TESTED: Accu-Burr burnishers and scrapers
Above: Accu-Burr card scrapers come with a magnetic card which can be used to minimise heat transfer. The burnishing rods have three angled grooves and come with or without brass handles.
Review and photos: Neil Erasmus
The card scraper and burnisher are as fundamental to fine woodwork as are the must-have saw and chisel. So, when I received three versions of Accu-Burr’s burnishers and two scrapers from Blackburn Tools, I was keen to see what may be new in this simple, age-old process.
The scraper is the simplest of all tools, and can only vary in materials, shape and thickness, nothing else – simple but versatile. Similarly, the tool used to turn a burr on its corners requires no more than a hardened rod. Thus, for me, I was sceptical about yet another tool to turn a burr on a scraper. I was sent three burnishers, the JR, AB1 and AB2 together with a couple of 0.62 scrapers for this review.
After turning burrs on the card scraper the edges were sharp and effective.
I have to say from the outset that I was immediately seduced by the heft, feel and quality of the Accu-Burr JR. This tool measures 120mm long and is double ended with brass handles. It has a 25 x 4.7mm carbide burnisher with three angled V-grooves finely ground around its circumference. The grooves, at angles of 5, 10 and 15°, represent the crux of this clever innovation, as the edge of the scraper lodges in the valley while the tapered sides engage the corners, simultaneously providing opposing burrs when pulled – two burrs, one stroke!
I started by flattening the face corners of one of the Accu-Burr card scrapers with an end of Accu-Burr’s AB1 (or 2) non-handled burnisher, before filing the two edges square, then waterstone-honing them to one another – normal practice. ‘Drawing’ the steel in this manner can’t be accomplished with the handled version, meaning a small disadvantage.
In use, the angled grooves give reliable results when pulling burrs.
With the scraper in the vice, and the 5° groove in position, I pulled a satisfactory burr using two light to moderate strokes. As the burnisher is held at right angles to the scraper, nothing could be easier. The small, hexagonal brass handles fit comfortably between the thumb, index and middle fingers, helping to apply a suitably weighted stroke. This is all that it takes to create a cutting corner to a properly prepared scraper in order to take consistent, fine shavings.
I have always guessed an angle of 5–10° and found that the Accu-Burr’s 5° setting created a good burr but one that had less ‘bite’ than anticipated. The 10° groove provided a marked improvement, while the 15° groove was a little aggressive, albeit excellent for heavy scraping prior to tidying up on the small or middle setting. The non-handled AB2 is a heavier, more robust 6.35mm burnisher, while the AB2 is similar in size to the handled JR. All perform equally well.
The Accu-Burr takes all the guesswork out of trying to gauge burr angles for the many people who struggle in this regard, and who seldom achieve the desired outcome – an essential art now easily and speedily demystified. There’s little in this overly commercialised world that excites me more than when a product not only looks the part, but also matches its aesthetic with smart innovation and sound performance.
To sum up, these are superb tools that I would happily recommend.
Sample tools supplied by Union Manufacturing Co, www.unionmfgco.com
Accu-Burr products are available from Carbatec, www.carbatec.com.au
Neil Erasmus @neilerasmus is a Perth-based designer maker and a long-standing contributor to Australian Wood Review.