As you can see in the photo at the top of this page, cabinet scrapers come in a variety of shapes. They are often sold in a set of three to cover a variety of scraping tasks. This set, made by Crown Hand Tools in Sheffield England, a rectangular cabinet scraper (often called a card scraper), one with inside and outside radii at each end and a French curve. The card scraper is used on flat surfaces.

The edges of the middle scraper can also be used on flat surfaces while the ends will fair and smooth concave and convex surfaces. Some part of the French curve will generally shape and smooth complex shapes and often saves the day. The set from Rockler costs a mere $21.

While chisels and plane blades are tempered to a hardness on the Rockwell C Scale (HRC) of 58 to 64, a cabinet scraper wants less temper, so they are generally delivered at HRC 50 to 55. The lower temper is necessary to allow burnishing that creates a sharp burr at the edge. Burnishing is both a tool and a process. A burnisher is a round rod with a handle that is a bit like a file without any teeth. In fact, it is delivered with a polished surface and is HRC 64 or higher.

Sharpening a Scraper

The process of sharpening a scraper in my “More on the Web” video that supports this article. In a nutshell, the process involves filing and honing the scraper’s edge square and smooth, then using the burnisher to distort the steel into a tiny burr that curls over the face of the scraper. It’s not particularly difficult, but it does require practice.

To prepare a scraper for burnishing, the work-hardened area is first removed with a mill file. This will be followed by a whetstone to smooth away file marks.

The result of over-burnishing by pushing down too hard or taking too many strokes is a ragged edge rather than a continuous sharp one.

Once the edge is filed and stoned smooth and square, a burnisher is sloped 5 to 15 degrees downward from the edge and drawn across the corner of the scraper to form a sharp burr. Definite pressure is necessary. Do not make the burr too big or it will split into segments at the burr’s point. You may turn burrs on both corners of an edge.

The process work-hardens the edge, so it cannot be repeated without using a file to remove the workhardened area. The edge is then refined with a fine stone to form perfect corners. Back to the burnisher to create a new burr again.

Cabinet scrapers have a wide variety of uses — removing depressions or torn-out grain, flattening misaligned joints, cleaning off dried glue or removing old finishes. So much utility from a small piece of steel!

Until 1943, Stanley made the #112 Scraping Plane. It’s a scraper on steroids with a much heavier blade that does not cramp your hands.

Using a Cabinet Scraper

Once sharp, the scraper is held in both hands with thumbs flexing it into a gentle arch and tilting the tool slightly forward. The burr is engaged against the surface of the wood and pushed to scrape tiny, fine curls. Holders for card scrapers, which put a slight side-to-side bend in them with a handle at each edge, can make using a cabinet scraper much less tiring on your hands.

A scraper used with skill can cut through tiny depressions or torn-out grain without leaving marks. It can cut with or against the grain with equal verve and is handy for flattening uneven joints or removing dried glue residue.

When you need to get into areas that planes or sanders will not reach, here’s the tool for the job. It is also the best tool for stripping off an old finish. I use a card scraper every winter to scrape wax from my cross-country skis. You can’t beat the price-to-utility ratio of this simple, handy tool!

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-Serge Duclos
Delson, Quebec

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I typically make dadoes on the table saw using a stackable dado head, but sometimes you’ve got to make them at the bench with a handheld router — when plowing dadoes in large pieces, for example, or making stopped dadoes. Router bits provide a great quality of cut, even in veneered materials, but don’t offer the adjustability that dadoes do. This can make it tricky to get perfectly sized dadoes. A shop-made jig easily solves your perfect dado problems so you won’t pitch a fit over getting a perfect fit.

The Jig

This jig is made out of 3/4-in. (19 mm) Baltic birch plywood, Photo 1. Since Baltic birch is slightly thinner than cabinet grade plywood, the jig can rest on the cabinet material without touching the bench below.

