Thread: Really love making scales

I agree with all the comments above, especially about using wedges, that said that bunch of scales looks pretty nice to me.

Originally Posted by mainaman

Use wedges in the scales not spacers. Spacers will cause the scales to bend inward eventually, wedges will prevent that.
Second point I would like to make is, any custom set of scales has to be tested on a blade to make sure everything fits before installation.

Thank you for the great point of having the blade first so you can make scales with the blade in hand.

I have made more scale blanks on the side which i am now waiting to get more naked blades to fit them.

For the scales in the pictures for sure i had the blades fitted for them so each scale has a corresponding blade for it.



these are the blades.

It's just that i am enjoying making scales that i have not put time in shining up,polishing and honing them yet.

Soon,very soon.

Now my problem is getting to try to make with other material such as bone or horn.

But having a hard time to find material like that here in Canada.

Would anyone know where i can get them here for razor scales?

Thank you again for all the advice.

Originally Posted by traps38

Would anyone know where i can get them here for razor scales?

Well for bone you can go to just about any pet store and find a bone suitable for scales thats allready been prepared. For bone you can look on Ebay Seller id: Robsbits, he sell all kinds of horn and bone just make sure the piece you get is long enough to make scales.

Excellent work! I love the look of the white ones with red wedges.

Thank you for the kind words.

Still got a long way to go so i can make them really nice like some of you guys but will keep getting better i hope.

I ordered some camel bone from robsbits and they are nice.

The only thing is as i have no major power tools there is a lot of sanding down for me.

Haven't drilled a hole in this bone yet,hope it doesn't crack?

Would a coping saw work if i had to cut it or will it do damage?

I also went to a pet store and bought some bone.

Got to see how that will work as it is my first time.

That is a lovely collection of scales and blades! Good luck on putting them together

Haven't drilled a hole in this bone yet,hope it doesn't crack?

I cracked an ebony wedge two days ago when drilling a hole because I used too much pressure and too few revs. Drill at a high speed (the highest you can manage without wobbling the drill) and use little pressure, then you should be fine

Originally Posted by Laurens

That is a lovely collection of scales and blades! Good luck on putting them together



I cracked an ebony wedge two days ago when drilling a hole because I used too much pressure and too few revs. Drill at a high speed (the highest you can manage without wobbling the drill) and use little pressure, then you should be fine

Thank you for that advice.
Will do.

i also learnt the hard way when drilling holes for pins in the wedge, if using fragile material drill the hole before tapering.
i used turquoise and the first one cracked when drilling. Second one i drilled at full thickness with now issue, then tapered.
With fragile scales, just back it up on a piece of wood and also put some masking tape on bath sides of each scale where you will drill. This helps stop chipping where the drill bit goes through. i use a coping saw for all my scale work {no power saw} and never have issues. Actually seems easier on the famed hard stuff like G10, and on softer materials, just go slow and let the saw teeth do the work.
Patience is the key.
Adam

Originally Posted by Adam G.

i also learnt the hard way when drilling holes for pins in the wedge, if using fragile material drill the hole before tapering.
i used turquoise and the first one cracked when drilling. Second one i drilled at full thickness with now issue, then tapered.
With fragile scales, just back it up on a piece of wood and also put some masking tape on bath sides of each scale where you will drill. This helps stop chipping where the drill bit goes through. i use a coping saw for all my scale work {no power saw} and never have issues. Actually seems easier on the famed hard stuff like G10, and on softer materials, just go slow and let the saw teeth do the work.
Patience is the key.
Adam

Thank you for that advice and will do.

I want to make horn scales.

Easy to work with coping saw,hand sanding and drilling?

That's very nice work.

How thick do you make the wedges? I'm just starting making scales. I've seen a few videos on making scales, even Charles Lewis'. The videos mention tapering the wedge, but none indicate the wedge thickness.