31 Replies

I am on the same side as you Jeff.

You may be trying too hard. All I do is run the edge over a clamped file a couple of times freehand and then roll a little bur on the edges by clamping the scraper and running two or three times over each edge at a slight angle. I get lots of fine shavings. The more pressure you use with the burnisher, the more aggressive the burr.

This made the difference for me
http://www.finewoodworking.com/how-to/video/tune-up-a-card-scraper.aspx

That’s a great video.

Okay I watched the video and im going to try this. Thank you

Also try to bow the scraper slightly when you scrape the more you bow the deeper the shaving

Just a quick thought, preparation was the key for me. Also (like shipwright said) I was trying way too hard to turn the burr. Its small, just enough to catch a finger nail.

Let us know when you have success.

I will ill try this on Thursday for i needed to take a day off to get personal stuff done. And thank you all for your help. Ill try and take a picture of my success.

Just an update… i finally did get that burr. I was trying to hard. I finally figured out not to press so hard with the burnisher it needs to have just the right amount of pressure and the angle. One thing i figured out is don’t pull towards you after pushing away. That was the mistake i did. But thanks to you guys and the video Tim.

I want to get one of these. I saw a set of 6 on amazon for $12 (shop fox). I have a question about the burnisher. The ones I saw on amazon are fairly expensive. Is there any reason I could not just use a piece of steel rod from the hardware store? Or even a piece of brass rod I already have in my garage?

I bought a set of scrapers, and a burnisher after watching a demo video on YouTube about 3 months ago. After wasting considerable time and effort trying to perfect my methods, i set them aside, I don’t know where they are now and I don’t want to know. Haha. What’s your address Brian, I will mail you mine, seriously.

I will send you a pm. Thank you!

This is a wooden device I bought with mine that locks the blade into place at the right angle and it makes it a lot easier on your hands. Found it a Woodcraft.

Looks very comfy to use.

Brian, that burnisher in your wife’s knife set will work just fine.

I bought mine from woodcraft. I bought a Rockwell hardness of 65. That way it was harder than any card out there. I thought original I could use an end of a file but the card was harder than the file and actually cut the file when I first bought the card. Lol
Jack I really like that I think im going to try and actually make one first.

Woodpecker, the one in my wife’s knife set is actually a sharpener. It’s fluted slightly kind of like a file but the rows run down the length of the shaft. I’m really in the dark about this stuff. Would that make a difference? The ones I saw are all very smooth and polished.

Smooth and polished is what you want Brian

Some people mentioned drill bits and screw drivers for the burnisher.
I am about to try it the coming weekend.

I like that card holder jack. I think I am going to make myself one. For the only time I used the scraper, my hands were not happy at all.

I used to get by with drill shanks. They will do but a good burnisher makes a huge difference. I bought one from Hock Tools and made my own handle. Now the burrs just roll effortlessly and the shavings are completely controllable.

Here is a couple more pics. The card holder slot is straight across the top and there is a slight bow in the bottom of the slot to allow the card to bend when the screw is tightened. Also pictured is the burnisher and file holder. The angle for the burnisher is 15 degrees, and the angle for the file is 45 degrees. The wood attached to the file holder allows you to secure it in a vice. I was told the file must be a mill file.

My new dear friend, Jack, came through with his offer to send me his card scrapers, for which I am incredibly grateful. It’s a beautiful set that includes the sharpener shown above.

I couldn’t wait to try it out. I started by sharpening one of them. Then I grabbed a scrap with some burn marks from the saw blade. I figured that would make an excellent test, which it was.

The scraper makes nice fine shavings. It took about 3 minutes to scrape it clean of saw and burn marks.

Then I sharpened the scraper using the sharpener on it’s 45° side, putting an edge on the scraper before rolling the burr. They call this “aggressive”. Then I flipped the piece over and did the other side, which was less burned but had deeper saw marks.

This took about the same amount of time because I gouged it with the aggressive edge, requiring further scraping to fix my mistake. But it was faster, that’s for sure.

Overall, it worked out very well. I learned a few things. The sharpener seems to work well. I’m still having a little trouble with the burr on the non-aggressive sharpening, but I’m sure it will come together soon. And it will come in handy and get used often – especially when the baby is sleeping. :-)

Again, thank you, Jack, for this wonderful gift. I will definitely return the favor somehow after I figure out something that can match your standard. I saw those chairs you made. Incredible and a tough act to follow. Thanks again, buddy!

That looks like the same set I have (see above). It’s really good to see these things happening here. Who needs face to face to make good friends?
Scrapers will subtly change the way you do things … for the better.

I absolutely agree with everything you said.

By the way, one blade I definitely put a burr on yesterday was on the edge of my snow shovel.

Where did you get that red sharpening jig jack?

Jeff I got the entire set at Woodcraft about 3 months ago. My pleasure Brian and thank you for the kind words, means a lot.

It’s warming to read this.

The card scrapper are performing well. You did some good sharpening.

You know, Paul, this reminds me of Kiefer’s “friendship mallet”. Time to make another friendship mallet.

Is there any reason I could not just use a piece of steel rod from the hardware store? Or even a piece of brass rod I already have in my garage?

No that won’t work, it has to be harder than the scraper. In a pinch I’ve used the side of a Phillips screwdriver, which is tool steel. Scrapers are made from saw plate, which is fairly hard.

Kind of lost touch a bit lately on this but good to hear you got it Jeff!

That sharpening/burnishing jig could work well for my new scraper plane. I may steal the thought and design something like it.
Lots of good ideas here. I love it.