The head-to-head distance should be at least 24-in. so you have enough space to fit a typical kitchen base cabinet side in the jig. The most critical aspect of building the jig is making sure that the fixed leg is perfectly perpendicular to the heads before you screw and glue it in place. If this alignment is off your dadoes won’t be square to the edge of the cabinet side.

The adjustable leg has two 1-in. holes that fit over 1/4-in. carriage bolts coming out of the head. The 1-in. hole allows room to position the adjustable leg to allow for variations in plywood thickness. Drill the carriage bolt holes 5-1/4-in. from the edge of the fixed leg. Drill the 1-in. holes so the center is 4-1/2-in. from the edge that will go against the fixed leg.

Slip the carriage bolts through the head, use fender washers to bridge the large holes, and use a knob or wing nut to lock the adjustable leg in place.

A Bit Of Tooling

The dado jig relies on a pattern style router bit to cut the dadoes, Photo 2. The diameter of the bit has to be less than the thickness of the material you’re cutting the dado for, so you can cut the dado in two passes.

The bearing on the bit will ride on the legs of the jig, “tracing” them in order to cut the dado.

Using The Jig

Use the jig by first marking the joint location on the case side. Hold the head of the jig against the edge of the cabinet side, position the fixed leg on the mark, and clamp the jig in place. Sandwich a piece of shelf material in the dado, Photo 3. Squeeze the adjustable leg against the shelf and fixed leg and lock the wing nuts. Now the space between the legs is exactly the thickness of your material. Lock the jig to the cabinet side with additional clamps.

Set the depth of cut on the router bit, and you’re ready to go. The first time you use the jig you’ll cut into the heads. If you’re cutting standard 1/4-in. or 3/8-in. deep dadoes it’s no big deal, as there’s plenty of wood left in the heads to hold the jig together. The bit will ride against one leg on the outbound pass and the other leg on the inbound pass.

You can rout all the way across for a full width dado or part way across for a stopped dado. Use a plunge router and you can cut a dado that’s stopped on both ends. (Be careful that you don’t plunge into the jig.) Get a little creative and you can use the jig to rout dadoes at funky angles. Pretty versatile!

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• What’s the best table saw blade or miter saw blade?
• How many teeth should a blade have?
• Does a thin kerf or regular kerf make a difference?
• Do blade coatings make a difference?
• When should I sharpen my saw blade?
• How do I clean my saw blades?

Using a good quality saw blade can sure make woodworking more enjoyable.  and often we spend a considerable chunk of change on them. We expect top-notch performance and long life from that investment. It only makes sense that questions come up now and then about how to choose, use and maintain blades properly, and you write in for our help. I think blade manufacturers are really the best sources for those answers, so I’ve rounded up some common FAQs that come into our offices and directed them to the experts at Amana, Forrest, Freud, GUHDO, Infinity and Irwin Marples. These folks were happy to share some nuggets of wisdom for our benefit, and some of their feedback may even surprise you. I hope this article serves as a good quick reference for those recurring questions you might have about your blades.

Saw Blade Buying Tips

What do I need to know about blade tooth options?

Saw blades are optimized for fairly specific cutting applications and tools, and their carbide teeth are engineered precisely to suit the purpose. There are three main tooth shapes: beveled edge, flat-topped or chamfered at the corners (called “triple chip”). Beveled teeth alternate left and right at a range of different angles, depending on the blade, to cut cleanly and quickly. Flat-topped teeth are used to clear away the remaining waste behind a group of beveled teeth on a combination blade or for fast stock removal on ripping blades. Triple-chip teeth are more stout than pointy beveled teeth and take smaller bites. You’ll often find them on blades designed for cutting abrasive or chip-prone materials like melamine, laminates, solid surface, plastics and metal or for fine crosscutting.

Tooth geometries are very complex. Besides the top grind that establishes the overall tooth shape, there are shear and clearance grinds to boost performance even further. Space just doesn’t allow for full explanation here. But one practical aspect to keep in mind when choosing a specific blade is hook angle. In lay terms, it’s the degree to which the teeth tip forward or backward on the blade body. Teeth oriented in “positive” hook angles lean forward to cut more aggressively and quickly. Teeth canted to “negative” hook angles tip backward to withstand greater abrasion while leaving a smooth cut. Hook angles range from 20° down to -5° or more; positive is typically used for ripping or general cutting and negative is reserved for slower, fine crosscutting applications and when sawing composites.

