Thread: First set of custom scales

I've been meaning to make some scales for a Bruno custom I have for some time now. Finally got around to it!
Scale material is Oregon Maple Burl. All of the work was completed with hand tools. I certainly got in my fair share of hand sanding...

I think this burl worked out beautifully, I did manage to crack them whilst pinning but quickly patched it up with some silk and superglue, amazingly it seems to be holding.

The wood is stabilized but I'm not sure if I am going to leave the wood as is, or put a finish. Is oiling scale material an option? It would be nice to make the colors pop. Cheers!

Very nice
A clear coat or polish of some sort should do the trick to help the finish pop
Should add it to the Bruno Blade thread also

very nice !! love that blade also !!

VERY NICE!

Great job for first time.....
Hope my first set comes out as nicely as yours did.....
That will be down the road though.

Again.... Great job!

great first attempt and a fine looking blade, congrats

That a really good first job. As the wood is stabilised you don't need to worry about sealing them so any kind of finish that will bring the grain out should be OK. Ideally it should have been done before pinning so that you can access both sides of each scale easily. It's maybe too late to consider CA as it requires a lot of rubbing down - maybe oil is the answer - you can get between the scales with a cloth and buff them. If you have some spare wood, experiment with a few finishes and see what you like.

By the way, if you intend to keep the scales together when polishing (as opposed to unpinning), make sure you insert something between then as a support otherwise you might crack them again.