The Burr!

The little rascal is running and you got to catch it!!!!

Why do we "Chase the Burr?"

And no cheating, Google'ing is not allowed!

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker
Proud Supporter of Wounded Warrior Project and Homes For Our Troops

john,  isnt a burr used on a scraper to make it cut a fine shaving.

In working with metal, the burr can cut the crud out of your hand.  Chase it, get rid of it, no hurt.

In working with wood, the burrs on the edge of wood produces splinters.  Get rid of it by sanding, no hurty.

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Fred
aka Pop's Shop
www.pops-shop.com
EX-21
'Soooooo many patterns - sooooo little time'

Ditto what Fred said.

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Lew Kauffman-
Wood Turners Forum Host

Time traveler. Purveyor of the world's finest custom rolling pins!

I'm right there with Fred and Lew on this one

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Greg
Scroll Saw forum host

http://www.thesawdustfactoryga.com/

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Greg
Scroll Saw forum host

http://www.thesawdustfactoryga.com/

OK, Mr. Morris - what say ye

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Fred
aka Pop's Shop
www.pops-shop.com
EX-21
'Soooooo many patterns - sooooo little time'

I'll give ya a clue, Paul is running up the right lamp post on this one!

Lets see if we can get a couple more folks on here, sorry, no prizes for the right answer, just braggin rights!

Fred Wilson said:

OK, Mr. Morris - what say ye

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Fred
aka Pop's Shop
www.pops-shop.com
EX-21
'Soooooo many patterns - sooooo little time'

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker
Proud Supporter of Wounded Warrior Project and Homes For Our Troops

Chasing the Burr is when you are sharpening a chisel that you get the connection line between the sharpened edge and the burr so thin that it will flop over making it easy to remove it with a final pass before stropping.

For the record, I am terrible at sharpening steel so I got the Worksharp 3000.

Again, for the record, I thought I knew what it was but I did google it to make sure I was right before I posted.

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Allen Worsham
Corona, CA

allenworsham@earthlink.net

http://www.awcreationsandwoodcrafts.com

'Graze in every man's field, but always give your own milk' J. Vernon McGee

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Allen, you cheated - but thank you for the right answer.  Now that I read it, I know exactly what ur saying.  

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Fred
aka Pop's Shop
www.pops-shop.com
EX-21
'Soooooo many patterns - sooooo little time'

When metal is machined it will"stretch" metal crystals out past the surface forming a lip or "burr". Chisels, plane blades,knife blades, etc. all show this when being sharpened.

This is the reason we hone the backside first, it puts a microbevel on that surface so when the opposite side is honed, the "burr" drops off before the edge being sharpened.

Most burrs form due to improper sharpening ( dragging blade with cutting edge FOLLOWING the leading edge instead of lifting the chisel, returning to the end of the stone, and running across the stone with the cutting edge being the first to run across the stone (no more burrs on cutting edge).

Of course, there are exceptions, such as scraper planes, burnishers and scrapers where a burr is an essential part of the cutting edge.

Note: Since the advent of mechanical sharpeners where wheels are run along the length of the cutting edge instead of ACROSS the edge the burr is eliminated to the end of the blade making for a sharper edge.

I’ve had pretty good luck sharpening along the edge of a plane blade or chisel blade. Of course it takes some time to set up jigs and such, especially on the Worksharp as you’ll need to build a whole table to set the machine in so you can make a jig to hold the blade at such an angle to allow the disc grit to run along the edge instead of across it.

http://www.woodworkersjournal.com/Main/Articles/Work_Sharp_Tool_Holder_3508.aspx

I have an old Veritas machine that isn’t limited to one angle or one plane. And most of my stuff is hollow ground which greatly reduces sharpening time.

Why we chase the Burr?

Obviously to catch it before it gets to the other side of the road.

I should think the real question here is not why we might chase it, but rather the real question is why it wanted to cross the road.

I'd like to thank all who participated! Great job guys! Cliff, your funny man.

Great job Allen! The first to get it and Mike Williams came in second.

It is the natural progression of sharpening. The burr forms as you sharpen your chisel or plane blade, whether you use a single bevel or micro bevel the burr does form, you cannot see it, but you can feel it. I'll sharpen the top of my bevel first, then flip the chisel or plane blade to the back side and give a few swipes to remove the burr and the result is a finely sharpened blade or chisel. Sometimes it's necessary to "Chase the burr" as you hone the backside of the blade, the burr flops over to the top of the bevel, then you need to go back and give the top a few pushes on the stone, eventually the burr is getting bent over back n forth and it breaks off while abrading the honed edge.

Tip, while honing the back of the blade, keep the back of the blade flat on the stone, you should feel the blade being sucked down onto the stone as you move it back n forth, this assures your keeping the back of the blade flat.

Great job Allen and Mike!

Allen Worsham said:

Chasing the Burr is when you are sharpening a chisel that you get the connection line between the sharpened edge and the burr so thin that it will flop over making it easy to remove it with a final pass before stropping.

For the record, I am terrible at sharpening steel so I got the Worksharp 3000.

Again, for the record, I thought I knew what it was but I did google it to make sure I was right before I posted.

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Allen Worsham
Corona, CA

allenworsham@earthlink.net

http://www.awcreationsandwoodcrafts.com

'Graze in every man's field, but always give your own milk' J. Vernon McGee

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker
Proud Supporter of Wounded Warrior Project and Homes For Our Troops

CLIFF - - - - - 

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Fred
aka Pop's Shop
www.pops-shop.com
EX-21
'Soooooo many patterns - sooooo little time'