Originally Posted by
BJC
Dan gave a wealth of information above. I just recently started making my own scales. In fact, the first set of scales will be pinned in a little while. Since I constantly travel, I chose to do mine by hand. Here is my experience thus far; take what you can and leave the rest.
1) Scale stock - Take your pick of bone, plastic, wood, etc... Whatever you do get it milled to 1/8" when you order it. I originally bought some wood by the board foot, expecting to be able to cut it down myself. After many hours of labor and no success worth mentioning, I ordered some blanks from Rockler Wood online. Prices are reasonable, especially if you order the maximum amount of wood for a particular shipping charge. 6" X 1.5" X 1/8" have worked well for me.
2) Tools: Since I chose to do everything by hand, my tools are limited. I have a small ball peen hammer, a rasp/file combo (comes is handy for quick work shaping by hand), a 6" coping saw, plenty of sand paper in the grits listed in Dan's post, a small rubber eraser (makes a dandy little sanding block), a hand drill (haven't used this yet - I cheated and used the power drill since I was home), and carpet tape (for adhering the scale blanks together)
3) Process: Outline the scale shape you want, cut rough outline with coping saw, refine the shape with the file/rasp combo, final shaping with sandpaper, prep wood for finishing, finish with your choice or epoxy, poly, etc..., pin the new scales and blade together, hone, strop, and enjoy!