If I spend more and buy more teeth, do I get a better blade?

This is a complex question, because bargain basement priced blades typically won’t deliver the results and long-term durability of more expensive, premium blades. On the flip side, an expensive blade with lots of teeth in a geometry that isn’t suited for the way you’re using it won’t meet your expectations, either. More teeth doesn’t make a blade “better.” Manufacturers agree that we should benefit from their expertise: follow the tool and material suggestions for which the blade is designed in order to use it properly. One blade does not suit all jobs.

OK then, so what are the best blades for my table saw, miter saw and circular saw?

Blade experts tell me that the best compromise for both smooth ripping and crosscutting on a table saw is a 40- to 50-tooth “combination” blade. Depending on the manufacturer, this might mean the blade has alternating top bevel teeth (ATB) or has ATB teeth with an intermittent flat-topped or triple-chip raker tooth (ATB + R). For miter saws, if you use the saw for general-purpose cutting where absolute smoothness isn’t critical, choose a 40- to 60-tooth ATB grind with a positive hook angle.

But if glass-smooth finish cuts on moldings and other fine work is what you want, switch to an 80- to 100-tooth “hi-ATB” grind (where the teeth are ground to extra-steep cutting angles) with a shallower hook angle, ranging from +10 to -5 degrees. In terms of circular saws, we use these tools for a broad gamut of cutting jobs, but two blades can cover the yeoman’s share of tasks: use a 24- to 30-tooth general-purpose ATB blade for rough cuts and construction lumber. Swap that out for a 40- to 60-tooth ATB blade for clean cuts in plywoods, MDF and melamine.

The Truth About Saw Blade Thin Kerfs and Coatings

Why are there so many thin kerf blades these days?

As miter saws and portable jobsite table saws have grown in popularity with both woodworkers and contractors, the industry is engineering thinner blades with narrower teeth to suit these lower powered tools. A thin blade requires less energy from the motor to do its work.

But, the experts agree that we should also consider thin-kerf blades to be excellent choices for heavier-duty saws, too. They remove less material than regular-kerf blades — a benefit for both your wallet and the environment when working with expensive or precious figured woods and exotics.

Thin-kerf blades also produce less sawdust for a cleaner, healthier shop setting. I was told that advances in blade metallurgy and CNC machining make it possible to create thinner and lighter blade bodies without compromising stiffness or cutting performance. So, don’t shy away from choosing quality thin-kerf blades: today’s premium options are suitable for every saw we use.

Do blade coatings matter?

On low-cost, “disposable” blades, sometimes coatings are nothing more than paint, I’m told. But, coatings of chrome, a Teflon® derivative or a blend of Teflon and metals such as nickel or aluminum definitely serve important purposes and are part of the blade’s design. For one, they reduce friction to keep the blade body and teeth from overheating, which can lead to warping, accelerated tooth wear and pitch buildup. Coatings also prevent corrosion and make blade deposits easier to clean away. Good coatings extend performance and longevity.

Saw Blade Maintenance Tips

How can I tell when my blades need sharpening?

The experts echo what you’ve probably already guessed by experience: if cuts are harder to push through and the saw labors, the teeth are probably dull even if you can’t see it with the naked eye. Increased burns and swirls on the wood are telltale signs, too. Of course, if any teeth are chipped, it’s time to send the blade in for sharpening, but if the teeth all seem to be intact, try thoroughly cleaning your blades first to see if that improves their performance.

Is sharpening worth the cost?

