Thread: Beginning Scale Maker Questions

Okay, I've cleaned up a couple of blades acquired at an antique shop and purchased a couple of others here on SRP and now I need to make some scales.

I have some "Epoxy Resin Blank" material purchased online that is sold as 1/8" thick. Some of it is within a few thousandths of 1/4" and the thickness varies. I've got a belt sander and can take care of the thickness and the inconsistency but that's where the questions come in.

Checked the scale thickness on several of my razors and most seem to be between 0.10" and 0.12", although I have one that's right at 0.08".

Nothing fancy, just flat scales with a bevel.
With epoxy resin blanks and this style of scale, what should I shoot for as far as thickness?
What grit of sandpaper should I start with to take off 1/16" plus of material?

Thanks in Advance

I've only made a few sets of scales and I'm of no help with the thickness as I work until they not only work but look right.

I don't have a picture of it but if you can imagine using carpet tape to hold two pre-cut scale blanks side by side to that they can be sanded as evenly as possible it might be of some help. I use a piece of extruded aluminum. Once you know how thick your back up piece is then as you sand you can check to see how thick your scales are. (Mine is 1/4" thick)

Also an important thing to remember is that even 120 grit on a belt sander takes a lot of sanding to get rid of so your scales will continue to lose thickness.

I'm hoping that others with a lot more experience will be joining in to help you.

It kind of depends on the flexibility of your material. Epoxy sheets, are they G-10? If it is, G-10 is crazy strong and it’s hard to get it to bend and flex properly unless it is fairly thin. The other issue is the dust is quite toxic. Use a good vacuum or dust collector with proper filtration and a quality respirator. I’ve made a few sets of scales and the thickness and the wedge are the two kind of tricky parts. The material needs to flex and move as the razor rotates. Not enough flex and it puts a lot of stress on the hinge pin and the razor will have a hard time staying tight at the pivot. It’s true with most materials. People sometimes don’t understand how the wedge and tang taper work together with the flexibility of the scales to give continual even tension at the pivot through out the full rotation. It sounds a lot more complicate than it actually is. Basically the scale need to be thin enough to flex and the taper of the wedge should match the taper of the tang with enough thickness to allow the blade to nestle into the scales at the right height.
:-)

My good friend Rez brought up the subject of the relationship of the WEDGE to the SCALES.

While I haven't asked permission to post this here, here is what a seasoned veteran of many, many custom scales has to say about how to make the wedge.

Glen, please forgive me for not asking for your blessings.

QUOTE:

Making Wedges

There are no razor tangs at the pivot larger then 1/4"
Starting with 1/8" thick material means you always have enough
The outside end of most vintage razors have a thickness of less than .065" more in the arena of .055" - .045" that is pretty darn thin
The thickness of the inside edge of the wedge would therefore determine the "Angle"
So set the angle form .045" at one end to .125 at the other on a 1" x 1" wedge this gives you the work angle, now you simple adjust the fit from there by thinning the .125" end...
Drill the hole and fit to the razor...

If you ALWAYS start with a 1x1 with these dimensions, it gets really easy for you to set the wedge for the different sized razors

Keep in mind there are basically 4 sizes of tangs

#1. 11/16 and below
#2. 13/16 and above
#3. 6/8 the oddball
#4 The old Stubtail / Frameback flats

Theses are the basics, of course there will be some that mess with your brain, if you mess with enough razors, which I am sure you will have in your hand "Murphy's Law"

The Mock Up bolts are an invaluable asset, as are the Mock tangs which you need 3 sizes 1/8, 3/16, and 1/4, to give the correct build angles

ps: It is not that I am really smart, it is that I have done a crap load of restores over the last 10 years, and already made all these mistakes for you

pps: Yes you really can do all the work on one side of the wedge, when you make the cut or sand it to fit, it will square up

I do hope this is of some help and again, Glen, please forgive me.

Well said Cud um ah Glen
I aim got 1/8" 3mm max thickness for scales and have gone down to 1/16" 1.6mm with bone/Ivory and some synthetic materials
Plus 1 the wedge will determine your maximum thickness for flex to pivot

When you are sanding the scales you must have each scale the same thickness. If different, they will not flex evenly.

Use a digital caliper to make sure the thickness is the same end to end and each scale is within .002 inches of each other.

Good luck

Typically, I will make crowned scales 0.090" - 0.095" thick. Flat scales are about 0.065" thick.

I will use a 60 grit belt until the material is 0.010" oversize, then switch to 220 grit,

I hope this helps.

Use a dust mask that fits your face all the way around the edge and be ready to shower, change and wash clothes after power sanding any fiber, glass or carbon filled materials. Long term exposure can be hazardous to your future enjoyment.
JMO
~Richard

Thanks to the following:
cudarunner
Glen (data by cudarunner)
RezDog
Substance
rolodave
Tim Zowada
Geezer

So much information from y'all that I am approaching information overload!!

With all this information, plus some from Youtube, I firmly believe I'm ready to give it a shot. I do need to order additional belts for my sander but everything else I have on hand.

Thanks All

Originally Posted by Geezer

Use a dust mask that fits your face all the way around the edge and be ready to shower, change and wash clothes after power sanding any fiber, glass or carbon filled materials. Long term exposure can be hazardous to your future enjoyment.
JMO
~Richard

Richard,
A special thanks for the safety input. I have been paying special attention to the dust warnings since I already live with COPD and have to pay special attention to anything that affects breathing. I do have a good mask with replaceable filters that I use religiously.