Mike G
Petrified Pine
I have a Stanley 80 cabinet scraper with a thin, original plate. Does anyone else use these type of tools? I think they are utterly wonderful, and that they have a role for the machine & power-tool -orientated woodworker as well as the hand-tool guys. Let me explain.
If you are the sort of woodworker who will put a board through a planer thicknesser, then sand it with a belt sander and/or a ROS, then you will spend quite a lot of time sanding before you can get to your final finish. At that point, it is my view that the surface of the wood is sort-of hazy with minute scratches and dust compressed hard into the pores. It'll finish OK, and it's the way I guess most modern woodworkers work. But for me, the finish from a blade is subtly cleaner, crisper, and shinier......and.....here's my claim.......it's easier (and possibly quicker) to achieve than a sanded finish. I suggest that after you've done your first sanding, which on oak might be with 60 grit, for instance, grab a cabinet scraper and get to work. It will take you directly from a scratched coarse sanded finish to your final finish in just a couple of minutes.
The beauty of the number 80 -type cabinet scrapers is that they are incredibly easy to sharpen and to set up. Far easier than any plane. Sharpen the blade to any angle you like, drop it into the tool which is sitting flat on your bench, do the retaining screws up, and give a turn or two to the thumbscrew. That's it (there are some who will tell you that you need to roll a burr. You don't). You'll soon be taking off gossamer thin shavings, no matter the grain direction. On wood with which even a close set cap iron struggles, your cabinet scraper will work beautifully. The only skill you need to learn is starting and stopping without leaving a mark.....gentle on, gentle off, and if you go over the edge of a board just angle the tool a little so the blade leaves the board on the skew. It's that simple.
For hand tool woodworkers, your board preparation can go: scrub plane, fore plane, cabinet scraper. Personally, I use my number 6 as both a scrub plane and a fore plane, so board preparation by hand involves one plane and a cabinet scraper. So long as they are sharp you'll be fine. I've just at the weekend dealt with an absolute pig of a piece of oak, reversing grain everywhere, and far too wide for my planer thicknesser. Scrub planing tore out quite a lot, so I followed it with a quick cross grain sand with a coarse belt in the belt sander, then sharpened the number 6 and set the cap iron tight to the edge. No tear out, but the horrible noise of the edge whacking into hard grain in the wrong direction did nothing for my mood. No tear out, but the finish in those areas isn't perfect. Pick up the Stanley 80, and the heart gladdens as beautiful piles of whispy shaving accumulate at the end of the board. Two or three minutes a side for a board 350 wide by 1500 long.
They're £20 to £30 on Ebay, or often seen much cheaper in job lots. Do yourself a favour and invest.
If you are the sort of woodworker who will put a board through a planer thicknesser, then sand it with a belt sander and/or a ROS, then you will spend quite a lot of time sanding before you can get to your final finish. At that point, it is my view that the surface of the wood is sort-of hazy with minute scratches and dust compressed hard into the pores. It'll finish OK, and it's the way I guess most modern woodworkers work. But for me, the finish from a blade is subtly cleaner, crisper, and shinier......and.....here's my claim.......it's easier (and possibly quicker) to achieve than a sanded finish. I suggest that after you've done your first sanding, which on oak might be with 60 grit, for instance, grab a cabinet scraper and get to work. It will take you directly from a scratched coarse sanded finish to your final finish in just a couple of minutes.
The beauty of the number 80 -type cabinet scrapers is that they are incredibly easy to sharpen and to set up. Far easier than any plane. Sharpen the blade to any angle you like, drop it into the tool which is sitting flat on your bench, do the retaining screws up, and give a turn or two to the thumbscrew. That's it (there are some who will tell you that you need to roll a burr. You don't). You'll soon be taking off gossamer thin shavings, no matter the grain direction. On wood with which even a close set cap iron struggles, your cabinet scraper will work beautifully. The only skill you need to learn is starting and stopping without leaving a mark.....gentle on, gentle off, and if you go over the edge of a board just angle the tool a little so the blade leaves the board on the skew. It's that simple.
For hand tool woodworkers, your board preparation can go: scrub plane, fore plane, cabinet scraper. Personally, I use my number 6 as both a scrub plane and a fore plane, so board preparation by hand involves one plane and a cabinet scraper. So long as they are sharp you'll be fine. I've just at the weekend dealt with an absolute pig of a piece of oak, reversing grain everywhere, and far too wide for my planer thicknesser. Scrub planing tore out quite a lot, so I followed it with a quick cross grain sand with a coarse belt in the belt sander, then sharpened the number 6 and set the cap iron tight to the edge. No tear out, but the horrible noise of the edge whacking into hard grain in the wrong direction did nothing for my mood. No tear out, but the finish in those areas isn't perfect. Pick up the Stanley 80, and the heart gladdens as beautiful piles of whispy shaving accumulate at the end of the board. Two or three minutes a side for a board 350 wide by 1500 long.
They're £20 to £30 on Ebay, or often seen much cheaper in job lots. Do yourself a favour and invest.
.
principally because the blade's about 5mm thick and there's no way that it can be bowed, whereas with the Veritas, you can. A whole different kettle of worms. The scraper plane that's really invaluable is the little LN 212 which has got me out of all sorts of scrapes (where did I put my coat? :lol: ) - Rob
