Scraper Planes

As beautiful as card scrapers are, they do have their limitations. They are great for removing machine marks and spot removal of tearout, but focus on one area too long and you have a dish in the surface that should be perfectly flat. What is needed in this situation is to mount the scraper in a body with a flat sole.

My first choice when I realized this, is the Stanley #80 Cabinet Scraper. This worked to some degree, and although many woodworkers use these with good success, they have their own problems. First, the #80 usually has a beveled scraper edge, which makes it cut much more aggressively and leaves a rougher finish than a card scraper. The #80 is also prone to chatter, which, in the author's (not so) humble opinion is much worse that a little dishing. I also find them difficult to adjust, since one must hold the blade and body while tightening the thumb screws. I also find that tightening the thumbscrews can change the adjustment significantly.

The other choice is the Stanley #112 or #12 scraper plane. These are actually a good solution, but have one major drawback: price. After trying to get a deal on one of these for a few years, I finally scored one at a relatively reasonable price on e-bay, but still ended up spending $125. When you can pick up a nice Stanly #4 for $40 or less, that's a lot of doe. In fact, I think that is why so many woodworkers do not use scraper planes. It is too bad, as I find that using a #112 is pure love. One note on my #112, however, is that I replaced the heavy, bevel edged blade with a thinner, more flexible blade without the beveled edge. I find this better for final smoothing, which is what I use it for most.

The third option was to make my own scraper plane. I set out to do some research on the Internet, and the only shop-made scraper plane I found was an attempt to mimic the #112 with wooden parts. This is a bad idea, in my opinion. Wood and steel are different materials, and must be treated as such. So with no example, save the #80 and #112 steel versions, I set out to design a wooden scraper plane. And since I was going to be spending the time to design it, I may as well try to solve some of the shortcomings I mentioned about the #80. (And, of course, the price of the #112). Here was the criteria that I set for my design:

• Minimal chatter. There is no point in being able to scrape a surface flat if there is chatter marks left all over the surface.
• Easy and fast to adjust. A scraper burr does a great job and leaves a nice surface, but it does not last long. The burr must be restored frequently, sometimes even as often as every 10 minutes. There is no way around this fact, but to have to waste time trying to get the scraper blade adjusted again is unacceptable.
• No blade bowing. Card scrapers and the #80 cabinet scraper bow the blade when cutting. This is OK for cleaning up tool marks, etc. but the bow leaves undulations which would be unacceptable for things, like table tops, which one wants to be perfectly flat.
• Ease of use. A scraper plane should not require a lot of practice to use effectively. Even a novice should have good results with little practice.

On the full size planes, the bodies are made from Jatoba, the cheeks from Curly Maple, and the soles from Purpleheart. The accent woods are from various scrap wood and veneers, including Wenge', Pearwood, Anigre', and Black Walnut. The bodies on the mini scrapers are made from Bubinga, the soles from Lignum Vitae, and the cheeks from Curly Maple.

Notes:

Lynx Card Scrapers

I used the medium and small card scrapers from this set to make the 2" wide and the 2-1/2" wide wooden scraper planes. I used the large as a replacement in my Stanly #112 scraper plane. (I had to file off about 1/16" to get it to fit.)