Posted by
Easy WoodCraft on
Jan 2, 2017
The first time I saw a scraper in action, I was sure some form of magic was involved. A cabinetmaker friend of mine was using one to smooth a panel made up of several pieces of tiger-stripe maple. Now this stuff has a deservedly nasty reputation for tearing out while planing. But my friend was pulling off delightfully thin shavings with a hand scraper. It just didn't seem possible to do this with a plain piece of metal about the size of a standard index card.
The scraper wasn't actually plain—its edges had been carefully sharpened and then burnished to form a tiny hook or burr on the end. This burr is what makes a scraper work. In effect, it serves as a tiny plane blade. One of the reasons it works so well on hard-to-plane woods is that the burr is so small. The tight radius of the curve acts as a chip breaker to almost instantly break a shaving so that the chance of tear-out is greatly reduced. The hand scraper is traditionally sharpened at 90 degrees, but some woodworkers prefer the more aggressive 45-degree angle that's common on cabinet scrapers and scraper planes.
Besides knowing how to sharpen a
scraper (
see Sharpening Scrapers), there are a couple of tricks to the "magic" of using a scraper: flexing, finding the angle, and skewing.
GOOSENECK SCRAPERS
Gooseneck or curved scrapers are a special type of hand scraper designed to let you smooth curved surfaces. The curves vary along the perimeter so that you can position the scraper to match the curve of your work-piece. These work reasonably well but can be difficult to both sharpen and burnish. As a general rule, I recommend that you find the curve you want, mark a couple of pencil lines on the scraper, and concentrate on sharpening and burnishing just this area. If you were to create a burr along the entire perimeter, it would dig into your fingers during use.
Flexing
Technically, you can use a scraper without flexing it at all. The problem is, you're asking the scraper to take off a shaving its full width. For a standard scraper, that's around 4½" to 6" wide! Even with a sharp scraper and a lot of elbow grease this would be difficult. Instead, you can reduce the cutting area by flexing the scraper slightly. Grip the ends of the scraper with both hands, and press lightly in the middle with both thumbs. Note that the greater the flex, the smaller the cutting area and the more of a scooping cut you'll make.
Finding the angle
Here's the tricky part that confuses a lot of woodworkers: finding the correct scraping angle. What makes this such a challenge is that it's different for every scraper, and will most likely change every time you burnish the edge. And that's normal. Burnishing isn't an exact science, and the angle will change. As long as you can feel a burr, all you have to do is tilt the scraper forward or backward until it "bites" into. When it does, just lock your wrists in this position and start scraping.
Skewing
Just as with a hand plane, skewing a scraper produces more of a shearing cut and will likely produce nicer shavings. Note that if you're producing dust, either your scraper is dull or you're at the wrong angle. It's also important to remember that when you skew something, you effectively reduce its ability to smooth out highs and lows—instead, the tool will follow surface undulations.
One of the great scraper debates is whether 'tis nobler to pull or push. I actually use both motions, and in my mind there is no right or wrong way—just go with what feels natural for you.
Pushing
When I've got a lot a scraping to do, I prefer to push the scraper. This method gets more of your body behind the stroke and tends to be less fatiguing overall. I've also found it's easier to maintain the desired flex while pushing, especially if it's flexed a lot and I'm making more of a scooping cut. The disadvantage to pushing is that it lacks the control that pulling a scraper offers.
Pulling
Those who pull a scraper feel it offers better control. I couldn't agree more. Whenever I'm making the finishing passes with a hand scraper, I often switch to the pull stroke. Among other things, this method lets you see what you're doing—unlike a scraper being pushed, which obscures the surface. The only problem is, I don't find the hand position very comfortable. Instead of my arms being tucked in, they extend away from my body. And flexing the blade soon becomes tiring. It's easy to see why I use this for finish passes and not for the bulk of the removal.
On edge
Occasionally, you may find it useful to use a scraper on edge, such as when you're cleaning out a rabbet. Holding it on end allows you to flex the scraper more easily than if it were on its side. However, you'll need to sharpen the end, which will make it uncomfortable to use on its side. I have an old scraper sharpened just for this use.
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