Yes. Manufacturers outfit pro quality blades with thick teeth so that they can be resharpened five to 10 times before the teeth are spent. If you’ve never sent a blade off for sharpening, here’s what may surprise you: the experts say it typically only costs around $20 plus shipping to service a 50-tooth blade. That’s a bargain compared with replacing the blade and spending three to six times as much. But, you need to start with thick teeth in the first place and then choose a quality sharpening service for best results; blade companies often can recommend authorized sharpeners to keep your blade arsenal in tiptop shape.

Do dirty blade teeth wear out faster than clean teeth?

They do, say the blade gurus, and here’s why. Pitch on the teeth and blade body creates friction, and friction creates heat. That heat becomes extreme at the cutting edges, where it can break down the carbide on the molecular level. As pitch builds up on all the contact surfaces of the tooth, the problem just compounds itself, exacerbating heat buildup and reducing the ability of the teeth to cool themselves. Pitch deposits also can throw the blade off balance like a car tire, where wobbling at the rim will lead to poor cutting quality and yes, even more heat buildup. A clean saw blade dissipates heat more evenly and spins true. So, an occasional cleaning is definitely worth the effort.

What’s the best way to clean a blade?

There are many specially formulated blade cleaners on the market, and that’s what we should use. The manufacturers agree that oven cleaner or other strong chemicals are altogether bad choices, regardless of how well they may seem to work. You wouldn’t clean a prized shotgun or the chrome trim on your car with harmful chemicals, so use the same reasoning with your expensive saw blades. Strong acids and bases are too caustic for this application; they can deteriorate the blade coating and weaken the cobalt that binds the carbide particles together. Even if you can’t see the results of chemical damage from using the wrong blade cleaner, that doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.

Neutral pH cleaners are best, say several of the experts I asked. Even a mild dish detergent and warm water can clean off pitch deposits, so long as the blade is coated to protect against rust. Soak the blade until the deposits soften up, then gently scrub the teeth clean with a nylon- or brass-bristle brush. Most of all, be patient. You may have to soak, scrub and then repeat the process, but eventually, all of the baked-on crud will come off. Then dry the blade and apply a rust preventative spray or oil.

Quality blades can be outstanding performers. With some sensible know-how from the folks that live and breathe blades, we can reap every bit of benefit from our saws.

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With its narrow blade, the band saw excels at cutting smooth curves. For nonsymmetrical shapes and workpieces made up of multiple curves, cutting freehand usually does the trick. As long as you keep it slow and steady you can follow your cutline pretty closely, and then clean up the results later with sanding. But even with the most careful sawing, following the cutline for a perfect circle, the most basic of symmetrical shapes, can be daunting — the results are seldom perfect. However, with a simple jig that you can make quickly and easily, you’ll be able to cut an exact circle every time on the band saw without the need to follow a cutline. In fact, you won’t even need to draw the circle on your workpiece, so you can leave your compass in a drawer.

STEP 1: To create the jig, cut a piece of sheet stock to the width of your band saw’s table. For circles up to 16″ in diameter, a jig 10″ to 12″ long is fine. I prefer laminated material such as melamine, as it allows your workpiece to slide easily while cutting, but regular plywood or other sheet stock with a smooth surface will work fine. Center the jig on your band saw’s table — the edges of the jig should be flush with the edges of the table — and slide it till it just touches the blade. Make a mark on the front edge of the jig even with the tips of the blade teeth, as in Photo 1.

STEP 2: Starting at your mark, use a reliable square to continue the line across the surface of the jig as in Photo 2. You can see here that I’ve drilled holes into the jig’s side edges that will accommodate a pair of fence clamps to secure the jig to the band saw’s table. Now, measuring from the front edge, make a series of marks 1″ apart along this line.

Step 3: With a 1/4″ or 3/8″ bit in your drill press, bore holes exactly on each of your marks (see Photo 3). Drill just short of going all the way through the jig. When cutting the circle, the workpiece will pivot on a short length of dowel inserted into one of these holes. Because the workpiece rotates at these holes, each marks the exact center of the circle, with the distance from the front edge of the jig determining the circle’s radius. Thus, the first hole drilled at 1″ will be the pivot for a 2″ circle; the hole drilled at 2″ gives a 4″ circle, and so on. You might find it helpful to mark your jig with a permanent marker as I’ve done here.

