Why glue a wedge

Ive seen it mentioned occasionally in threads that some glue their wedges in place. Can someone explain the reasons and thought process behind this please? Do you glue only one side? Or both? Regular CA or something other?

Ive made a few scales now and am enjoying the experience. Always looking for ways to improve. But i have been hesitant to use glue on the wedge. I seem to do a LOT of very small adjustments to the scales in relationship to the wedge - up, down, forward, back - to make sure that the razor doesnt 'list' or tip to any side and sit upright. Right up to the final last few peens. Wouldnt glueing the wedge in place limit my ability to do this?

would appreciate any insights.
thanks.
-s.

Gluing the wedge does place restriction on adjustments for sure. I have on occasion glued one side of a wedge. Typically I did that on the days that I was having trouble keeping everything together and have only ever glued one side. My current strategy on those days is to use tape. A quick wrap holding the pin from the bottom and the wedge and two sides of the scales, then get the pivot end lined up, then the final trim of the pin if needed and the last peen and then adjust a little. More and more I find that tape is my new BFF in the workshop.

thanks for the info rezdog. ill give tape a shot.

i used to pin the wedge first but now do the pivot instead as ive found that the need to 'scissor' the scales to get the blade in place just knocked my wedge out of alignment again. especially when i work with liners. keeping all 3 pieces together can be difficult.

i do pivot first. but keep it semi-loose so i can still make small adjustments. and then focus on the wedge until complete. and then back to the pivot to tighen up and finalize alignment.

wondering what others do?

The other thing I do is peen the one side in a drill chuck first so it is secure before I start messing around. I do the wedge first and often use a spacer block to stabilize my pivot end. The space block is more or less a large wedge with short pins sticking out of it. Essentially I put the pin in the wedge end and the scales and wedge all taped together. The little spacer gets taped in on the pivot end and then the final trim on the wedge pine and then peen. Take the wedge out and put in the blade, thrust washers etc and tape it all together, trim and peen the pivot wedge. Flex and adjust a little here and there and tighten the pins and get it all cantered up.

thanks rez!

Reading your OP I think you have a perfect understanding of the issues Pro/Con as to gluing a wedge

As my friend Shaun already pointed out quite well there are other options and tricks to getting it all lined up..

You can also use the same trick the old masters used which is to "Rough" the wedge and the wedge end of the scales to make them not spin as easy..


When in doubt look to what they have done for 100's of years they might know a thing or two about building razors :rofl2:

I'm still trying to figure the whole wedge thing out. I've used CA and and trying not to use it. Here are the issues I've had with it.

I glued both sides with a set of scales made from Polyester. The scales broke because they needed to be able to make small movements and the glue didn't allow that.

I tried using CA to help fill in the gaps in the wedge. The problem there is that CA doesn't look the same as the wedge. As well, this would require gluing both sides.

I like having some transparent scales in the mix a little drop of CA shows through the scales.

I have never CA glued a wedge but I do epoxy one side of the wedge.

This keeps the wedge from possibly spinning. With epoxy you can get the wedge off if needed. Using CA pretty much insures having to grind the wedge to remove it.

thanks guys. three additional techniques to try moving forward - tape, epoxy and roughing. all makes sense. and every bit helps. i do like the look of a seamless wedge.

thanks again.
-s.

I do exactly like Rez. No glue, peen one side on a Drill Press chuck ($1 at a garage sale). I put the washer on and make a pretty good head. I file to fit.

And I also wedge the pivot side when pinning the wedge, with a ½ in thick rubber eraser. Just slide it in until you get the proper wedge angle.

I pin on a small 4” anvil or a 6” piece of small gage railroad tie, that makes a difference, enough room to lay the scale flat and supported.

Don’t think there is a right or wrong way, but I find that pinning the wedge can be more challenging than the pivot because of the wedge angle. So, if you pin the wedge first you don’t have to worry about dealing with or damaging the blade, while pinning.

Once you start pinning the other side of the wedge and everything is together, you really don’t have to worry about alignment until it starts to tighten up.

Make your pin holes a little larger than 1/16 in, (5/64) and the wedge hole larger that the pin hole, (3/32-7/64) for more wiggle room.

Cut the wedge large and fit to the scales once it is pinned tight and you are happy with the alignment.

A seamless wedge is a flat wedge and flat inside scales, Do not buff the inside or edge, of the wedge side of the scale unless they are glued together. If you round the inside edge, you will have a gap and will have to grind flat or fill with CA.

CA can hide a lot of sins…

I leave the sides of my wedges with 40 grit scratch marks. That will give them a lot of friction when pinning. I've never ever glued a wedge in place. Once you glue, you can never adjust or take apart. Rough surfaces and normal pins do the trick.

definitely going to rough up the wedge and scales going forward. seems like an extra 2 minute task with nothing but up-side.

once the wedge is in place and sanded down to the scales how does everyone buff them to remove all the new scratches? ive found that some amount of compound always gets inbetween the wedge and scales no matter how tight the pins. its fine for dark scales (i.e. its there but not seen) but looks terrible with transparent or transluscent materials.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sloanwinters

definitely going to rough up the wedge and scales going forward. seems like an extra 2 minute task with nothing but up-side.

once the wedge is in place and sanded down to the scales how does everyone buff them to remove all the new scratches? ive found that some amount of compound always gets inbetween the wedge and scales no matter how tight the pins. its fine for dark scales (i.e. its there but not seen) but looks terrible with transparent or transluscent materials.

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Good question!

I have a yellow buffing wheel that polishes with out compound and leaves no color marks. I also have a white compound that I use on a specific wheel that is only used for bone, no blade or pins and collars ever touch this wheel.

you sly dog (pun intended). can you really keep a wheel white? not an easy feat. just a touch of metal and that wheel goes dark forever.

It does not have to be perfect, but if it gets a mark from say a pin I rake it and reload it. If you get a stain on bone in can be quite challenging to get it out, also a couple of coats of renwax before any buffing helps keep the stain away. Keeping bone clean in the shop can be a bit of a challenge.

I only once glued a wedge in place, but only because i fixed some damage on the scale at the wedge end and wanted to prevent the fragile material from cracking.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sloanwinters

definitely going to rough up the wedge and scales going forward. seems like an extra 2 minute task with nothing but up-side.

once the wedge is in place and sanded down to the scales how does everyone buff them to remove all the new scratches? ive found that some amount of compound always gets inbetween the wedge and scales no matter how tight the pins. its fine for dark scales (i.e. its there but not seen) but looks terrible with transparent or transluscent materials.

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Simple,,, Mock up bolts

Buff away, take it apart clean up any residue and then pin, Pinning is that last thing I do...

makes sense. thanks for tips!