Thread: Horn scale making tutorial

Originally Posted by UKRob

Hi Prodigy - that's pretty much what I do except that I drill both pin holes after I have the outline shape but before starting to sand and round the faces. Starting with the pivot end hole, I then use a piece of rod, slip the blade over it and then mark exactly where I want the wedge pin to be. I even go so far as to check the hole will be equidistant either side with calipers.

One tip to make separating the two halves easier - before applying the double sided tape, cover the inside faces with decorators tape. It's much easier to remove that from the inside scale than carpet tape.

Great tutorial on making horn scales. I do it pretty much the same way as Prodigy and UKRob do it. However, I don't soak my scales in neatsfoot oil. I only use it for old scales that are starting to delaminate. Also, I have found that there is no need to sand down both blanks. Double sided tape them together, draw the scale design on a blank (or glue paper design on the scale). Just cut out rough shaped scales with a scroll saw then sand down both sides to approximately 2mm. Take them to the belt sander for rough shaping, then progressive sanding, etc. I sand and polish both sides and do caliper them to ensure both scales are the same with. Good tip from karlej on using double sided scotch tape. Much easier to get off & to separate scales than carpet tape. Agree, that one slab can make one set of scales (2ea.). Horn is super easy to work with and looks great when finished.

Does soaking them in neatsfoot oil first make them easier top shape?

I have some honey horn.
Would it be a good idea to cut,shape and hand sand with the rougher grits and then soak them in neatsfoot before the final higher grits?

Originally Posted by JOB15

I have some honey horn.
Would it be a good idea to cut,shape and hand sand with the rougher grits and then soak them in neatsfoot before the final higher grits?

Just trying to logic it through, seems like we would want to soak it after we're done sanding it or during the final sanding/buffing. I can't imaging doing it in the beginning would allow it to soak all the way through. Seems like it would only soak in the very outer layer that we would be sanding off during shaping and rough sanding. Kinda making it pointless for long term. But I wonder if it makes it easier to shape by soaking early too.

Mine is actually from this guy. He has blanks on ebay all the time.

Well I can't say if it makes it easier to shape. I use a belt sander, so it's easy regardless. I'm still not sure if it makes a difference at all, I've seen others do it so I tried it. I will say that I used goo gone to remove the double sided tape residue, and that appears to have penetrate the horn and made it very nice looking. I'm going to test it further and allow the scales to soak it in, just to see if it really works or not. It could be a bad thing, I don't know.