Thread: ebay scales

Cheers mate, that's very thoughtful of you. Its only a little drive from Canberra

Originally Posted by dooey

Cheers mate, that's very thoughtful of you. Its only a little drive from Canberra

lol. I have a band saw and scroll saw, so if you ever find some nice wood, you are welcome to post to me with a template of scale shape and preferred thickness, I can easily cut to size and post back to you. Id only do a rough cut allowing you wiggle-room for sanding, rounding edges etc.

Just an offer, obviously it's easier to buy pre-made if you can find what you're after.

They look ok but you will have to modify them to your liking. I have bleached white bone blanks that I have made my own scales from. Here is a Wade & Butcher with a steamship on the blade that I made bone scales from scratch. I bought the bone on eBay. I made them thin like ivory scales with a brass wedge.

here they are as i unpacked them



there are a few minor differences between each of the seven pairs, but each pair matches up pretty well.



They needs sanding, they are still too thick to use straight away



i am not sure how bendy they will be ( i want to use a wedge not a spacer)
and i have no idea how i am going to finish them.
so the project i got them for is a seven day set that had broken and mismatched scales



i am not sure but i think i might be mildly allergic to them as well

My thin scales I made for the W & B are strong! I had to clamp them to a board & filed them until I got them thin enough then sanded them & polished them by hand.

Originally Posted by engine46

My thin scales I made for the W & B are strong! I had to clamp them to a board & filed them until I got them thin enough then sanded them & polished them by hand.

they look very nice, i like them. did you use Palm sander fixture for scale slabs - Straight Razor Place Library (i don't think i will go quite as thin as yours.)

how did you polish them? just really high sand paper or did you use ca or a lacquer?

looks like a great project Dooey
I am currently doing some bone scales from about 4mm x 25mm x 200mm blanks from Robsbits
after I got b!tched at for stinking the house out when rough grinding the scale shape on the bench grinder, I then moved to thinning & flattening them on 180 grit W&D on my glass plate I use for lapping, then moved up the grits currently at 800 grit
they are sitting at about 2-2.5mm thick
I have made a horn wedge, at first it was a bit to much wedge and the scales were open about 3/4" at the pivot but they still bent in no problem for a trial fit, but a bit to much curve & pressure for my liking, so flattened the wedge back out to about a 1/2" opening at the pivot & less stress & look & feel much better.

Originally Posted by dooey

they look very nice, i like them. did you use Palm sander fixture for scale slabs - Straight Razor Place Library (i don't think i will go quite as thin as yours.)

how did you polish them? just really high sand paper or did you use ca or a lacquer?

I did not use the palm sander. I used a c-clamp to clamp one end of the bone to the wood & filed it down then turned it around & did the same. I made sure just to clamp them enough to not move. I used a really high grit sandpaper on them then polished by hand. No ca or a lacquer.

Originally Posted by engine46

I did not use the palm sander. I used a c-clamp to clamp one end of the bone to the wood & filed it down then turned it around & did the same. I made sure just to clamp them enough to not move. I used a really high grit sandpaper on them then polished by hand. No ca or a lacquer.

I like this idea it seems to be quite do-able with the limited resources i have in the garage. i guess i am just a little daunted by the seven pairs that i want to get through. i will set up some sort of rig to be able to get through all 14 pieces.
I would like to take them down to about 1.5-2mm but i will see how i go as i work on them if they need to be thicker or thinner.

i also like the idea of using old tyre weights for wedges, i think i will use a piece of sheet aluminium though. that way i can cut one out and have it correct and use it as a stencil for the others.( i think it will be easier to make them all the same, than having to whack out a new lead weight each time)

i am using this as a guide http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...pic-heavy.html they won't be as nice but it will be ok

i will try to keep up a log of what i do (the good the bad and the ugly)

Originally Posted by dooey

here they are as i unpacked them



there are a few minor differences between each of the seven pairs, but each pair matches up pretty well.



They needs sanding, they are still too thick to use straight away



i am not sure how bendy they will be ( i want to use a wedge not a spacer)
and i have no idea how i am going to finish them.
so the project i got them for is a seven day set that had broken and mismatched scales



i am not sure but i think i might be mildly allergic to them as well

That will be a nice 7 day set when you are done. I hope your scales come out like you want them to.