Thread: Making Self Wedging Scales

Originally Posted by MrHouston

Clever. I’ve wondered how one could do this.

I dont have a band saw, but thought I could sand away that section on a belt grinder.

That should work, jigging the piece to stop the cut will be a fun job! The thread is an invitation to enjoy the possibilities for duplicating old work.

I am able to think of other methods of accomplishing this. I had available a bandsaw. I also have a Dremel router table. and cannot use it in my spaces. I sometimes have access to the bandsaw and a belt sander and that is a long drive away.
Enjoy the possibilities!
~Richard

That is a super post, thanks for sharing your knowledge.

Ok guys, please post the photo results and set ups you use as you solve the setups needed for the tools you use! That would keep the possibilities in one place for the future readers.

~Richard

Nice work, Richard. I always called that an 'integral wedge' or 'wedgeless'.

I have one an old member did for me. He made them in his machine shop.
Some pics of the process in this thread....

https://straightrazorpalace.com/cust...2-general.html

Thanks for the post Richard. I've wondered about the best way to do this, but it would be a real pain to do without the right tools. A band saw seems to be a real time saver on a lot of these projects. That must have required some steady hands to get the cut straight.
Did you need to place the pin any lower or use glue to keep a gap from forming at the bottom?

MrHouston
A belt sander may work, but you would have to be very careful and keep it flat with even pressure. The heat could cause warping which would make the belt remove material unevenly.

Having the saw blade a bit back from the edge of the guide takes care of that. That method also allows feeding the material into a blade that wanders. It is also a way to control a curved blank. And, a lot of blanks are less than straight. The vertical surface of the guide block assures that the stock is cut to the same depth along it's length.

I've done this a few times on the belt sander, by hanging the 'wedge' part off of the belt and sanding down the rest. On later scales (mid 1800s) that had cheaper wedgeless scales, I've seen a lot where the 'wedge' was half and half on each scale, but from most old razors (1700s) like the scales you have pictured I've generally seen that the 'wedge' is only on one side, with the other scale being just flat.