card scraper sharpening

I am on the same side as you Jeff.

You may be trying too hard. All I do is run the edge over a clamped file a couple of times freehand and then roll a little bur on the edges by clamping the scraper and running two or three times over each edge at a slight angle. I get lots of fine shavings. The more pressure you use with the burnisher, the more aggressive the burr.

This made the difference for me
http://www.finewoodworking.com/how-to/video/tune-up-a-card-scraper.aspx

That’s a great video.

Okay I watched the video and im going to try this. Thank you

Also try to bow the scraper slightly when you scrape the more you bow the deeper the shaving

Just a quick thought, preparation was the key for me. Also (like shipwright said) I was trying way too hard to turn the burr. Its small, just enough to catch a finger nail.

Let us know when you have success.

I will ill try this on Thursday for i needed to take a day off to get personal stuff done. And thank you all for your help. Ill try and take a picture of my success.

Just an update… i finally did get that burr. I was trying to hard. I finally figured out not to press so hard with the burnisher it needs to have just the right amount of pressure and the angle. One thing i figured out is don’t pull towards you after pushing away. That was the mistake i did. But thanks to you guys and the video Tim.

I want to get one of these. I saw a set of 6 on amazon for $12 (shop fox). I have a question about the burnisher. The ones I saw on amazon are fairly expensive. Is there any reason I could not just use a piece of steel rod from the hardware store? Or even a piece of brass rod I already have in my garage?

I bought a set of scrapers, and a burnisher after watching a demo video on YouTube about 3 months ago. After wasting considerable time and effort trying to perfect my methods, i set them aside, I don’t know where they are now and I don’t want to know. Haha. What’s your address Brian, I will mail you mine, seriously.

I will send you a pm. Thank you!

This is a wooden device I bought with mine that locks the blade into place at the right angle and it makes it a lot easier on your hands. Found it a Woodcraft.

Looks very comfy to use.

Brian, that burnisher in your wife’s knife set will work just fine.

I bought mine from woodcraft. I bought a Rockwell hardness of 65. That way it was harder than any card out there. I thought original I could use an end of a file but the card was harder than the file and actually cut the file when I first bought the card. Lol
Jack I really like that I think im going to try and actually make one first.

Woodpecker, the one in my wife’s knife set is actually a sharpener. It’s fluted slightly kind of like a file but the rows run down the length of the shaft. I’m really in the dark about this stuff. Would that make a difference? The ones I saw are all very smooth and polished.

Smooth and polished is what you want Brian

Some people mentioned drill bits and screw drivers for the burnisher.
I am about to try it the coming weekend.

I like that card holder jack. I think I am going to make myself one. For the only time I used the scraper, my hands were not happy at all.

I used to get by with drill shanks. They will do but a good burnisher makes a huge difference. I bought one from Hock Tools and made my own handle. Now the burrs just roll effortlessly and the shavings are completely controllable.