Scraping

[David R. Pennington]

When you guys scrape a stock, do you whisker? If so what is the process? Do you burnish?

[rich pierce]

Can do a whisker and another light scrape.  My understanding is that burnishing should not be done before staining and sealing else it will close the pores, limiting depth of penetration of stain and finish.  When making simple tool handles such as for an axe I scrape, leave the wood raw, and burnish.  Hard burnishing makes it shed water.

[smart dog]

Hi Dave,
I scrape, then whisker.  I find I need to whisker the stock only once with scraping, whereas I usually need reps of whiskering if the stock is sanded. Sanding mashes down the wood fibers.  In contrast, scraping shears them off.  I burnish after staining but before applying finish. Burnishing helps fill the grain and reduces the number of coats of finish required.

dave

[Mark Elliott]

I use scraping for my final shaping and finishing.  Then I whisker at least three times using the same scraper(s).   I go through it all again after carving.   It probably doesn't look like I do all that scraping after I get the finish on, but I do.   After staining,  I rub the stock down with a light gray ScotchBrite pad to catch any grain that still raised.   I rub my finish down with a white ScotchBrite pad.   I use a nylon bristle brush to remove excess finish from the carving and rub out that area.   I may also use a jeweler's burnisher around the carving if there is still a little open grain.     

[David R. Pennington]

Thanks guys. After scraping shelf boards with good results I wanted to scrape the rifle on my bench (if I ever get to that point.).
Let me see if I have it right. Scrape, whisker, scrape till satisfied. Stain, burnish, then finish?

[Mark Elliott]

If you do a lot of scraping after whiskering, as in correcting a problem, you have to whisker that area again.  At least, that is my experience. 

[Jim Kibler]

Anymore, I don't do much whiskering.  Basically just once after final shaping, followed by another quick and  light scraping.  No work done after carving. 

Jim

[smallpatch]

Jim,
Same here. I scrape with a card scraper to get out file and rasp marks, whisker, then rescale with scrapers made from carpet knife razor blades.  Then touch up scraping around carving, stain and finish.