STEP 4: Place the jig on your band saw’s table so your line of holes is perpendicular to the blade and even with the tips of the blade’s teeth. A piece of paper held behind the blade, as I’m doing in Photo 4, makes it easier to see the teeth. With the jig correctly positioned, clamp it securely to the saw’s table.

STEP 5: Cut a short length of 1/4″ or 3/8″ hardwood dowel for your pivot. This dowel should be short enough that it will fit into a hole drilled on the underside of your workpiece but still allow the workpiece to rest flat on the table. For this example, I’ve decided to cut an 8″ circle, so in Photo 5 I’m slipping the dowel into the hole that is 4″ from the front edge of the jig. (Remember, the distance from the blade is the circle radius.)

STEP 6: Cut a workpiece slightly larger than the desired circle; for our 8″ circle here I’ve cut a workpiece measuring 8-1/2″ x 8-1/2″. Now, measure exactly 4″ from the center of the front edge of the workpiece and drill a hole sized to accept the pivot dowel (see Photo 6). The purpose you have in mind for your circle will determine how deeply to drill this hole: For an unblemished top surface, don’t drill all the way through. If the top surface isn’t critical — if you’re cutting wheels, for example, that require an axle going all the way through the circle — it’s OK to drill all the way through the workpiece. Note here that I’ve marked an arrow pointing to the front edge to keep things straight.

STEP 7: Drop the workpiece onto the dowel as in Photo 7, making sure to keep the front edge oriented toward the blade. If you’ve done everything correctly, the workpiece will fall into place with the front edge just kissing the blade.

STEP 8: Turn on the saw, and rotate your workpiece smoothly on its pivot as in Photo 8 to cut a perfect 8″ circle. When the circle is complete, power down the saw and let the blade come to a full stop before removing the workpiece and waste.

For the jig in this example I’ve drilled the pivot holes at 1″ intervals, but feel free to set your jig up to create circles of any desired size. Just remember that the pivot holes should always reflect the radius of your desired circle. Also, if you think you may use your circle-cutting jig frequently, consider attaching a cleat to the underside that will fit the miter slot on your band saw’s table to make setup faster and easier.

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Ernie also shares a a tip for saving money by buying long rolls of band saw blade stock.

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1. Carving the easy way. From time to time, a carved panel just might look wonderful in a piece of casework: a pair of doors, perhaps with matching motifs; a backsplash that has a geometric pattern repeating across its length; a carved architectural component. If carving is outside your wheelhouse of woodworking skills, a CNC router can come to your rescue. Those carved accents can enhance your project, and you get the credit!

2. Drilling is boring. Let’s say you have a couple hundred holes to drill for a cribbage board. It’s a doable job with a drill/driver or a drill press, but an arduous one. Now imagine making five cribbage boards for holiday gifts: you’ll have 1,000 holes to drill! If done by hand, just imagine how tedious the task would be! Not for a CNC. It will drill holes all day long without complaint.

3. CNC simplifies complex interfaces between workpieces. For example, Woodworker’s Journal once presented a Longworth Chuck project for woodturning with many curved slots that need to perfectly relate to one another. Unless they align precisely, the chuck won’t open and close smoothly. A CNC’s precision enables it to machine slots like these accurately, upping your odds for success the first time while also reducing your stress.

4. “May I have five more?” Have you ever agreed to build a bunch of things for your child’s school or for a church function? After you have completed the 20th little widget and you are staring down another 100 to go, you think to yourself: “There has got to be a more efficient way…” It’s CNC. Set the machine to work in the background to free yourself for more enjoyable shop tasks.

5. Consider it a sign! Of course, one of the best uses of CNC technology in the home shop is for sign-making. It can machine awards, cabin signs, humorous gifts, address plaques and much more. Most home shop CNCs come with sign-making programming already preloaded, along with fancy fonts and scripts with the lettering properly spaced. Here’s a moneymaking opportunity!

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