Thread: Made some more scales

I think they are very nice. Well done!

They look real good from here as well

Good job

These scales look pretty darn good! I like the material and color a lot and the shape is great, not too banana-ed. Also, they are a good size for the blades as far as I can see, and the pins look clean too. My only constructive criticism would be at wedge end (and possibly at the pivot end, can't see in the pics) the scales could be thinned and tapered some. These here are a bit blocky there. Great job overall though!

All has been said! Great workmanship and material!
Yes! Thinned and downsized a bit. Well..A good bit!

Thing about removing pins. I curse the whole time.
Should'a done this or that!
Might benefit to undo that and thin it all out.

Will be smashing!

damn. great job. hecka lot better than my first scales. pins look really nice too.
what material did you use for the wedge?

You get better every time pete. As said, thinner on the scales. I normally shoot for .100 inch thickness on scales. Plus tappered more on the edges. Also a bit more wedge shape although, if your wedge gave you an inch of space at pivot end before pinning the pivot then all is good.

Keep it up Pete. I love the color btw. I havent done any red yet.

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?

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.