Official Luthiers Forum!

You quoted me and said it was ridiculous.
Don't make insulting posts and you won't get sucked in. All the posts were constructive up to that point.
Afterwards, not so, I agree.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

With a name like Comfyfoot, I am always a bit ridiculous. I have wrestled with scrapers like many, hard to get them as sharp as we want. I do get along well with the french curve one though, I think it is because I can rock it a bit and get a sheer cut, like the fancy helical planer blades. One can sheer with the flat scraper, but not to the degree that the curved ones can. One of those odd techniques that make up for a different technique that needs developing.
Rob

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http://shastaguitar.com/
http://www.kalimbakit.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/comfyfootgr ... ature=mhee
http://www.facebook.com/robert.renick.7

I have a set of different shaped scrapers, only have used the rectangular one up to this point, had no problems getting it to scrape whatever geometry I wanted it too.
Before someone told me I cpouldn't use a rounded spindle sander to smoothly sand the outside radius of a solidbody electric, I figured out how to do it.
I'm going to grab the curved scraper and see what I can get it to do.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

On an aside, broken glass can make a very effective scraper. Its sharp and ready to go to work as soon as you pick up the right shaped bit.....can get a bit expensive having to replace ur shop windows all the time though..

Jokes aside a bit of cloth and tape to protect your hands and glass really is a useful tool. Just be safe and avoid tall pieces as they are prone to snapping off as you work.

Cheers

Kim

I said I was done but I fudged. Anyway my apologies to the "guitar whisperer " and to everyone else who had to read through this or should I say my drivel. It is a waste of everybody's time. Hopefully there was some worthwhile stuff in there.
I hate to get involved in this type of thing and it was my fault for perpetuating it or more accurately being in the center of it.
So, again apologies to all and "guitar whisperer".

Link

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Cut to size.....Beat to fit.....Paint to match.

Once you turn the hook properly, they work really well and make a shaving like a plane does only thinner usually. Tell us how you prepare your scrapers and maybe we can help diagnose what the problem is.

My method is very similar or the same as what's been written so far:

File the old burr off with a mill file.

Flatten the sides and edge if necessary (I do this maybe 1 out of 10 sharpenings)

Lay the scraper flat on the bench and draw out a burr using a burnishing tool - to do this I hold the tool about 15 degrees from parallel to the scraper facing "down" and pull while burninshing.

Turn the hook by holding the burnisher about 75 degrees from vertical and "push" the hook up.

The key for me was adding oil to the mix when drawing and turning the hook. Before I started using oil, I never got a good hook. Once I started oiling the edge, everything fell into place.

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http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

Hey guys, I'm sorry I was such a butt.
Link didn't even say anything offensive, I was just having a bad day.
My apologies for putting you in that position, Link.
Your contributions are very valuable, and I would hate to see the forum lose them because of me.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

Yeah, always use oil. It makes a much cleaner edge. You might have better results too, if you hone your edge. You can use a block to keep things at 90*. I have had better luck with a much steeper angle. More like 5 - 10* off vertical when turning the burr. I work the blade flat too, but I do not use an angle when doing the first strokes, keeping the burnishing tool parallel to the surface of the blade. I just use back and forth motions with a lot of pressure, usually about 5 or 6 strokes, the put the edge off the bench and turn the burr. It works really well for me.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Link, please don't post less because of this.

I've picked up some tips from this thread. What kind of oil do you use?

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

+ 1 on the glass, as a glazier turned woodworker, I always had a garbage can of glass, when you snap the glass all 8 edges are sharp, you only get a few strokes per side, but with 8 sides that was ok, then it would go back into the trash where it came from. Glass is very fast to cut, so I would just make a pile of the size I needed.

Interesting note on glass, during the process of manufacture, thinner glass cools faster, therefore has a harder surface then thicker glass. The glass scraper trick works best with the thin glass.

Andy, thank you, I think the oil may help, I have done ok with getting the rectangles sharp, but that curve scraper is more difficult. Hard to keep the angle of the burnisher consistent around the curve.

