Why does nobody talk about using a card scraper for face frames

I spent 3 years sanding every joint on face frames until I tried a card scraper on a job in Phoenix last month, and it leveled the glue squeeze-out in like 2 minutes total. Has anyone else ditched the sandpaper for stuff like this?

3 comments

3 Comments

jamie94011d ago

Can we be real for a second? The first time I tried sharpening a card scraper I spent like 45 minutes and still couldn't get it to pull anything but dust. The burnisher thing with the belt sander is a good tip but it's still a whole ritual before you even touch the wood. Sandpaper is just grab and go, even if it takes longer.

evan_green5216d ago

Huh, that's pretty interesting but I think you might be forgetting about the initial setup time. Getting a card scraper to cut right takes some practice, especially with burnishing the edge. The first few times I tried one I spent a good 10 minutes just getting it sharp enough to not tear up the wood. Still way faster than sanding once you get it dialed in, but it's not a total freebie. How long did it take you to get the hang of sharpening yours?

ellioth3715d ago

Yeah, the "10 minutes just getting it sharp" part rings a bell. I was the same way at first. Honestly, what finally clicked for me was using a honing guide for the initial bevel grind, then practicing the burnishing hook on a scrap piece of cherry until I could feel the burr flip over consistently. It took me maybe an hour of messing around with a dull piece of steel before I got a decent curl. A little trick I learned: heat the burnisher up a bit on a belt sander first, it helps the hook form way easier.