"Pops" wrote...
> I was all ready to buy a set of steel scrapers from L.V. and went on line
> only to find that they come in different sizes (.4mm and .6mm). Which set
do
> I get and why the different sizes?
Don't they still have the set with mixed sizes? Anyway, a thinner scraper
takes a lighter cut. The thick ones are great for removing planer marks and
generally I find they will do the job by themselves but a thinner scraper
will take a really feathery thin shaving that won't remove much wood (no
scraper removes very much). I haven't found they put too different a finish
on but that is my finding. Others may have different feelings on that.
--
Cheers,
Howard
----------------------------------------------------------
Working wood in New Jersey - [email protected]
Visit me in the woodshop - www.inthewoodshop.org
Hi, Pops.
When you're using a tradional cabinet scraper, you hold it in both hands,
with your thumbs to the middle and usually your middle or ring fingers on
the outside edge. Your apply a bit of pressure so that the scraper takes on
a slight curve. You angle the whole lot forward vertically, present it at a
slight skew to the grain horizontally and go for it.
If you've correctly sharpened your scraper ( a whole other ballgame - DAGS)
then your scraper will take very fine shavings.
Correctly sharpened, the difference in thickness will give no real
difference in performance, except:
1. Scrapers get 'kin hot, particularly towards the middle, where they
contact the work. You will develop heat calluses on the tips of your
thumbs, which are right above the action. Thin scrapers have less volume in
which to dissipate the heat, so they get hotter.
2. Thick scrapers run cooler, because they have the volume to get rid of
the heat better. However, because they're thicker, they take much more
effort to bend, so you end up with thumbs like mine, which bend backwards at
nearly 90 degrees to the normal line of the fingers.
If you can tolerate the discomfort, both systems will give good results.
YPYMAYTYC.
Cheers,
Frank
"Pops" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I was all ready to buy a set of steel scrapers from L.V. and went on line
> only to find that they come in different sizes (.4mm and .6mm). Which set
do
> I get and why the different sizes?
>
> thanks
> Pops
>
>
>