Quote Originally Posted by Clayglen View Post
There is some neat stuff at Mudhole.com. It's a custom fishing rod building store.

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I have been wanting to try making a set of abalone scales for a long time, but the "real" stuff, even the LVS veneer blanks from Masecraft, are grotesquely expensive in the thicknesses we need! But I have an idea after watching this guy's rod-wrapping video: Shopping
What if I got a set of this GreenHeart veneer (seems more like a decal, but supposedly real abalone?)? It's 4.75" by 5.5", so maybe long enough for a set of two scales if the blade is not too long. I then use their boiling water method (watch the video) to adhere the veneer to a sheet of black acrylic of appropriate thickness (obviously being VERY careful of bubbles!). I then cut and shape my scales (with maybe a beveled border of black acrylic to set off that abalone). The guy recommends and epoxy coating in the video, so I coat it with the clear epoxy as some do on here for scales.

Do any of you experienced hands think this would work? I would be willing to try it if I though I could save a lot of money and still come out with a gorgeous set of abalone scales, even if they are more acrylic and epoxy than actual abalone. What say the experts?