Tillering

[Eric Krewson]

Good youtube videos on sharpening card scrapers.

[WhistlingBadger]

Good youtube videos on sharpening card scrapers.

Yeah, I've watched half a dozen of them and tried to follow their directions.  I'm missing something.  Can't turn a burr to save my life.  I'll keep trying...

[Pat B]

Pappy lays his scrapers on a belt sander on edge to get a flat edge giving 2 sharp corners. I've done it the same some too to speed up the process. It doesn't create a hook but it does give a sharp corner for scraping
 What I do mostly is put the scraper in a vice with one edge up then use a bastard file to flatten that edge. I go from one side, about 5 or 6 runs with the file then go from the other direction. Once I've done this I take a round shank screw driver and rub it back and forth along the corner at about 2 degrees(not very steep at all) to form the hook then go to the other corner and do the same. This gives me 2 good hooks to work with.

[Eric Krewson]

I used to use a screwdriver shank but bought a real scraper burnisher the other day, the results are daylight and dark by comparison.

[Morgan]

I usually have a pretty set idea of starting dimensions for the bows I make. A lot of wood comes off from these starting dimensions. I will rough out with a hatchet or bandsaw to just over my idea of starting point. At that point I will hog off material quickly with the coarse side of my farriers rasp and half round rasp for the fades. Once bending on the floor about right I switch to the finer side of the rasp till all the coarse marks are out and then switch to scraping. I will use a scraper and sandpaper for all wood removal at this point. 

[George Tsoukalas]

I do initial shaping with a hatchet. Then continue with a draw knife. After, I use a surform on the long string. Sometimes, I'll alternate a surform with my Swedish push knife as a scraper. Once I string, I only used the push knife as a  scraper to full draw. Jawge.

[Dances with squirrels]

I sharpen cabinet scrapers as detailed in Hunting the Osage Bow by Dean Torges. I learned how on my first selfbow and never looked back. Goosenecks are a little more challenging due to their shape, but certainly doable. Same process. Mine are about due to be sharpened again.

Sometimes, if they're not too bad you can get away with just rolling the hook again, but other times that doesn't work and you have to perfectly square the edges again on stones, burnish/polish them in, then roll the hook. Still only takes about 10-15 minutes. But true happiness is a freshly sharpened scraper running down an osage bow... or better yet, yew! I just love it.

I use an actual burnisher also, with a drop or two of light oil. In cross section, it's sort of tear drop shaped, with one edge thicker and more rounded than the other. The thinner edge rolls a slightly bigger hook with less pressure.

[gutpile]

depends on what I am tillering.. cedar I tiller with sandpaper..osage I use a cabinet scraper hickory I use a cabinet scraper, Ipe I use a rasp... the woods dictates what I use.. Ipe just dulls my scrapers.. gut

[ssrhythm]

I mainly use a mystic scraper...I use it to chase a ring and clean up the back and during tillering.  I’ve tried the gooseneck and other cabinet scrapers, and they seem too flimsy...and I know I didn’t have them sharpened correctly.  I just put the mystic on the belt sander flat on its edge and it sharpens right up.  That said, I don’t see or hear of many people using one, and I’ve been wondering if a well sharpened cabinet scraper is a better option.  Does anyone on here use the mystic scraper or has anyone used it and abandoned it and if so...why? 

[Allyn T]

Thanks for all the replys guys, looks like scraping is the tillering king regardless of what kind of scraper you use.

[Dances with squirrels]

I have a Mystik scraper and abandoned it many years ago. The main reason was because it too often would leave little scratches behind in the wood. I never tried sharpening it with a sander though, so maybe that works better. Bernie Swank told me to sharpen it with a file, drawfiling the edge while using it kind of like a burnisher on a regular scraper, so that's what I did. It worked, just left a slightly jagged edge and I prefer them smooth. It is solid though, I'll give ya that. But in my opinion, a well sharpened cabinet scraper is better. If properly sharpened, you shouldn't have to push on it hard enough to flex it. It should cut wood used in one hand with just a finger and thumb.

[TimBo]

I like my Mystic Scraper.  Admittedly, I have yet to get the hang of sharpening cabinet scrapers.