3 Attachment(s)
Bloodwood backed ebony, mosaic wedge rod and a W&B wedge
I decided to try something new. I had some ebony that I wanted to make some scales out of but plain old black is not that interesting. So I decided to try backing the ebony with some bloodwood to add that dark blood red trim to the jet black ebony. My challenge, I wanted the scales to have a very thin bloodwood rim around the ebony. To get that effect I had to cut the scales to very precise measurements. Both pieces of bloodwood, both pieces of ebony, and both laminated pieces of wood had to be exactly the same thickness for the entire length of the scale. If one or the other was off by the slightest amount there would be a very evident wave in the trim. I used calipers to get both sides, and both pieces of wood to within on tenth of an inch in thickness before I started cutting.
Once I had the thickness exact I could tape the scales together and gently run them over the router to get the exact curve on the edges of the scales. The router cleared the ebony half way through the curve leaving a thin and perfectly even bloodwood frame around the ebony. I finished the scales in gloss epoxy resin to draw out the depth of the wood.
I have had a piece of mosaic rod in my pinning box that I have been dying to try out. Since my scales were black, my pivot pin was going to be brass, the black filler brass mosaic rod would look good so I went for it. Normally, when you would do something like this you would fit the wedge and glue the rod in place, then sand the entire thing down even with the scales and then apply the finish. With epoxy, you cannot since the resin must drip over the edges of the scales to self level.
I temporarily glued the wedge to the scales, taped everything up with painters tape to keep from scratching the finish, measured twice and drilled my hole through the scale, wedge and out the other side. Then I had to measure, cut, sand and polish the pin to incredibly tight tolerances to get the fit correct. I said a small prayer, mixed up a little epoxy and glued the wedge, scales and pin together. I wrapped it in wax paper and used a rubber padded clamp to clamp it all together for a day of curing. I did get a little run out which left some residue on the scales. I gave them a gentle rub with some polishing compound to work the over glue off the base epoxy and then buffed it gently on some white rogue to polish out the light swirls left from the compound. Then I gave them all a good wax to clean it up.
I decided to clean up an ancient Wade and Butcher blade to put in these beauties. I sanded on this guy for a long, long time to clean it up. There are still some light marks on the blade and some tiny pitting but I don’t mind. This blade is ancient, it predates the Wade and Butcher cross and arrow trademark. It is a 7/8 wedge that was in rough shape. I sanded out most of the old hone ware and the bulk of the blade imperfections then buffed the heck out of it to get a nice shine. Then I held my breath one last time and pinned it all together.
I need better light to showcase the scales but we are not supposed to have sun for a couple of days, rain in Ohio. So for now, these will have to do. I think it came out darn good for my first attempt at a set like this.
