Thread: Horn scale making tutorial

Nice tutorial. Everyone has there own way of doing things. All that sanding is the long way around the barn IMHO. After shaping and rough contouring on a 1"x42" 80 grit belt sander I use a scraper to smooth the contours. No need for 150, 220 and 2000 grit. After 1200 it goes on the buffer and comes out like glass. Just making a 45 on the edges and rolling them over with the sand paper makes the scales still look fat. Look at the originals and see how they are thinned to the edges. Can't tell how thick you made the finished scales but keep them thin. .110 to .120 is about right for a big blade. Honey horn is pretty stuff but frequently has delamination. If I can't work around it in laying out the scales I don't use it. I don't like to see the delamination streaks in the scales.
Use double sided scotch tape to hold the scales together. Much easier to separate and plenty strong. I just run a small box cutter blade between them to separate. I use carpet tape if I have to flatten a blank. I simply stick it to a 2x4 and hold it against a 9 inch disc sander.I've never found the need to use neatsfoot oil on new scale material. If it's really warped I use a heat gun to heat the material and bend it buy hand until it's close to flat and then on to the disc sander. Careful with the heat gun. Too much heat is not good for the horn.
You'll have a devil of a time seeing your pattern drawn on black horn. Just get a glue stick and glue the pattern to the scale material.
UKRob's tip to drill the scales while they are flat and paired up makes life easier. No worries about a wandering drill or the scales squiring around while trying to drill them. The holes always come out straight and true.
Thanks for sharing and taking the time to make the tutorial. I enjoy seeing how other folks do things.
Regards,
Karl