Lyn et al...Questions about scraper planes

Re: Lyn et al...Questions about scraper planes *LINK*

Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)

>Hi Tommy

It comes down to what you need the scraper to do.

I predominantly use card scrapers these days, either to clean up a bit of tearout, or to clean up glue lines. I find it possible to consistently produce shavings with a card scraper that rival those coming from a plane. There is a great article on the Fine Woodworking website (link below).

The downside of a card scraper is that it is easy to gouge into the timber with a curved scraper blade. This is more likely to occur if you push it away from you than if you pull it towards yourself. Scraper planes are better at keeping the surface flat, and the longer the bed of the plane, the better it is in this regard. Hence the #112 is better for smoothing large panels than a #80.

However, the downside is that you have one more variable to tune (in the case of the #112, which requires that you set the blade angle manually), and getting the blade angle sorted is an art in itself. After a while you appreciate the simplicity of a card scraper, where setting the blade angle is quite intuitive. The #80 is easier to set up than a #112 as it has a fixed angle and there are no decisions to make.

Using a scraper plane is not going to make scraping easier, and it is not your solution if your main difficulty is just creating the hook on the blade's edge. Learn to do this first before you consider a scraper plane.

Regards from Perth

Derek


Sharpening a card scraper (FWW)

Re: Lyn et al...Questions about scraper planes

Dave Thompson - Champaign IL

>Hey Tom,

As usual, I suppose it depends on what you want to do with it and what kind of wood you are working with. For small amounts of stock I like using a card scraper. That gets a bit tiring on the hands though for large areas.

I use scraper planes for wild grain woods that might easily chip out.

Regarding scraper planes, my go to scraper plane is a cheap old Record #080. This is my preferred out of an arsenal of LN#112, Stanley #12 and a Vertias scraper holder. Maybe others can comment on an LN#85.... One thing to keep in mind about the LN#112, it can be a little trickier to sharpen given the unusual bevel angle. A while back RJ sent around a sketch for a jig to sharpen these.

You're welcome to stop by sometime and try mine out....

Dave

Re: Lyn et al...Questions about scraper planes

William Duffield, on the Cohansey

>If you go to Lie-Nielsen's web site, you will find that they are now grinding the blades for both their #112 and #85 scraping planes at 45° instead of 60°. At 45°, or even at 54° degrees, both of these blades are now sharpenable in the new LV MKII honing guide. First time through, with the old blades will take you a while, but you should still be happy with the less aggressive bevel angle.

Re: LN 85 angle...

Glenn Madsen in the SF Bay area

>That's good info to have. My LN85 has been pretty much decorative with the standard grind. Too easy to use the card scrapers.

Thanks!

Re: Lyn et al...Questions about scraper planes

Todd Stock

>My eclipse jig has worked fine for 80, 112, and 85 - I go for the max I can get, which works out to be somewhere around 50 degrees or so. The 85 was a lifesaver on some blistered mahogany this past weekend, taking it right down to .080, despite some areas of nasty runout (abrasive thicknessing was the alternative)

Re: Lyn et al...Questions about scraper planes

Frank D. in Montreal

>I'll grab a hand scraper before a scraper plane, but I still find that I use a scraper plane for panels or big assemblies with narrow laminations that have grain running in opposite directions, or very tricky grain, when flatness is a concern. I don't bother with a hook on my scraper plane (112) blade. I just sharpen it like a plane at 45°. Then I set it in the plane at around 113° (drop it in, tighten, then tilt it forward a degree or two), start planing, and when it gets a little dull I can tilt it forward a few times to get the plane working again. I find it quite easy to use this way, and it has done a great job the times I have used it. It might not give as nice a surface as a blade with a hook (I don't know but have heard some people say this) but I don't really mind since I sand a little (or raise the grain and sand) afterwards anyways.

Re: LN 85 angle...

William Duffield, on the Cohansey

>Sharpening it at 45° instead of 60° will not necessarily make it easier to adjust, because the these scraper planes are set up bevel "down?" or more accurately with the bevel to the back. Also, with a smaller bevel angle, the blade edge is not supported as well, which can result in the need to sharpen more often. Of course, the number of times you have to sharpen is offset by the ease of an accurate setup of the new LV MKII guide.

Thanks William for the info on new 45 bevel

Dave Thompson - Champaign IL

>

Re: Lyn et al...Questions about scraper planes

Norman (Metcalfe, Ont.)

>Frank,

We were comparing hand planed surfaces, card scraper surfaces, and scraper plane surfaces this week at a class I was in.

I was almost sold on the scraper plane but noticed the surface of the wood is not nearly as polished as the card scraped surface. I began to inquire about putting a hook on the scraper plane iron, but was informed it wasn't necessary.

So the jury is still out for me regarding scraper planes. I'm not keen on needing to sand a already scraped surface and even then it isn't polished like the surface done with a card scraper with a hook.

The LN Cabinetmaker scraper plane was the very same on we tested.

Maybe yourself or others can explain how to properly prepare the iron on a scraper plane to get the polished texture of a crad scraper, if possible.

Thx,

Norman