Dumb question about using a card scraper...

I dont think that there is a steadfast answer other than whatever feels cofortable to you and doesnt burn your thumbs. Im by no means an expert so just my thought. I find that when i really crank on them and bend em a lot the top corners dig into my index fingers.

-- "there aren’t many hand tools as awe-inspiring as the #8 jointer. I mean, it just reeks of cast iron heft and hubris" - Smitty

It is highly variable, depending on the wood you are scraping and the kind of grain it has.

-- Bondo Gaposis

It varies with the cut ya want. The Lee Valley holder is the best I’ve seen (variable), but I often use just by hand.
Bill

-- bill@magraphics.us

I would recommend using it some before making a holder. I made a couple of holders but never liked how they worked. They sit in a drawer unused. You can change how the scraper cuts by changing the curve.

-- There is nothing like the sound of a well tuned hand plane. - http://timetestedtools.wordpress.com (timetestedtools at hotmail dot c0m)

Angle of cut is a variable too.

Nice thing about this tool is you get instant feedback about your technique (and the condition of the cutting edge).

It’s an invaluable tool, certainly not used every day by many of us, but always rewarding when it’s employed.

Kindly,

Lee

-- "...in his brain, which is as dry as the remainder biscuit after a voyage, he hath strange places cramm'd with observation, the which he vents in mangled forms." --Shakespeare, "As You Like It"

Scrapers are actually what got me in to hand tools (still mostly a power tool guy, though). I am a novice with them still, but I don’t put much curve in them at all, but that is usually because I am trying to take light cuts. I would echo the others who have suggested using it by hand first.

-- Brian T. - Exact science is not an exact science

I use my scrapers a lot more since I made holders for them. I made my holder with a bolt through the back and can easily change the curvature by tightening or loosening the bolt.

-- " I'll try to be nicer, if you'll try to be smarter" gfadvm