Thread: What basic tools do I need to cut and shape wood scales?

Rubber cement -- no doubt left over from your cut-and-paste editing days.

Ha ha. Nope, freshly purchased from Wal-Mart's craft department. I did edit the student newspaper in college, but we'd switched to desktop publishing by the time I came on board. They went digital in 1998--and they were way behind the times!

Josh

When I first got into the newspaper business, ca. 1975, we were typing on yellow copy paper and editing with pencil, scissors and glue. By the time I left (1990), we were doing everything but layout on computer, and that came soon afterward. I read a story recently where a reporter was interviewing some Google employees and telling them about using scissors and glue to edit copy, and one of them said, "Oh, so that's where 'cut and paste' comes from." Yeah ... I felt a little old.

Great website. I have been thinking of making a set of scales for my Dovo Classic, and possibly my Taylor Eye Witness.

A few quick questions. Do you also seal the inside with the CA? Will the CA bond to the hot glue?

I sealed all of the surfaces inside and out. It is one of the rules of wood finishing. If you leave a side unsealed it will absorb water out of the air, or sink in the case of a razor. The sealed side will have a lot slower rate of moister absorption. This unequal moister content contributes to warping. One side swells the other does not.

When I hot glued the scales to the stick I put the hot glue where the wedge was going to be glued/sealed a later. I scraped off the hot glue prior to gluing (CA) and pinning the wedge.

Charlie

Please excuse my ignorance, but what else can you use to seal wood? I don't think that I will be doing a CA finish for my first set of scales, so I would appreciate another easier method.

[QUOTE=heavydutysg135;142401], what else can you use to seal wood?

You can seal the wood with whatever you are using to finish. Tru-Oil, lacquer, shellac, or varnish.

For ease of use I think truoil is great product.

I also like shellac, for the pampered life of my razors shellac is more than durable.

Charlie

Originally Posted by spazola

I sealed all of the surfaces inside and out. It is one of the rules of wood finishing. If you leave a side unsealed it will absorb water out of the air, or sink in the case of a razor. The sealed side will have a lot slower rate of moister absorption. This unequal moister content contributes to warping. One side swells the other does not.

When I hot glued the scales to the stick I put the hot glue where the wedge was going to be glued/sealed a later. I scraped off the hot glue prior to gluing (CA) and pinning the wedge.

Charlie

Thank you. It looks like i will be out looking for some wood this weekend.