Thread: My First Scales

Here is my first attempt at making scales. It’s really the first woodworking of any kind that I’ve done. Overall, I’m happy with the results for a first try. I learned a lot and the scales can be used. Reading the restoration forum and Bill’s CD helped a lot. These scales are thicker than the original scales the razor had, so the razor no longer fits in its box, but that’s not a big deal. In Spanish, in Costa Rica, the wood is called guayaquil. With some help from Ed that translates to Albizia guachapele (though this is not universally accepted yet) or chime tree, and is related to the Mimosa, aka silk tree. I got a bunch of blanks from my father-in-law and chose this one for my first project because it was my least favorite and figured I’d mess it up. In the end, I like how it looks. I finished it with several coats of Formby’s low gloss tung oil finish. I enjoyed doing this and have plenty of wood, so I’ll probably be looking to pick up some razors in need of new scales. Also, I have another blank of guayaquil that measures about 8.5" x 2" x 1/4". (My first step was to plane the wood to a reasonable thickness using a dremel planer.) If anyone is interested is using that blank for anything, send me a PM and it’s yours, no charge (but it would be great if you gave someone in need a little food).

I have to say that even though I'm not a fan of the wood-grain look, it looks absolutely brilliant. You sure this is your first try?

Job well-done from the guy that doesn't have much say.

that's what i call STYLE... with big S... i love it...

Nice job B0000urns, they look Great. Very nice indeed.

Good work! That's it, you are hooked now, we know now who will be competeing on eBay for all the broken-scales razors

How do you like that Dremel-Planner? My wife got me one for Christmas, however I think my dremel is too old to use it (the instructions recommended more recent models), and I have not gotten around to trying to see if it fits... BUT, besides all my rambling, any advice for using it?

C utz

The dremel planer worked well for this. I clamped one end of the blank (which had plenty of length) and moved slowly across. It took several passes, which I consider to be a good thing. The output for sawdust is not very big, so I was sure to get as much debris out as I could between passes. It also made quick work of a sticky door I had.

If nobody has accepted your blank I would be grateful for it and I like the idea of feeding some unfortunate soul in exchange. In fact even if its spoken for I think I'll just go and find someone who needs feeding anyway.

What a great idea.
Thank you

I am humbled by the skills displayed by the members of these boards. 1st scales!!! My word, they look good. Nice job and keep up the good work. I have the planer but haven't given it a try yet. No time like the present. I also like your generosity. Mankind needs more that give in that way. - John

Thanks for compliments. I am hooked. I've never bought a razor from ebay, but am now going to start looking. I already have another razor on order (puma 4/8) that will promptly get new scales. I'll wait until I see it to make a final decision, but I'm thinking either purpleheart or cocobolo. The wood blank is headed to Paul. Probably I will be looking to share some other woods in the future.

Ryan

Wow, the scales look great.
Charlie