planning/scrapping

Re: planning/scrapping

Jack Guzman from Maine

>Chichi,

This is an opportunity for you to continue your learning.I think you should work on tuning your plane so it won't tear out or finding one that won't.Then use this top to practice on.Once you figure out how to smooth a flat surface,you'll be glad you took the time to learn this necessary skill.I remember the way I felt when I got a flat surface glass smooth using only a plane and scraper.

There is information on how to tune scrapers in the articles section of Woodcentral.

Jack

Re: planning/scrapping *LINK*

Ed Mulligan, Cape Cod

>There's a link below to a good scraper tutorial. Once you have the card scraper working well I'd suggest getting a Stanley #80 or better the Lee Valley/Veritas cabinet scraper and, once proficient in its use, use that to clean up your top.

Ultimately you will want to get your hand plane tuned up and working. For that, there's plenty of info in the articles section and archives, and a posted question will generate scads of helpful responses.

Good luck,

Ed


Scraper prep

Re: planning/scrapping

JimG

>Definitely check out articles on tuning your hand plane. Sounds like a #5, which will do a good job of smoothing if it is tuned properly. The other thing to check is how sharp you blade is. When I first started I tried several sharpening methods, but finally ended up using waterstones. A sharp blade has a distinct slicing sound to it. If your not sure how one sounds, you can get a video like Jim Kingshott's "Bench Planes."

For smoothing, you want to take a very fine cut. This means that your plane sole is flat and in the same plane in at least 3 places, the toe, the heel, and the plane mouth. And that the mouth is set for a fine shaving.

Keep it up, it takes a while to get the hang of it, but with practice, you can get it. I did! If you don't have anyone to watch, get the video. I think that was one of the best things I did.

HTH

Re: planning/scrapping

GolfSteve in Calgary

>The one thing I disagree with in that article is that "pressure (and lots of it)" should be used when burnishing the edge.

I didn't have too much success with scrapers until I started using quite light pressure when forming the hook. I think my hook was too large, too agressive, and would fail very early leaving track marks on the wood.

With a very small hook, I can scrape away for a long time, even removing dried glue lines, without an edge failure. When it gets a bit dull, I give it another light burnishing, and away I go again.

Re: Scraping with a card scraper

William Duffield, on the Cohansey

>Do I first sharpen the edge on one side and then draw file and then burnish to one side?

No, You file the edge first, to get a pair of roughly square edges. Then you hone the edge and both adjacent faces, to get two sharp edges each with a 90� bevel. Then you lay the scraper blade flat on the bench top and draw a burr with your burnisher. Then you put the blade in your vise and turn the burr you just drew back into a hook. Then you repeat the last two steps on the other edge. The sharper the edges you honed, the less pressure you need to draw the burr and turn the hook. Overworking the burr just work hardens the edge, making it too brittle to hold up to a lot of scraping. After you have worn off the first burr, you need not go all the way back to the file and stones. You can, with a bit more pressure and a bit steeper angle, draw and turn another, but then you need to adjust the angle at which you present the new burr to the surface of the wood.

How do you know you have the correct angle and the right amount of pressure for an effective burr? When drawing and turning, you can feel the drag on your burnisher. Start with the burnisher exactly horizontal, and pull the burnisher along the edge. You should feel no friction. Increase your angle by about 2�, and pull again. Repeat, until you feel the burnisher drag. If it drags all the way along the edge, or at least all the way along that part of the edge you are going to use, stop. If if drags and skips, repeat again at the same angle. If you keep burnishing after the burnisher starts dragging, you are just excessively work hardening the hook, and eventually will break it off. This technique works for both drawing the burr and turning the hook. Since you can't feel what is happening with a jig, I don't recommend using them. They are like training wheels on a bike, and just teach you bad habits, and delay you from reaching proficiency. Harder steel, up to a point, makes a better scraper, but with harder steel, you need a harder burnisher, to keep from scoring the burnisher. I would suggest looking for scrapers with a hardness of Rc 48 to 52 and a carbide burnisher.