Card Scraper — Lutherie Encyclopedia

Card ScraperType: toolA simple rectangular steel card with burnished edges, perfect for spot smoothing and cleaning up difficult grain.## Description A card scraper is a thin rectangular piece of high-carbon steel, typically about 0.6mm thick and roughly 60mm by 120mm. Unlike a cabinet scraper, it has no frame and is held directly in the hands with the thumbs pressing from behind to create a slight bow. All four edges can be burnished with a hook for cutting. Some sets include shaped profiles (convex, concave, goose-neck) for working curved surfaces. ## Use in Lutherie Card scrapers are used for detail work where a cabinet scraper is too large or rigid. Common lutherie tasks include smoothing around the soundhole rosette, cleaning bindings flush with the top, removing dried glue from tight areas, leveling finish between coats, smoothing inside the guitar body near kerfing, and addressing localized tearout in figured tonewoods. A goose-neck profile card scraper is especially useful for working concave areas such as the cutaway on a guitar body. ## Selection Guide Bahco, Sandvik, and Crown make reliable card scrapers. A set with rectangular, convex, and goose-neck profiles covers most lutherie needs and typically costs 10 to 30 dollars. Thinner cards (0.4mm) flex more easily and are better for fine finishing, while thicker cards (0.8mm) are more aggressive. Replacement is cheap, so buy several and keep spares ready with fresh edges. ## Tips - File the edge square and flat before burnishing. A properly prepared edge is the foundation of a good scraper. - Use a hard, polished burnisher (carbide or hardened stee…