The preparation of timber by planing is a time-honoured fundamental of fine woodworking, as is its finishing by scraping.  Listed below are some of the tools which will be found useful in these activities, including an interesting line in miniature planes for use in small-scale projects, veneering, edge-banding, inlaying etc.  Bench Planes are listed separately on the site - as is the full range of Veritas planes - but the Veritas Flush Plane is to be found below.  Also featured here are cabinet scrapers with associated burnishers (ticketers) and a superb Scraper Blade Holder - the aspirin of scraper users!.

Miniature Planes in brass with rosewood infill.  These miniature marvels are beautifully finished fully working planes fitted with high carbon steel blades.  Each is approximately 3" (75mm) in overall length and can be a real boon in those hard-to-reach small scale jobs in box making. furniture detailing, instrument-making, rod-making etc.

Cabinet Scrapers and Scraper Burnisher.  For fine finishing, especially on curse grained timber there is nothing to beat a well-sharpened cabinet scraper.  Although a new generation seems to believe that all finishing is done with abrasives, you know better.  No abrasive in common workshop use can match the silky smooth finish left by a scraper.  Here you will find scrapers, scraper sets (including the curved gooseneck scraper) and a burnisher for forming the essential cutting "hook" when sharpening the scraper.  But how do you keep your scrapers in tip-top conditon, free of corrosion and preventing their neatly honed edges being dinged and dented as they rattle around the toolbox or bench?  May we recommend our supple leather scraper wallet, complete with press stud fastening, belt loop and pockets for four scrapers.  It may seem like luxury today, but next time you are in a hurry to find your scraper, when you don't really want to have to spend half an hour getting the edge back to perfection, you'll be amazed at just how grateful you are that you treated your scrapers to one of these simple, low-cost wallets.

One thing that almost all scraper users will agree upon is that the finish you can achieve is truly superb: the other point of agreement is that holding the blade is arduous, physically demanding and energetic use can even lead to burns from the heat generated.  By the end of a few minutes of scraping, the inexperienced, especially, will find that their thumbs and fingers "burn" from the exertion.  How do you overcome that?  May we suggest the clever little wooden gizmo shown here alongside: the Scraper Blade Holder.  Suddenly you can have all of the control that hand-holding a blade affords but without the pain!  Beautifully sculpted in plantation-grown rosewood and fitted with a brass blade tensioning screw (under the rosewood knob) for durability and smooth operation, this is one tool that deserves a place in any cabinetmakers toolbox - not that you'd ever admit that you find scraping tough, would you?  But if you have more sense than macho pride, don't wait a moment longer before relieving the pain!

Scraper Plane Insert Blades:  The excellent P06.01 Scraper Plane Insert from Veritas would convert any 2" (or wider) "Bailey pattern" plane into a highly accurate and controllable scraper plane.  Unfortunately it is no longer available.  However we do still hold some stocks of blades for this fine tool, as listed below.

Flush Plane: Ideal for trimming protruding dowels wedges, laminate edges, glue lines and for cleaning out corners, this tool  is destined to become a favourite tool of whoever has the good fortune to own one.  The 50 mm (2") wide blade is held in place by a powerful rare earth magnet, allowing it to be quickly removed and reversed for safe storage in the tool box - with no risk of cut fingers as you rummage through to find this "man's best friend"!  The thrust loads of planing are taken through a steel pin moulded into the ABS body and the blade is readily removed for honing.  Truly creative thinking from Veritas.

©1997-2009 P. Hemsley.  The information on this website is the copyright property of Peter Hemsley.  Coeur du Bois and The ToolPost are trading styles of Peter Hemsley.  Whilst reasonable efforts are made to ensure the accuracy of information presented, no liability can be accepted for errors in this information nor for contingencies arising therefrom.  If you are inexperienced in any aspect of woodworking, we would strongly counsel that you take a course of formal instruction before commencing to practice