Sunday, September 4, 2011

When All Else Fails

Reach for a cabinet scraper.

Because I rarely work with ornery wood, this tool does not see much action in my shop. But when you're working with a species that won't play nice, the cabinet scraper is your best friend.

A neighbor asked if I would make some striped discs of wood for a jewelry project she's working on. So I glued up a bunch of exotic wood strips and planned to plane the laminated board to thickness once the glue dried.

Sometimes even a well-tuned and sharp handplane can't handle the likes of Chakte Viga.

You can use a card scraper for small projects like this, but a cabinet scraper keeps your work flat and prevents your thumbs from being set ablaze.

And it can save you from some frustrating scrapes.
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9 comments:

  1. Mark HuntSeptember 4, 2011 at 1:12 PM

    I like the contrasting stripes, what are the other woods used?

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  2. Kari HultmanSeptember 4, 2011 at 2:25 PM

    Mark, the woods are from top to bottom: chakte viga (difficult to work with, but an absolute stunner), ziricote, yellowheart, bloodwood, holly, and cocobolo.

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  3. Mark HuntSeptember 4, 2011 at 5:03 PM

    Thanks.

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  4. AnonymousSeptember 4, 2011 at 5:38 PM

    That first photo has to be one of the best adverts for using a scraper I've seen!! And, the shavings are so colourful they're almost as beautiful as the finished disc!

    Come here Stanley #80, you and I are going to get better acquainted we are.

    Cheers,
    Stephen Ruddock
    New Zealand

    ReplyDelete
  5. Marilyn in SeattleSeptember 4, 2011 at 7:05 PM

    I've had a tuff time figuring out how use this tool (being a beginner is so fun sometime .. NOT!) But on my latest project I've started to have some success with it. It seems like such a simple tool, but for me its been a struggle.

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  6. Kari HultmanSeptember 4, 2011 at 9:42 PM

    Stephen, thanks for the chuckle. :D I hope you and your #80 have a nice date night.

    Marilyn, if you go to Lee Valley's site and search cabinet scraper, there is "Instr" listed beside the item number (before the price). These are the instructions I follow when I set mine up. To seat the blade, I lay the tool on a flat surface and tighten the knurled screws so the blade is flush with the sole. When you tighten the thumbscrew, it deflects the blade and it drops a little bit beneath the sole.

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  7. RONWSeptember 5, 2011 at 3:20 AM

    btw, do you sign your work.

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  8. Kari HultmanSeptember 5, 2011 at 8:09 AM

    Ron, the only thing I've signed is my tool cabinet.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Elise LowerisonSeptember 30, 2011 at 8:30 PM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete