Thread: hand tool scaling, newbie

Have some experience pinning but have decided to try my own scales. Hand tools will be used for sawing and finishing (I do have a dremel & hand drill). Some prelim questions I'd like to put to the forum:

• what would be a good material to start with? Ultimately I'd like to craft bog oak and kauri but not as starters. Any material that is particularly difficult to do by hand?
• micarta I've seen listed appears to be a veneer. That means that shaping, adjustment and rounding have to occur on the inside? Wood listed for straight razor scaling frequently shows at 1/8" thickness. If I'm sectioning scales from a block that would be my thickness goal? Best achieved with a mitre box adaptation?
• The power tools I do have--dremel and drill--any specific attachments that would be useful?

Thanks all.

Any wood is good for starters. Not real hard but not soft. Soft and you may get carried away sanding. The goal for thickness is 0.080 inches.
We have lots of this info in our library so go give it a read.

And welcome to SRP.

Charlie Lewis did a video on making scales by hand.
Someone should know where to find it

https://youtu.be/YQm7YToDSpc
Here is Charlie’s video.
https://sharprazorpalace.com/worksho...-way-i-do.html
This is pretty close to how I do it.
A coping saw works well for cut out as does a jewellers saw. Keep the blades very fine and do not use forward pressure on the blade.

Any kind of scrap wood will work to practice on. I often do a warm up with scraps of oak flooring - free from most flooring companies.

Originally Posted by criswilson10

Any kind of scrap wood will work to practice on. I often do a warm up with scraps of oak flooring - free from most flooring companies.

For a first attempt, it is hard to beat acrylic. No grain. Doesn't split, (will crack if you abuse it, though), doesn't swell and normally doesn't warp. Takes a very high polish easily with sandpaper, and with rag and abrasive paste, or dremel with cloth or felt wheel and paste or powder. Easy to shape by hand with file or sanding block. Looks nice. Not as durable as micarta or G10 or even bone or horn or the better woods, but that's okay for first time at bat.

You can lay up your own micarta. Saturate and stack paper or cloth or whatever in the two part resin of your choice, and compress it as it hardens. It will shape quite well, depending on what you use. Wood is common enough that you don't have to worry about wasting a bunch of blanks, especially if you use salvaged wood from furniture or flooring. Avoid softwoods of course. An ebony pool cue turning blank can be sawn into 1/8" thick blank stock for making very nice scales.