Scraper Planes

Posted by Easy WoodCraft on

Dec 26, 2016

Two of the most often-confused hand tools are the scraper plane and the cabinet scraper (see Cabinet Scraper). Part of this is because Stanley manufactured a No. 12 scraper plane for many years that somewhat resembles the typical cabinet scraper. There are a number of things, though, that set these two tools apart. A scraper plane (top photo) consists of a plane-like body that holds a scraper blade at a precise angle: typically 25 degrees from vertical (middle drawing). This makes it the tool of choice for dealing with squirrelly and other hard-to-plane grain.

The big advantage this setup has over the cabinet scraper is that the longer sole prevents it from dipping in and out of surface imperfections; instead, it quickly levels off the surface. And unlike a cabinet scraper, where the scraper blade is bowed (via a thumbscrew) to produce more of a scooping cut, the blade of a scraper plane is flat and cuts along its full width (bottom drawing). The blade, however, is sharpened much like that of a cabinet scraper: It's ground to around a 45-degree bevel and then a burr is burnished on the edge (see Sharpening Scrapers for more on this).

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