Matching up scale halves

A decent old pair of ivory-scaled Sheffields, one with a cracked scale which needs replacement
Attachment 168483

After disassembly of the damaged razor, a hard look thru the parts bin produces the only viable candidate. I needed something larger, not smaller, so as to match the 3 remaining scale halves.

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Finding a donor with the exact pin hole spacing is a dream. As you can see, they were off by about a half-hole. Best it was going to get!

Attachment 168488
A small, pointed jeweler's file slightly slotted all 4 holes in the right directions until the holes aligned.

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Back apart, the parts to be sanded down to were taped. most on the original scale, the tip of the replacement scale. Then, bolted back together.

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Using a Dremel fine drum sander, Low speed sanding smoothly as possible till the tape was hit evenly everywhere. I do this with a fan blowing across the work, taking the stinky dust away! ;)

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Unbolted the halves again, removed tape. Looking pretty decent!

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Bolted back together. Here is where the hand sanding, matching contours, polishing, more contour sanding comes in!

After doing my best, unbolted, smoothed a bit and polished!

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The tips of the original-scaled razor are slightly taller at top at this point.

A good match for the other set of scales, save a bit shorter on the top. The other razor will be completely disassembled and the tips matched to the repaired set using the same technique. Probably best to have unpinned everything as my collarless peens never quite seem to match the factory ones! ;)

No more ivory is being made, so saving and using scale halves is the only way I have to replace them. As long as the halves last, that is!

This works well for me as trying to do more exact work such as in pairs. I have used it on bone and Bakelite as well.
Blue masking tape works great too. On single razors, sanding some here on one side, there on the other, usually makes a slightly different scale than either started as, but more often, turns out pretty good!

Great Tutorial Tom! I really appreciate the time and effort you ( and all the Mentors @SRP) take to help out us less experienced guys. This is what SRP is all about IMO...not just showing off what one man can do BUT actually showing us how you do it to be able to re-create and restore some of the wonderful vintage blades that are out there in the wild to be found and made new again.

:tu

WP34

Thank you, Mike! Indeed, anyone could do this with the right donor scale, some teeny nuts and bolts. I use a dremel drum for the bulk work, but hand sanding works well, albeit slower. I expect a belt sander with fine grit would work fine too. The tape just gives a visual when enough is enough and the hand work begins! :D

Great writup and a good reason to save everything,esp. old scales and wedges,I saved everything for yrs.I just shipped off 54lbs of Ivory scrap befor the hammer falls in a few weeks,by than you will no longer be able to sell and ship any Ivory scaled razor anywhere leagally.
You will not be able to sell your vintage piano with Ivory Keys. we have to save the elephants.

Thanks, Pixel! Yes, Bill, a shame we cannot trade in old ivory soon. It is what it is. I surely do not agree with the modern poaching of ivory, and I am shure all of us feel same. In antiquities, the bits and pieces from history should be exempt. IMO, but the powers that be have proclaimed it is not to be. This was the plastic and acrylic of the bygone day. I save even the smaller broken bits. Perhaps I shall make ivory wedges for this pair from them. Why not? I should own them forever, I suppose!

The new edict is not yet cast in stone,we shall know mid june.If all happens as Obama wants,Your martin Guitar with Ivory inlay is illegal to ship anywhere (understand, you can own ivory) your 100 yr old bosendorfer Piano with Ivory keys is verbotten.
An Orchestra will not be able to travel with vintage instruments that contain Ivory,your Pool Que with an Ivory ferrull cannot be taken out of your home state, your Colt 45 with 100 yr old grips is illegal.
Poached modern day Ivory, never comes to this country,it is sold to China and japan, they buy it at auction leagally, the are licensed by international Law to do so.

Great tute Tom. How much leeway do you allow when slotting the holes ? Did you pin sans washers finally ?.

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Originally Posted by onimaru55

Great tute Tom. How much leeway do you allow when slotting the holes ? Did you pin sans washers finally ?.

