sharpening veritas cabinet scraper

[dcurrit]

I am having trouble getting my veritas cabinet scraper to work properly.  I got one after watching Paul Sellers use one (actually his was a stanley, I think) but I just can't get mine to work like his.  I just re-read the instructions that came with it and think I may have over burnished it.  Will try again tomorrow.  Does anyone have any suggestions?

[MichaelMouse]

Stone and start again.  I dropped the bucks on a Veritas dial-a-curl http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.as...41070&ap=1 and keep three different burrs from fine to glue-ripping available.  When you have the bucks, I recommend it.

[Herebrooks]

99% of your time should be spent getting the edge square, straight, and polished before you roll a burr with a burnisher. The hook doesn't need to be big, in fact the smaller the better(lasts longer). The burnisher just needs to be a harder steel than the scraper, the back of a chisel will work. You may know all the technicalities already but understanding what you are trying to do takes a while. Once you get it, you are away...

[Patsfan]

one tip I learned here that changed the whole cabinet scraper world for me:

when you turn the hook you only need about 3-4 lbs of pressure and probably only a stroke or two.

start with less pressure and see where it gets you

[Mr Eddie]

"one tip I learned here that changed the whole cabinet scraper world for me:

when you turn the hook you only need about 3-4 lbs of pressure and probably only a stroke or two.

start with less pressure and see where it gets you"

+1  Takes way less pressure than you think

[rwe2156]

1. Start by using a metal file to ensure a straight, flat and 90° edge.  This is critical.  I use a 2x2 block of wood with a bandsaw kerf partway as a holder and to keep it square during filing and honing. Like the one poster said, this part is 90% of the set up. The burnisher takes like 30 seconds.

2. Hone the edge all the way to a polish is also necessary.  I recommend diamond plates for this but water stones can be used just be careful to skew the blade so not to cut a groove.  I start with about 800 grit, then 1200 and go to 8000. Be sure to polish the sides near the edge as well as the edge.

3. Lay the scraper down flat and burnish a few times on each side - no angle or bevel to draw some metal to the edge.  3-5 strokes about has hard as you would squeeze a sandwich.  Some people skip this step but I think it helps me to do it.

4. Put the scraper in a vise (you can use the holder block) and starting at 90° with light strokes, gradually tilt the burnisher to about 5°.  If you make too steep an angle on the hook (the most common rookie mistake) then you have to tip the scraper too much plus the edge won't last as long. Again 3-5 strokes on each side don't push down hard.

5.  You can usually retouch the burr 2-3 times during use.

I tend to do one side only.  The scraper can get extremely hot, so it helps to wear gloves or use a holder such as Veritas carries.

The biggest mistakes I used to make were:

1. Too much force on burnisher
2. Too steep a hook angle.
3. Not honing to a high enough grit.
4. Too much hook.  You should barely be able to feel the burr.


Lots of YouTube videos but I think the two best are Mike Pekovitch, and Phil Lowe

Once you get your first shaving its a great satisfaction knowing you did something right!  Getting reproduceable results is the next challenge.

[dcurrit]

Thanks!  Haven't had time to get back in the shop.  Seems like I was over-burnishing.  Can't wait to try it.

[Derek Cohen]

3. Lay the scraper down flat and burnish a few times on each side - no angle or bevel to draw some metal to the edge.  3-5 strokes about has hard as you would squeeze a sandwich.  Some people skip this step but I think it helps me to do it.

This is a critical step. Do not omit it!

Further, always turn the hook in two steps: first at 5 degrees and then at 10 degrees. Don't try and do it in one step.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Baumholder]

http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.as...10&p=46266

Do you mean this cabinet scraper?

If so, the bevel is supposed to be honed at a 45 degree bevel.  LV has sharpening and use instructions on their website which are better than I can provide. 

The recommendations you've received are good advice for a card scraper, and most of the steps still apply.  However, I don't know if a 90 degree edge will work in the cabinet scraper I linked. 

Michael

[dcurrit]

Yes, that is the cabinet scraper and I sharpened it according to their directions.  However, I was putting too much of a burr on it, like several of the posters suggested.  I did  what they recommended and resharpened, this time putting on a much smaller burr.   Before I put the blade in the scraper, I tried using the blade as a scraper to verify that it worked at the angle it would present in the scraper and tried it again until I got it to scrape well at that angle.  Then I put it back in the scraper and it worked great!  Still not sure I prefer it to a card scraper, though.  I can sharpen those really quickly and they work great.