Popular Woodworking 2004-06 № 141, страница 36

From the Bench

To drawfile a scraper edge, hold the file at an If you stone the edge freehand, bow the tool After the edges are polished, you can hone the

angle as shown and push it across the tool's slightly to keep it flat on the sharpening stone. faces of the scraper, as shown.

edge. Cut only on the push stroke.

The first step in burnishing is to consolidate the Next hold the burnisher square - perpendicular Finally, to turn the hook, tilt the burnisher 8° to edge by running the burnisher flat on the face. to the face - and rub the edge. 10° and rub the edge with light pressure.

One way to do this is to hang an edge of the scraper off the edge of the bench and burnish in two steps. The first stroke is kept perpendicular to the face to consolidate any small burr already in existence. Then, the burnisher is held at about 8° to 10° from vertical to form the burr - your cutting edge.

The amount of pressure you should use during burnishing is a matter of debate, and a real sense of this can be developed only through experience. I think the tendency of many beginners is to use too much pressure. After all, you are using a curved burnisher on a very narrow portion of the edge, so the pressure is very localized. I think it's better to start with a lighter touch and slowly increase pressure until you are satisfied with the results you're seeing. Too much pressure may prevent you from being able to renew your edge with just burnishing.

It would be logical to ask whether it is

absolutely necessary to file the edge of the scraper at the beginning of each resharpen-ing session. While theoretically it would be possible to remove burnished metal from the previous sharpening on a bench stone, it is simply easier and faster to do it with a file.

There are any number of methods to sharpen cabinet scrapers, including special devices for burnishing the edges. I suggest you explore the various options before settling on one because you should develop an approach you find comfortable and predictable. Otherwise, the tendency is to wait too long to resharpen, resulting in a loss of efficiency (producing "dust" rather than shavings) and a poor surface quality.

On the other hand, it is possible to renew the cutting edge of the tool a couple of times by going back through the burnishing process before you get ready to begin the entire re-sharpening regime. It's your call.

Using the Scraper

Using a cabinet scraper takes a little practice. Each species of wood can require a slightly different angle of attack. When you're just starting out, you will want to flex the scraper a bit with your thumbs and hold the tool at about 60° to your work. Make minor adjustments in the angle and curvature until you produce fine shavings. After some practice, your hands will fall naturally into the correct position quickly.

When dealing with some of the more difficult grains, particularly in hardwoods, the cabinet scraper can be invaluable to a woodworker who has taken the time to learn how to sharpen and to use it correctly. It even can be useful for removing powered-planer marks in these difficult woods, without risking tear-out from a hand plane or needing to resort to some of the more heavy-handed power sanding techniques. PW

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Popular Woodworking June 2004