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Thanks, Oz! :) I figure about that half a hole is the most I could afford on these. Keep in mind I took a bit from each pin hole to get alignment. Also, these oldies have a bit smaller than 1/16 pins, so that also gives a bit of breathing room as filing. It all comes together decent. That way, I have less chance that one will show noticeably. If I were using regular collars, I would be in.
I will probably use some extremely small silver wire collars which I can peen over. You won't really see them, but they will be less hairy to pin and will hide a few tiny sins.
I started this here, so I may go thru the process, if some are interested. Any shortcuts or techniques you guys know of might help! Always up for suggestions. Some of the simplest things are so useful. We just don't think of them! Like the tape here. Made a world of difference and saved a ton of frustrating sanding by not going too far.

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Originally Posted by sharptonn

I started this here, so I may go thru the process, if some are interested.

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It ain't over till it's over. :)

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Originally Posted by onimaru55

It ain't over till it's over. :)

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THAT sounds as a challenge! :D
Oh well, I am gonna do it anyway!

Bruce

I think your timing on this could not have been better as I am about to do the same thing. I have a seven day set with two set of scales that have been replaced with faux ivory, but not a great match. I recently purchased a couple of razors with ivory scales and the blades are past the end of their life span. I hope you are going to do a part two: Pinning ivory scales without collars.

Interesting you would say that, Rez. One of my earliest threads here taught me a great deal and made me some fine friends! If nothing else, it is funny! :roflmao
http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...ing-ivory.html

haha. I am reading that thread right now. It is a night of odd coincidence!

Yeah! It was a hoot! I think the end has died. Here are the razors as I completed them. They now reside with a friend these days in AU!
http://straightrazorpalace.com/custo...emans-set.html

Nice job on the pinning. Did you finish those pins off with the nail set? There was a reference to annealing the silver pins, what is that process? Is it as simple as heating the pins until they get a light glow and then allowing them to cool to room temperature?

The nail-set was not even tried! Tons of tiny taps. Yes, I use a propane torch and kiss the end of the pins to it. Gone to 20 count now, but only if quenched. Less if you let it cool naturally. Really don't want to anneal the center of the pin. Just the tips. I will get a thing on that going as I move forward.

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Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Great writup and a good reason to save everything,esp. old scales and wedges,I saved everything for yrs.I just shipped off 54lbs of Ivory scrap befor the hammer falls in a few weeks,by than you will no longer be able to sell and ship any Ivory scaled razor anywhere leagally.
You will not be able to sell your vintage piano with Ivory Keys. we have to save the elephants.

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Never seen an elephant play the piano!

They are very cultured, some even have painting that sell for very large amounts. You do need to get out more.

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Originally Posted by RezDog

They are very cultured, some even have painting that sell for very large amounts. You do need to get out more.

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Excellent picture/word tutorial Tom - you do it how it should be done!

Strange how some of us get fixated on the little things, like the process of collarless pinning. Some you see are done with such flair that there had to be some time involved in teaching the process - pity no one has access to the printed word now. The closest contender is the old french book with illustrations, but those pins are more like bulls-eyes than collarless - another thing that must have come easy to those taught how to it properly!

I imagine a small lathe and some metal turning ability provided small die cutting pieces to be made for the washers, and I can just conceive a very small tool to dome over the head of a collar-less setting.

Anyway - keep on with the good work!

Regards,
Neil

Thank You Tom for the nicely done Tutorial, I added it to the Workshop Sticky much appreciated :tu

http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...wers-here.html

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Originally Posted by RezDog

They are very cultured, some even have painting that sell for very large amounts. You do need to get out more.

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I don't know why Neil quoted this in his response. My comment should have quoted Anthony1954, as that is the reply that I was commenting on. It was intended to be a cheeky response to a cheeky response. It has been an awesome thread, and so were the others that Tom referred me to.

