Thread: Help with Scale lining.

Hey guys, I've been lurking these forums for some time now learning as I go. I am currently making a set of scales and ave run into a little problem. I started with some basic Maple, used a poured epoxy finish, and then smoothed out the ripples in the epoxy (And took a bit of that high gloss I didn't care for away). But when the blanks were originally cut, the saw blade left some burn marks as you can see. I'm trying to find a way to line the scales with some finish or other (metal) lining. I don't have enough material left to sand out all the burns. I would appreciate any suggestions, critiques, or tips you guys can provide. Thanks

sanding would probably be the way to go. you could also burn the rest to match with a wood burner/soldering iron/heat gun or stain it to hide the burns. i think id prefer one of those methods to say, gluing a thin metal stip to them. could even just try using a sharp knife and scraping off a few layers. when i started practicing sharpening on my knife id would see if i could shave my fingernails and i was able to remove a very fine layer by dragging the blade along my nail rather than pushing it. it was probably at about an 80 degree angle from horizontal.

Have you considered paint?

The burns are pretty deep in the wood's grain. I don't think I have enough material left to sand or shave all the burn out. I have considered paint, but I'm not sure what would be durable enough and be as smooth as I am looking for. Has paint been used before and if so what kind? Thanks for the input guys.

Originally Posted by propjockey

The burns are pretty deep in the wood's grain. I don't think I have enough material left to sand or shave all the burn out. I have considered paint, but I'm not sure what would be durable enough and be as smooth as I am looking for. Has paint been used before and if so what kind? Thanks for the input guys.

for perfect results: Sand surface to around 400 grit, seal with a sanding sealer or shellac, sand lightly and remove all dust, oil primer, acrylic or oil color coat(s), light sanding, clear coat, buff and polish.

The quick and dirty way: Tremclad or Rustolium (spelling) preferably spray-on.

In general it's good to sand both sides of both pieces of the scale blanks before you even begin shaping to avoid such problems. I guess you'll know for next time.

brass liner?

Yeah, I think I'm going to paint the inside. I have tried a bit more sanding but I didn't have enough material. I knew about the burns from the get go, I just figured they would come out much easier. Oh well, better luck next time I guess. Thanks for all who posted.

another thought would be sand the hell out of them and glue on another layer of wood and sand it down to match the contour. possibly with another color (darker) wood.. im sure after its stained and sealed (or something..dunno much about wood working) but i think it would look pretty good.

Sand them down and then do like 12 coats of CA. That will thicken them back up a bit.

I think I'd either try:

a. scorching another piece of the same wood to see if the surface could be uniformly darkened without destroying it, or
b. blackening the inner faces with something like india ink (after sealing the top!), or
c. dyeing the whole lot a darker colour, or
d. sand them some more - if they got too thin I'd consider adding a third pin with a bit of wider tubing or bead between the scales for a bit more rigidity.

Regards,
Neil.