Link and Guitar whisperer, thanks to both of you for many informative posts, both of you clearly have lots to share about guitars and I appreciate when you do. Sometimes I think I substitute reading this forum for time playing guitar, when comments on the forum get me hot, I have been taking that as an indication that I need to shut up and play guitar.
Rob

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http://shastaguitar.com/
http://www.kalimbakit.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/comfyfootgr ... ature=mhee
http://www.facebook.com/robert.renick.7

Good call.



I use camellia oil. I have one of those handy dispensers that has a felt wick. I think Japan Woodworker has them. They are really handy to just make a quick swipe on the scraper edge and the burnisher as well. They have a screw cap that keeps things neat and clean.
L.

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Cut to size.....Beat to fit.....Paint to match.

Like this. http://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/Camel ... 08C59.aspx
I have had one for years and find it to be a very handy way to apply oil for a little rust protection or for the scraper burnishing. Oil doesn't dry out and keeps things from being messy.
L.

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Cut to size.....Beat to fit.....Paint to match.

I am probably doing something unethical and un-kosher, which gives me a terrible feeling in the stomach, but I use a file to sharpen my scrapers!
A mill or diamond file, clamped on the bench, I run both faces, then the edge. Works great for straight or curved scrapers and gives a relatively light cut with the thinnest shavings you'll see in your life. When dust packs in the burrs, a few passes on each face and on the edge is all that's needed. I use scrapers all the time, afterward a light pass with 220 is all that's needed to prepare the surface for finish.
Am I doing anything wrong?

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Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

That's similar to the way I do it except I clamp the scraper in a vise. I flatten the sides with a file, draw file the edge, square the corners and finally burnish with an old square-shaft screwdriver (I have a store-bought burnisher but I like the old screwdriver better). The scrapers work very well and I don't have to spend much time fooling with them. I won't argue that tweaking them the extra bit with stones and guides might not result in a even better scraper. I might leave an old stone out on the bench to clean the sides up using a bit of oil after reading this thread to see how it works.

After witnessing some of the misunderstandings here it's a real pleasure to see the participants sort it out relatively quickly and put it behind them. These threads are valuable; I've been using scrapers for longer than some of you have lived and I've picked up what could be some good info here. Like somebody said: the simpler the tool the more you have to pay attention to the details to get it to work well.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I've got to chime in with a quick and dirty (don't jump on me, Link ) trick that a guy in our Colorado Luthiers group showed me way back when. He takes his "roughing scraper", actually a pretty nice Sandvick flat sheet, and hits it on his sanding disk part of his stationary belt sander. He uses the 90 degree table and just pushes the edge of the scraper into the disk a few times. When you look with a magnifying glass you can see that while sanding off the edge it has also pulled a hook, albeit a rough one, on the down side of the scraper. You can rough off and level things with this in a hurry. I guess it could be considered the equivalent in scrapers to the toothed plane. And it held the edge for a long time, I was surprised it worked. Just another tool to add to the trick bag.

Alan D.

That's a neat trick. The abrasive also heats up the metal, and the pressure forces the soft metal into a hook. I imagine with a bit more work you could roll that thing into a nice nice hook.

Right Ian, I have done that. After hitting it on my belt sander just clamp it in the wood jaw vise and give it a few strokes with a screwdriver shaft, my preferred burnisher. But if you look close it is still sort of rough/ragged looking, so not what I'd use for my final fine scraping. Good for leveling and shaping though.

Alan D.

Can we get back to where Link is sending out 2x6 scrapers already tuned? So I can tell what a well tuned scraper feels like. My fingers are hot and black too. Seriously, I learn and enjoy reading these posts, not so much the bickering, but the rest of it.

Todd, Where is this video Brian Boggs ? And what is a FWW site?

Clinton

This is also nice to have. http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?cat=1,310&p=32669 Making the work somewhat less stressful on the hands.

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Michael Lloyd

“I was born to ignorance, yes, and lesser poverties ...
I was born to privilege that I did not see ... I didn’t know it, but my way was paved” – John Gorka