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Originally Posted by RezDog

I don't know why Neil quoted this in his response. My comment should have quoted Anthony1954, as that is the reply that I was commenting on. It was intended to be a cheeky response to a cheeky response. It has been an awesome thread, and so were the others that Tom referred me to.

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Neil gets a bit 'fluid' as the nite wears on! ;)

Talk about 'cheeky' !!


Attachment 168554

How on earth did you know my mother-in-law likes a little water music, Tom.

Astounding!

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

Thank You Tom for the nicely done Tutorial, I added it to the Workshop Sticky much appreciated :tu

http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...wers-here.html

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Cor! Glen posted you in a sticky! Don't you go forgetting your old pals when you hit the heights:

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Regards,
Neil :)

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Originally Posted by RezDog

I don't know why Neil quoted this in his response. My comment should have quoted Anthony1954, as that is the reply that I was commenting on. It was intended to be a cheeky response to a cheeky response. It has been an awesome thread, and so were the others that Tom referred me to.

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I don't know either, Shaun! I guess my mouse pointer was resting on your post when I decided to reply, and I hit 'reply with quote' rather than 'reply' - anyhow, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Don't listen to Tom about me getting more fluid as the night wears on - how very dare he suggest such an infamous thing!

Regards,
Neil

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Originally Posted by Neil Miller

I don't know either, Shaun! I guess my mouse pointer was resting on your post when I decided to reply, and I hit 'reply with quote' rather than 'reply' - anyhow, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Don't listen to Tom about me getting more fluid as the night wears on - how very dare he suggest such an infamous thing!

Regards,
Neil

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Well Neil, if you don't have a good alibi it's best to stick to your story!

Back on track, Unpinning the other razor. The tops of the pins are lightly dremel-drumed so the bit won't walk. Always use split-tip bits!!

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Bringing the razor up to the spinning bit, changing angles to get to center and stay there!


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If done perfectly, the peened part of the pin will climb up the bit like a collar. Wiggle and wobble, keep drilling until it comes apart!

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No punches or hammers here! Grasp the pin from the inside of the scale and lightly twist back and forth, push out. Then grab it from the outside, twist, pull till free. Be gentle!

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Ready now to mod the tips of these to match the other one!

I have no idea how you are photographing this Tom. The pictures are so incredible. Each one worth way more than thousands words. It also appears that it isn't just me that hand holds object and pushes them on to the spinning bit in the drill press.

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Originally Posted by RezDog

I have no idea how you are photographing this Tom. The pictures are so incredible. Each one worth way more than thousands words. It also appears that it isn't just me that hand holds object and pushes them on to the spinning bit in the drill press.

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That is how I do it. There is a vise under a rag about an inch and a half under the bit. I rest my hands on the vise and bring the razor to the bit. There are a couple of other good recent threads here in the workshop, one by MyCarver and one by Silverloaf on different ways to do this. I do it this way so I can change angles easily to keep the bit in the center of the pin.

So after unpinning the razor, I clean the scales good. A worn, damp scrap of scotchbrite dipped in Ajax cleanser scrubs them best, esp the rust and crud on the inside pivot area, I have found.

Attachment 168575

Here, I have bolted the original half (previously modified) to the opposite half of this razor. Not much needs to come off. Unbolted, tape applied (found my blue tape!), and dremel drumed to the other scale. Went a bit too far! Oh well, unbolted, tape comes off, bolted back together, sand and contour.

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Everything lightly hand sanded with fine stuff, taken to a buffer. Ivory LOVES the buffer! Just be careful and light!
So now I have a couple of sets of reasonably matching scales. Time to dig thru the busted ivory pile and make some ivory wedges!

