Sharp & to the Point The Hock Newsletter In-the-Spotlight: Scrapers You Want to Get to Know #5/2016

ver encounter a complicated surface — wood that’s beautifully figured but chal- lenging with all those knots or curls? E Whatever that surface is going to be — the top of a table or desk or jewelry box — it will also be a hallmark of the ultimate piece, and of your .

You probably chose this piece of wood because of its figure, and now it’s your job to flatten it, and to make it smooth and touch-worthy.

Sanding would be easy. But, if you sand that lovely, figured slice of tab- letop, either by hand or with a sand- er, you may create an unappealing muddiness. Sanding grinds wood in- to dust, and mashes that dust into, or between, any open fiber or fila- ment left standing upright. Yes, it is true that a heavy film finish hides all sorts of surface textures, and is a good glossy remedy to the effects of Above: a Stanley Cabinet Scraper #80. sanding. Even though sanding, and The #80 gives you more control than even then applying a glossy finish, may a card scraper. The screw is used to put a curve in the blade, thereby adjusting its be useful for moving things along, it depth. Card scrapers are excellent for is not optimum for creating the fin- short duration flattening, but will, given enough time, warm from the fiction, as est surface on your lovely, figured well as cause your thumbs to hurt. Pat- table or desktop. rick’s Blood & Gore at Supertool gives an excellent description of the Stanley #80.

A scraper , on the other hand, creates a much more enticing surface because instead of grinding them, it neatly shears the wood fibers. Furthermore, depending on how you sharpen your scraper plane blade, you can get either a matte surface or a surface similar to the satiny one left behind by hand planing. Regular hand planing produces the most sumptuous surface.

In general, highly figured woods tend toward the ever dreaded tear-out when being planed, making it even more difficult to obtain a flat and smooth surface. But, using a scraper plane mini- mizes tear out because these planes offer a radical geometrical attack to wood fibers. The plane holds the blade — that’s what the plane is all about, after all — but, unlike other planes, the scraper blade is secured almost Above: a Stanley #12. Note that the blade is perpendicular to the surface of the set at close to a 95° angle, typical of scraper plane blades. Patrick’s Blood & Gore at Su- wood. pertool gives an excellent description of the Stanley #12. Also, a tip: what’s important

about a scraper plane blade is how sharp it is. Unlike sharpening to ex- cess — sharpening with a bit of wood- working on the side — in the case of scrapers, sharp is as sharp does.

So, the question remains, do you real- ly want to take a belt-sander and grind that surface into dust?

Much of the beauty of this piece of woodwork with the beautifully figured wood has come from your relationship with it, your decisions, the wood’s ob- Above: a Stanley #112, which is basical- stinance, your coaxing, the wood’s ly the progeny of a Stanley #12 and #4. compliance, the dance you and that And what a perfect mating! Like every- thing on the Superior Works site — which is also a lot of fun — Patrick’s Blood & Gore gives an excellent descrip- tion of the Stanley #112. wood perform together. And, you know that no belt-sander in the world will keep this piece in your arms. The moment you put on those ear phones, you know the embrace is over.

Scraper planes and blades carry the feel of the wood to your hands, allow- ing you and your choice of wood to continue as partners. It’s a scraper, not a sander, that will keep you on the dance floor, where smooth is every- thing.

And, wouldn’t you know Hock Tools sells scraper plane blades! We also sell a high quality to form your burr, and otherwise keep your scraper blades in fine, sharp shape.

Left: Made for the Stanley #12, 12½ and 112 Scraper Planes, these blades are 3/32" thick (less flexible, most popular) or 1/16" thick (more flexible) by 2-7/8" wide and 5" long with a 45° on the cutting edge. Hardened for a balance of long edge life and burr "rollability" (you do have one of our burnishers, don't you?) you finally have a source of blades for these classic planes.

And for the #80 (1/16" X 2-3/4" X 3" long) and the #81 (1/16" X 2-1/2" x 3- 7/8" long) Scraper Planes, too! High Burnishers are essential to scraper carbon steel. blades. You prepare the blade by honing the 45° bevel just as you would a bench plane blade. Flatten and polish the back, hone the bevel sharp. Then, with the blade in a vise, burnish the edge at 15° to produce the necessary hook, or burr. While most others are not hard enough for this demanding application, Hock Tools burnishers are high carbon steel hardened (Rc64) and polished - steel rods that stand up well to constant use on scraper edges.

Burnisher—#BR375, 3/8" x 6" $16.00

The Stanley Scraper Plane suite fitted with Hock Tools Scraper Blades:

For the Stanley #12/112 -- 3/32" thick #SB112, $34.00.

For the Stanley #12/112 -- 1/16" thick #SB112X, $34.00. #112

For the Stanley #81 #SB081, #12 $28.00.

For the Stanley #80 #SB080, $28.00 #80

on discusses scrapers, scraper sharpening systems, and scraper planes in Chapter 8 of his book The Perfect Edge; the Ultimate Guide to Sharpening for Woowork- R ers – with lots of talk about surface, burnishers, hooks and burrs, shavings, why-this-and-why-that, as well as how-to sharpen scraper blades.

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