Thread: My latest "plane" - a scraper-holder

Nice, simple, looks to have been effective.

Originally Posted by Bill Houghton

Nice, simple, looks to have been effective.

Simple, for sure, Bill, just how effective it will prove on a long-ish scraping session I don't yet know!

I meant to say that it's far from an original idea. I saw something vaguely similar in a magazine, way back (early FWW??), and some years later, Lee Valley came out with their more elaborate scraper holder.

One reason it took me so long to get around to making something was because not that long after I discovered card scrapers, I picked up a #80 for some ridiculously small amount, and found I could enjoy most of the benefits of a card scraper without the sore thumbs. But it let me down last weekend because it has enough sole to ride over the gullies & undulations on the table, & only wanted to remove the finish from the high spots. It would have been easier to get out a few planes & re-surface the darn thing, but that would've been far too drastic, and not at all what the owners were trying to achieve. So as my thumbs got more & more fed-up, I started thinking, "there's got to be a better way!"

Seeing the Veritas holder was also an impediment to action because I immediately saw the advantage of that thumb-screw to adjust the amount of bow in the blade, & I wasted much time in trying to figure out a way of incorporating that feature without it all getting too bulky. In the end, I decided the simpler the better, and a fixed bow would do the job. Initially, I was going to extend it either side & make handles,too, but decided they would just add weight & bulk, but would be useful if you wanted to use it as a scraper for round objects.

There is still a good deal of road-testing to go before I proclaim it a success or failure, but I thought I'd put it up in this 'prototype' stage. Others might like to take the idea a step further, like playing with the shape & size of the holder, to see what works best for them.

Cheers,

I have the Veritas scraper holder; I bought it about 15 years ago along with the variable angle burnisher and the 45/90 degree file holder. It saw a fair bit of work but since I picked up an 80 and a 112 it only comes out in demonstrations.

I have found the variable angle burnisher is a bit of a white elephant; it is sold as an item which a novice would find quicker and more accurate to use rather than try to learn the intricacies of using a traditional burnisher, but in hindsight learning how to use a normal burnisher takes about 2 minutes (including unwrapping the package it comes in). Providing specific and accurate burnishing angles would be of interest only to someone who has spent years studying and using scrapers and needs to have repeatable settings for specific applications... but has somehow never managed to master a normal burnisher

The file holder; now that IS an essential item for me. I have an old 1000 grit diamond stone from Timbercon that fits in the file slot so the blades from my 80 and 112 get a mirror polish on the edges before rolling the hook. It can also double up as a saw jointer.

Scrapers are great whatever method you use. I love that I can get a finish on hardwood with them without resorting to a noisy, dusty sander; if I do choose to use a ROS afterwards I can often start at 400 grit. And they are so cheap! Cut one out of a POS hardpoint saw, file the edge flat, rub it on a sharpening stone/smooth bit of concrete and roll a hook with a screwdriver.

Originally Posted by Chief Tiff

......Scrapers are great whatever method you use. I love that I can get a finish on hardwood with them without resorting to a noisy, dusty sander; if I do choose to use a ROS afterwards I can often start at 400 grit. And they are so cheap! Cut one out of a POS hardpoint saw, file the edge flat, rub it on a sharpening stone/smooth bit of concrete and roll a hook with a screwdriver.....

You're singin' my song, Chief!

Scrapers were never even mentioned during my school woodwork classes, which seems odd to me in retrospect, given they are cheap, effective, & intrinsically safe, even when (mis)handled by 12/13 year olds. So I didn't discover them until my mid-30s, but it was not love at first sight, I have to say, it took me some time to get the edge right consistently. I'd do it once & it would be perfect, then the next two times it didn't want to cut at all. One day I'd just prepared my scraper & tried a few passes - not even dust! Then by chance I happened to lay the blade over to a very low, finger-pinching angle and suddenly, I was getting bewdiful fluffy shavings! It finally dawned on me I was turning the burr over too far. THAT was when the love-affair started for me.

Over-rolling the burr is a mistake I've seen newbies make many times since. If you prepare a good edge, it only takes a few light passes with the burnisher to get it cutting very nicely.

Cheers,

Hi CT. I still use my variable angle burnisher but can never remember which side it makes the burr on . I sharpen my blade for my #112 very differently now, thanks to an article by Derek C.

given that you are one of the judges for the plane making "contest" I have to ask ...

does your highly modified #80 -- aka scraper holder -- count as a "plane" in the context of the challenge?

Originally Posted by ian

...does your highly modified #80 -- aka scraper holder -- count as a "plane" in the context of the challenge?....

Ian, the judges are yet to decide on the final criteria for judging, but speaking for myself, any blade held by a fixture so that it makes consistent shavings would have to fall under the generic classification "plane" in my book. However, I am barred from entering for starters, & going by the loose criteria that have been proposed by the authors of this project, I don't think it would rate too highly on the scale.
One proposed criterion is originality. (It's far from original).
Another is quality of build (It's a bit rough & ready by my standards - don't be fooled by the lick of polish & the knurled brass nuts!).


Cheers,

Originally Posted by IanW

Ian, the judges are yet to decide on the final criteria for judging, but speaking for myself, any blade held by a fixture so that it makes consistent shavings would have to fall under the generic classification "plane" in my book. However, I am barred from entering for starters, & going by the loose criteria that have been proposed by the authors of this project, I don't think it would rate too highly on the scale.
One proposed criterion is originality. (It's far from original).
Another is quality of build (It's a bit rough & ready by my standards - don't be fooled by the lick of polish & the knurled brass nuts!).


Cheers,

We have amble supplies of red wine tho [emoji6].

Cheers Matt.

Hi All , my scraper history fits the failed early user class.purchased a Stanley 80 20 plus years ago but couldn't get it to fly, probably couldn't restore the edge but its many failures ago.bought Lee Valley scrapers and a variable burnisher but they were mostly unused, due to not getting the basics right, scrapers rusted and i sold them on the forum , hope they have a better home.Then one day i fitted a spoke shave blade in the 80, it came with the used shave but was was shortened by years of use and didn't fit the shave , honed it to 30 degrees as that was my default angle , hey , shavings , joy ,so i honed the 80 scraper blade to 30 , well it worked but quickly didn't. Repurchased scrapers and a real burnisher , tungsten carbide, from Henry Elkhart, refined my technique, hey shavings but my angle is too low, What is wrong , Ian's post about his revaluation of a softer burnish thats my problem, thanks Ian.An old FWW article on the 80 caught my eye, honing angle must be 45 or higher , Eureka again honed at 45 , fantastic shavings think im on the path,thanks Ross

Originally Posted by IanW

Then by chance I happened to lay the blade over to a very low, finger-pinching angle and suddenly, I was getting bewdiful fluffy shavings! It finally dawned on me I was turning the burr over too far. THAT was when the love-affair started for me.

Over-rolling the burr is a mistake I've seen newbies make many times since. If you prepare a good edge, it only takes a few light passes with the burnisher to get it cutting very nicely.

Yep; that was me too. I thought I really had to reef down hard on the burnisher and ended up with hooks that were somewhat massive. By holding the scraper holder over at a very acute angle I was getting quite thick shavings, but the holder was frequently touching down in a couple of areas and has a few scars! I mean; the technique still worked and I still outdid sandpaper but I knew what I was doing didn't match the pictures. It was watching Richard Vaughn do a live demo at the 2016 TWWS that made me realise my error. Straight after that I bought a real burnisher and haven't looked back since!