Quote Originally Posted by forsten View Post
OK say I had a 1/2 blank. If I wanted to section it is there a particular cutting guide or tool that would be useful with my hand saw?

Or just clamp/stabilize the blank and hope I don't botch it (having minimal hand tool background) -- thanks again CCR
A miter box and a jig made for the purpose would probably enable you to saw your stock into thin planks with a reasonable accuracy. But really, to rip stock accurately you are talking table saw. You could make one for the purpose, using wood and a circular saw. Remember to make some sort of guard and you need an easily accessible and clearly marked off switch. You could just C-clamp your fence to the table. Use a wood pusher, not your fingers, or sooner or later you will lose them. Youtube is your friend. A small hobbyist type table saw is pretty cheap, cheap enough to pay for itself ripping precious woods into scale blanks, eventually. Ryobi is a decent brand, but be careful not to crack the plastic table models. A tabletop bandsaw from Harbor Freight would work, too, and enable you to cut a stack of scales roughly to shape at once.