Thread: Made some more scales

Pete123, If I were to be picky....as it's been said thinner scales would be my suggestion also. The pins look a little bit too far in too. Could be the angle of pics? Also one of my pet peeves is a razor that will not stand on its own. Again it might be for the camera angle to show the scales better.

All in all they really do look pretty darn good...especially if you just started making scales! Keep up the good work....

Thanks to all for responding.

I'll answer questions and then ask some more.

1. The wedge. I used a polyester resin. I got tired of sanding and shored up the uneven areas with CA (super glue).

2. The pins. I fell upon a really easy way to make the pins look good. I tried and failed in making a piece of wood with a dimple shaped space that would shape the scale. I was polishing the scales with 3M Marine and noticed that it was making the pins look good, which is how I did it. The 3M and buffing wheel did the work of forming a perfect dome.

A lesson I learned the hard way is that both Mothers and 3M create a black substance when acting on metal. It got on the buffing wheel. I was working on something else and the black got on it. Thus, I would recommend a wheel only for that, or do what I did and will be doing in the future. I used a hard wool wheel on my Dremel. It turned as black as the night and I've saved it for pin duty, which is easier than switching out a wheel on the bench buffer.

3. No one asked about this, though I was pleased and somewhat amazed at the mirror finish I got on this. The pics didn't capture this, though when outside taking pictures, I could see the colors of the trees and other things that were reflected. The secret recipie? A bench buffer and 3M Marine, followed by a final buff with Mothers.

The bench buffer is far better than the Dremel for standard buffing. The bench unit is faster and more even. As well, the Dremel will burn the scales unless you are on the slowest speed.

This material was the Canvas Double Red Coral from Masecraft. It is under the Micarta section.

One final comment before questions. It does stand up on its own. I tilted it to get better pics.

Questions:

1. What is the easiest way to thin a material to .10 inches?
2. Will being as thin as .10 or .12 impact the durability and life of the scales?
3. I understand that using lead is the easiest way to make a wedge, though I like the look of other materials. Are there some best practices for making wedges from other materials easier?
4. Can you get a jig to help create the proper slant on non-lead wedges?

Your wedge should taper to about half the thickness. That is a good ratio, so the thin end is half the thickness of the, thick end. Personally, thinner wedges look better. A properly tapered wedge will keep the scales in tension and keep the blade centered.

The thick end of the wedge should be the thickness of the blade where you want the blade to touch the top of the scale. Align the pivot pin to the scale and lay the scale on the razor until you have the wedge end where you want it to sit, on the blade when closed. Mark that spot with a sharpie. Now measure the thickness of the blade at your mark. That should be the thickness of your wedge, the other side is half that thickness.

Cut you wedge to rough size, glue it to a piece of wood, (paint stir stick) and taper the wedge on a belt sander or on a sheet of 120 on a flat surface, putting pressure on one side. Pin the wedge to the razor then shape the wedge to final shape after it is pinned in place.

Use old scales as templates/guides for shape, thickness, pin placement and proportion. They really did have it figured out well. Once you have made a few, and get the feel for a proper shape and proration, then make your own style, you will end up with a better product.

Yes, thickness matters in stropping and shaving, thick scales feel clunky and are awkward to strop. Thin on a belt sander 80 grit to thickness, measure frequently with a pair of calipers. Micarta is strong, you can go pretty thin.

Re-visit Karl’s great post on making Horn scales (How to make a traditional set of Horn Scales) It is packed full of great information and detail.

While you may not be able to shape the scales with a scraper as easily as horn, the tapering method and proportions are spot on.

Try buffing on Green Chrome polishing greased compound first then finish on 3m. buff all the scale first and try not to hit the pin until last. Raking the wheel clean will remove the black, then reload the wheel. Get a wheel rake, money well spent, for safety and performance. Sanding to 1k before assembly will also make your finish pop.

Doming the washer will give you a nice look and keep the pins in a bit more tension, you don’t need much doming to change the look.

Nice work, great color.

Nice job..

I like the profile of the scales . They match the straight spine..

Down the line you could de construct and thin the scales . Thin the wedge and give it a bit more of a wedge shape.
That's what I did .. My first restoration looked like a Lego piece

Interestingly, Harbor Freight has a belt sander on sale which is just the tool needed both for thinning and putting more taper on the scales.

I'm getting one tomorrow!

Thats the one I have Pete. Although I did work it over to be a bit better. Send me a PM when you get yours and I'll take a couple pics of mine to show you what I did. You can also find some good info on youtube about how to make the sander better. I found the info there.

BTW, I made a piece of wood with a handle on one side and use double side tape to hold both scales to the wood. Then go at the sander with even pressure, measuring often. It helps me to get an even thickness across the entire scale. Good luck.

Pete,
Yours looks better than my first attempts and some of my recent redos too, keep up the good work. I have yet to use macarta, did you use a mask while grinding it down?

Originally Posted by MisterClean

Pete,
... did you use a mask while grinding it down?

I learned a safety lesson yesterday big enough that I'll start a thread on it. I'm glad you asked about the mask.