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I found a busted scale which was very flat on top and lined out a few wedges. Drilled the pin-holes carefully on the drill press. Then, I used a dremel cut-off wheel to roughly cut them out. Sanded the contour flat on the inside edges.
I use a rod to guide the scale onto the wedge with CA on the wedge. First, I practiced. Everything you do, I would recommend practicing first! :D It is more correct to slightly cant the wedge inside edge angled away at the top, closer in at the bottom of the scale. Press hard and clamp for a few minutes. YES, that is a bit of my fingerprint stuck to the one on the left! :rofl2: It was a bugger pulling my finger off! It will sand off!

So as I test fit the blades with the nuts and bolts, I can disassemble them as necessary and sand the wedges on the other side using the scale as a handle on sandpaper/flat surface until all fits properly. I don't look for much issue as the original wedges had little or no taper to them.
I will pin the whole razors and then work by hand to sand the wedges flush and then polish.
All for today. Tomorrow I shall work on the blades. One has nasty pitting on the backside tang. Have to be careful sanding there as it may change tang to scale geometry if I go too much. Otherwise, the blades are pretty good.

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Originally Posted by sharptonn

I found a busted scale which was very flat on top and lined out a few wedges. Drilled the pin-holes carefully on the drill press. Then, I used a dremel cut-off wheel to roughly cut them out. Sanded the contour flat on the inside edges.
I use a rod to guide the scale onto the wedge with CA on the wedge. First, I practiced. Everything you do, I would recommend practicing first! :D It is more correct to slightly cant the wedge inside edge angled away at the top, closer in at the bottom of the scale. Press hard and clamp for a few minutes. YES, that is a bit of my fingerprint stuck to the one on the left! :rofl2:. It was a bugger pulling my finger off! It will sand off!

So as I test fit the blades with the nuts and bolts, I can disassemble them as necessary and sand the wedges on the other side using the scale as a handle on sandpaper/flat surface until all fits properly. I don't look for much issue as the original wedges had little or no taper to them.
I will pin the whole razors and then work by hand to sand the wedges flush and then polish.
All for today. Tomorrow I shall work on the blades. One has nasty pitting on the backside tang. Have to be careful sanding there as it may change tang to scale geometry if I go too much. Otherwise, the blades are pretty good.

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Great stuff, just a thought,next time, turn them 180 degs, than the end grain will show at the very wedge end.

He holds the cam in his mouth and snaps with his tongue :<0)

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Originally Posted by RezDog

I have no idea how you are photographing this Tom. The pictures are so incredible. Each one worth way more than thousands words. It also appears that it isn't just me that hand holds object and pushes them on to the spinning bit in the drill press.

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Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Great stuff, just a thought,next time, turn them 180 degs, than the end grain will show at the very wedge end.

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Good thought, Pixel! The grain would flow with the scales! :banghead: Oh well! ;)
THANKS! (I should consult before CA'ing!) :D

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Originally Posted by 10Pups

He holds the cam in his mouth and snaps with his tongue :<0)

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HA! I got my shop helper to take some holding a loupe over the lens. Kept bitching at him to get closer! :p

I know this is an ivory scale tut but a lot of these tips will work for other materials also. great show !! :popcorn:

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Originally Posted by 10Pups

I know this is an ivory scale tut but a lot of these tips will work for other materials also. great show !! :popcorn:

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Thanks! Indeed yes! :) At least for me!

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Originally Posted by sharptonn

Good thought, Pixel! The grain would flow with the scales! :banghead: Oh well! ;)
THANKS! (I should consult before CA'ing!) :D

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Nobody but me, and you would ever see the diff,they will be great.

A sincere "Thanks" for taking the time for this incredible write up, and pictures of your process on this restoration. So looking forward to see the final outcome with Brush and all, great job my friend!

Thomas
A wonderful tutorial indeed. Your certainly the right right man for this masterclass, being you been restoring those 7 day Henckels ivory & 7 day M.O.P. sets. You have your process down pat.
I guess having confidence in your actions is a integral part of dealing with such a fragile medium as vintage ivory.

Tommy he no fear the ivory...