Thread: Need to have tools for rescaling

I have a few pretty bad looking razors, that has been bought for resto.
I will have to remove the scales for these razors, but I wish to reassemble them, when my blades has been finished.I have none of the tools needed for restoration work, I have however Bill Ellis cd with a lot of info.What I would really like is a list of the various tools and items I would need for a full resto job,with as much info as possible as to type,grit etc.Also were they could be bought online.
Answers to these questions would be greatly appreciated.
I can't wait to get started, will post before/after pictures.

Thanks Kristoffer.

Stock Preparation:
-Buy your stock (wood, bone, plastic, horn etc.) pre-milled to about 1/8" thick, 6" long and about 1 1/2" wide. You'll need two pieces like this to make one set of scales OR... you'll need to dimension the material yourself. For wood I recommend a band saw or table saw, but you could do it with a handsaw if you have the skill and patience.
- Sand or plane the surfaces flat. They can be a little rough, but must be flat. For this I use a 12" table planer, but it's a big, noisey machine I would never recommend buying unless you're using it for other stuff. A sanding station could also work for prepping the surfaces. Some materials must be done by hand with a sanding block to avoid tearout and burning.

Make a blank:
-using double sided tape (I use carpet tape) or rubber cement, stick the two sides together, then cut out the rough scape with a band saw, scroll saw or either a coping or fret saw if you want to do it by hand
-Finish the profile by sanding (I use a sanding station for this)
-Drill the necessary holes with the drill press (They must be as close to 90 deg as possible)

Shape the blank:
-More sanding on the sanding station or by hand
Finishing:
-this step depends on the material and how you want to finish it. Tools for this include a stock of different grits of sandpaper (60 to 2000 grit), solvents, a buffer and various wheels/pastes, your finishing products (if working with wood) etc. The tools for this step varry and there certainly are a lot of different approaches.

The blade:
Hand sand or, if you're suicidal or have experience, use a buffer. There are tons of ways to do this, each with a set of tools. Personally, I use flap wheels for deep pitting, then buff from 120 grit to green rouge.

Pinning:
-Small ball peen hammer, flush cut pliers, flat file, anvil or large hammer, sandpapers... see Philadelph's how-to videos.

You really need a considerable amount of tools to do it all from start to finish MY WAY. Others get by with precut stock, a coping saw, a drill and sandpaper.

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!

Great info from both of you! Would you recomend buying the DOVO Straight Razor Replacement Pins from classic shaving?

Also, The razors that I am restoring all has horn scales.What would it to make them rise and shine again?

Thanks Kristoffer

Originally Posted by KristofferBodvin

Also, The razors that I am restoring all has horn scales.What would it to make them rise and shine again?

Thanks Kristoffer

I use Solvol Autosol brings them up a treat!

One thing I meant to post earlier but couldn't due to time constraints...

What I have/use for razor work (Apart from safety and dust collection stuff):

• 10" table saw w/ ripping blade
• Delta 12" tabletop wood planer
• Ryobi combo belt/disc sander (various grits on hand)
• Mastercraft tabletop drill press
• Delta Scroll saw with various types of blades
• King Canada 1 1/2 hp bench grinder (for griding)
• King Canada 34"x10" Variable Speed wood lathe (for turning and buffing)
• 80, 120, 220, 320 grit greeasless compounds and black emery on 8" and 4" sisal wheels
• stainless, tripoli, white and green compounds on 4" spiral buffs
• Sheets of sandpaper... Garnet (40, 60, 80, 120, 220, 320) Aluminum oxide (120, 150, 180, 220, 320) Emery (320, 400, 600, 1000, 1500, 2000)
• 10 lb anvil
• 1 1/2 oz ball peen hammer
• Finishes... Polyurethane (all sorts!), shellac (Normally blonde, I cut it myself), Tung Oil, Linseed Oil, CA, epoxy, paste wax
• Usefull stuff... scrap wood, Turpentine, Mineral spirits, Acetone, Methyl Alcohol, Machine Oil, WD40, Tack Cloth, lots of rags! Assortment of adhesives, tapes, files, rasps, clamps, screwdrivers, chisels, pliers, cutters, punches, hammers etc.

This is all just off the top of my head, I'm sure I'm missing stuff. Please don't think I'm saying you need all this. Many folks get by with less (or more, lucky dogs). It all comes down to budget, time and desired quality. I suggest starting small and making upgrades as needed. One could get by with the tools mentioned above by BJC.

I assume you have access to a garage, or perhaps your very own abandoned factory...
Those tools sounds sweet tough.I added your rep for extencive help

Kristoffer! If You are close to a Clas Ohlson store they have all the stuff You need for a resto job. And at very good prices to.

For the pins, I bought some 1/16" brass rod from a local hobby store. If you can't find anything local, the Dovo replacement set should work.