Being a Carpenter means that you are an artist and your canvas is the piece of wood that you are working on.
In every woodworking scenario, there are specific tools that you have to use to get the best results out of your final product.
In this article, we have a unique tool that carpenters usually carry around with them and use daily, and it’s one of the essential tools for a Carpenter or a wood designer to have in their pocket.
The card scraper.
We will tell you all about the card scrapers and their uses in the carpentry industry, so stay with us until the end of this article, and you will have the extra knowledge to use in your projects from now on.
What is a card scraper?
As the name suggests, a card scraper is a carpentry tool to scrape your wood project’s surface. You might ask, why a card?
Imagine that you have a credit card in your pocket that you can use to smooth out and finish the surface of the wood that you’re working on; the only difference is these cards are made from reinforced steel, meaning that they are durable and capable of the job that we mentioned.
Card scrapers usually come in one size, and it is the size of a credit card.
By applying the right amount of pressure and angle, you can use this tool to scrape the surface of your wooden piece.
Now let’s move on with this article and see how you can use a card scraper to get the result you want and the differences between a card scraper and the other smoothing tools like sandpaper.
What is the difference between a card scraper and sandpaper?
| Sandpaper | Card scraper |
| Ten times of use depending on the workload | If sharpened can be used forever |
| Cheaper | Some models are expensive |
| Accessible | Difficult to find |
How to use a card scraper? (STEP BY STEP)
There are some positive points to using a card scraper to smooth out your project’s surface as we sit on.
Scrapers are minimal and miniature; therefore, they can fit easily in your pocket or your tool bag so that you will have access to this tool at any time and under any conditions.
Now let’s see how you can use a card scraper in sandpaper:
This tool is used to scrape the extra materials from the surface of the wood and smooth it or, in other words, finish it before applying wax.
Before doing everything, you have to consider that scraper is a carry-on, meaning that there are better tools for this job, but having this piece of the device in your pocket may benefit you sometimes when you don’t have access to more specialized equipment.
+ 5 Steps
- First, you have to attach your piece of wood to a gripper and make sure that it’s still in its place.
- Next, you have to make sure that your card scraper is sharp enough to remove thin layers of wood from your surface.
- The angle of the card is the most critical aspect of using this tool, and it will allow you to do the job that you want; therefore, make sure that you position the card on the surface of the boot at a 45-degree angle.
- After placing the card on the surface of your route, the only thing you have to do is apply pressure and push it alongside the wood. Remember not to pull or push.
- The position that you have to hold the card in your hand is like a credit card. Your thumb should be on one side of the card and your fingers on the other.
Some carpenters prefer applying another layer of sandpaper work after using the card scraper on their project. This will increase the work quality and the surface you are working on.
Now that you know what a card scraper is and how you can use it let’s get to the next matter of order, which is the maintenance of the scraper card.
How do sharpen the card scrapers?
Like any other tool in the Carpenter industry, the card scraper should be sharp as a laser so it won’t be challenging to smear across the wood surface that you desire.
Although these cards are made from stainless steel, you have to keep them from humidity as long as possible; even the best quality stainless steel can get rusted if exposed to moisture.
You can use sandpaper or unique gadgets to sharpen your card scraper. Still, if you don’t have access to these tools or are unsure that you can’t do the sharpening job yourself, I recommend you get help from a professional Carpenter or a tool sharpener station.
If the sharpening process isn’t done right, you can’t bend the blade at the end of the card scraper, which will cause this tool to be useless.
Applying oil when you’re sharpening the card can help in sharpening; it increases contraction, and therefore the outcome will be better than you ever expected.
Depending on the brand and the material that card scrapers or made from, they can’t differ in price.
Some card scrapers made from grade five titanium are expensive; therefore, sharpening them is a more sensitive job and requires more skill and experience.
But at this point of the article, you know what a card scraper is and what it does for a Carpenter, and you know how to keep your card scraper in the best conditions.
Now let’s get to the conclusion of this article and see the primary purpose of using a card scraper.
In the end,
We mentioned that specific tools are used in smoothing out the outside layer of a wood project, and a card scraper is one of them.
The primary use of a card scraper is to remove any extra lumps or minor inconveniences on the surface of the wood by scraping them off.
Using the sandpaper or a file (full article on file and rasps) can be much easier than using a scraper card but having this tool in your pocket can save your projects on certain occasions that you don’t have access to specialty equipment like sandpaper or files.
We discussed the difference between sandpaper and a card scraper utilization, but it’s up to you to decide which one is better for your projects.
We are happy that you read this article, and we hope that the information that we provided in this statement will be helpful for you to use in your wood projects and designing wood.
If you have any other questions or opinions that you want to share regarding the “what is a card scraper and how to use it” article, you can contact us via the comments section beneath this article.
