Cabinet Scrappers

[Delwin D Fandrich]

Lance Lafargue wrote:
> 
> Michael,
> This is one of those discussions that screams for a picture since it's hard
> to put into words.  Maybe we've lost the art of communication?
>    Put the scraper in a vise and file the top edge with a file until it is
> squared at all edges (90degrees).  Then take a hardened steel tool like a
> screwdriver blade or an end of a drill bit and (starting with one
> "edge/side") run the steel along the scraper at a slight angle with firm
> down pressure.  Continue running the steel along the edge at slightly
> increasing angles (up to approx. 25 degrees) until you feel a nice sharp
> edge.  NOTE:  only about 3-5 passes of the steel should be required and you
> MUST be consistent in down pressure and evenness as you go along the
> scraper with the steel.  I struggled with this and just as I was getting
> the hang of it I saw an article in FINE WOODWORKING on a guy in New Mexico
> who was marketing a jig (6 inches x 1"x1") that holds the hardened steel in
> a beautiful piece of rosewood at the exact angle with a slot to guide it so
> that you are consistent.  I you MUST have the guy's name/info I can dig
> further, but I couldn't find it this morning-it's so simple to use I don't
> refer back to the literature.
>    What happens when you form an edge(as I understand it ) is you take one
> side of the 90 degree edge of the scraper and actually curl it down,
> thinning it and curling it (like a slice of wood being planed from a board)
> forming a sharp scooped metal edge.
> You can overdo the curling and it is not easy to get a consistent curl.
> It's one of those beautiful things in woodworking when it happens
> consistently!
>   I also use a scraper holder by VERITAS (Canada) that makes it easier to
> hold the scraper and allows for varying degrees (and consistent) of bend as
> you use it. (easy to find) Hope this helps.
> 
> Lance Lafargue, RPT
> New Orleans Chapter
> Covington, LA.
> lafargue@iamerica.net
> 

So, write it up with some illustrations and send it to Steve Brady. You
might be surprised. Illustrate scraping the finish off of a soundboard,
or scraping a new soundboard finish flat. How about the inside curve of
a grand rim arm? Razor blades make good scrapers for that. etc.

Good luck

ddf