Thread: Problem with latest scales

I just finished my 4th set of scales and this is the first time I have has a problem with the razor not being able to close all the way. The scales have 2 pins in the butt end with a thin brass wedge. I think the wedge is too thin though or maybe I tightened the pins too much before putting the blade in because when I test fir everything worked, but once I pinned the butt end the pivot ends were almost touching. So now when I put the blade in, I get no bow in the middle so when it tries to close it wont stay closed. Any ideas on how to fix this without grinding my pins off making a new wedge etc?...ughhh..too much time into this set.

The wedge has to be "wedge" shaped. That is, there must be a taper in the wedge so that the butt end of that piece is narrower than the end which is oriented toward the pivot end of the scales. Without that shape, in that orientation, there will be no bow in the scales to accommodate the thickness of the shank when closing the razor.

good luck,

Ahhh the joys of "REDO"

Sometimes, you just have to go back and fix a problem... sometimes you don't know what you did wrong until you're finished and see that it just ain't gonna work. Bruce is right... wedge needs to be tapered enough to bow the scales. The thickness of the shank will help you determine the size of the wedge and how thin you need to make the scales... so you get the correct bow. It's all just a learning process... at least for beginners like me.

A good starting formula is the the thick end of the wedge should be approximately 1/2 the thickness of the thickness of the tang... Soooooo a thick 1/4 inch tanged W&B, you should start the wedge at 1/8 inch then taper down from there... The trick and the art is how much to taper, 1/2 again is a good rule of thumb..... Hope that helps out....

I believe you could fix the problem by removing material from the inside scale where the tang is affected

Sounds like the easiest thing would to unpin and shape yourself a wedge-shaped wedge...

But, just for the sake of argument and learning (for me)...

would it work if he put in a pin/bead as a stop? it would widen it out towards the center/front -- but it may put all sorts of wierd streses on the scales themselves.

Has anyone ever tried this?

cass

Originally Posted by cassady

Sounds like the easiest thing would to unpin and shape yourself a wedge-shaped wedge...

But, just for the sake of argument and learning (for me)...

would it work if he put in a pin/bead as a stop? it would widen it out towards the center/front -- but it may put all sorts of wierd streses on the scales themselves.

Has anyone ever tried this?

cass

A center pin.... many razors have them, but it actually requires a steeper wedge shape, or it will put even more stress on the wedge end of the razor.... Don't get me wrong it would "work" but it will most likely create a gap down by the wedge where it meets the scales....

Another scale making trick here..... Buy yerself some of the adjustable pin sets from www.microfasteners.com Alex/philadelph has a thread in the stickies for all the stuff you need (great reference get the 1 inch not the 3/4) this allows you the "build" and test the scales before you even do the sanding let alone the finish coatings... Whether you end up using them or not doesn't really matter they allow for true tests of the functionality of the scales before finalizing the project....

Here is a pic of what I mean



This razor is being tested for fit before I finished it using peened pins... note the long parts of the pins sticking out from the backside

I think I'm having the exact same problem.

Could someone post a picture of a spacer that is "wedge" shaped so I can get a better idea of what it looks like????

Don’t have a photo, but think Ax head, just a simple wedge, probably 2 or 3 degrees of taper. I sand my wedges to shape on a strip sander. Double stick the wedge to a wood block and sand one side, flip and sand the other. You need to keep both sides of the wedge at a relatively even angle otherwise it will throw one scale off center and you will have to do it again, or shim the blade.

On a big thick blade, I will actually use a slightly thinner scale so they bow better, the wedge is about half the width of the tang give or take, depends on what looks best, and use a third pin with a spacer to get the bow shape for a thick blade.