Thread: one piece scale tutorial part 2

If you have looked this far - Thank you.

Step 11 - sand down a paint stick to use as a shim. put double sided tape to hold it in place (very little), or use rubber cement, glue of your choice etc. remember it is something you will have to remove later.

Step 12 - trace out scale pattern you are going to use. Align the pivot hole on the line you transcribed earlier. I tap a small nail in this hole a little bit to hold the donor scale in place and to give me a reference point for drilling my hole.

Step 13 - drill 1/16" hole on drill press using nail divot as placement point.

Step 14 - after drilling move to scroll saw and saw right on the center of line. This leaves alittle fluuf room for sanding. If you are unsure of yourself, saw just to the outside of the line, but this will leave more sanding to get the right contour

Step 15 - use 1" wide belt sander to sand contour of scale while keeping it flat on the work table

Step 16 - finished contour

Step 17 - results of using large belt sander with 80 grit belt moving scale back and forth and round and round to get shapes. This takes a bit of practice and a little artistry.

From this point I went to 60 grit paper and sanded by hand to smooth out the edges, round the scales out a bit more and get my shape just right. I proceeded from 60 grit up to 600 grit and then buffed out on a plain buffing wheel. I still need to decide what type of finish I want to screw it up with (I'm very impatient with drying times, so I'll probably dip it in laquer about 5 or 6 times) The blade is fresh out the tumbler. I should have prepped it before I put it in, now I will have to probably go through the progressions on the buffing wheel.

Step 18 - fit it up using microfastener hardware and admire - I may pin it after finishes are done, but this makes for a nice test fit.

Srep 19 - Admire from side

Step 20 - Admire while open. You can see the blade needs a bit more work, especially if I want to run with some of the big dogs around here.

Part 3 is the round up

Well done.
I love the improvised jig for the chop saw.

very cool looking

Glad you had success! I wanted a tighter fit round the blade when i tried. After struggling due to the nature of the tools required for this ( chopsaw being easiest but kerf too wide & circular saw having a perfect kerf but too awkward to keep precise on the scale), i cut the damn thing into a two piece & fitted a wedge! Still want to get a one piece done that i'm satisfied with though. Nice workshop you have there!