something as simple to use as the scraper.
The thought process in the use of the same is in your approach (like any good woodworker to the sharpening) of the blade.
Given that todays thinking is for the use of sanding mediums in tis variant form ..give the scraper a go sometime if you haven't already it's relatively cheap in comparison!
Cheers http://ubb.ubeaut.com.au/ubb/smile.gif
------------------
Johnno