Thread: How do I fix these scales?

I started working on a very nice FWE Engels Special with clear amber scales, and much to my dismay, I discovered that somehow, somewhere in the initial polishing I did, one of the scales snapped right in half. I can't fathom how. But I'm no purist--I just want to glue the pieces together and carry on. What should I use?

thanks!

Here is the rub...

Nothing really sticks to the Celluliod...

you have 3 choices...

Super glue: but it won't really hold unless there is a backing to it like at the wedge end....

Epoxy: but you have to again make a backing bridge... ie: like fiberglass tape..

Acetone: this will melt Celluloid just a tiny drop or two might hold the two sides together, depends on the Celluloid some works better than others...

Be very, very careful with the Acetone it will melt scales into slimy blobs....

and to finish Glen's great advise choice #4

Make or get a new set of scales.

you could drill some small holes and pin to get some more hold but i guess it would be easyer to make new ones then getting the holes alligned

i think you can get by with drilling slightly larger holes lenghtwise and filling with epoxsy but it may all crack for you

Uh-oh! Thank you for such good advice. This sounds bad.

Since I'm fairly ill-informed here, I'm wondering if these scales are definitely celluloid--

I would say I am 99.99% sure they are...

Take a rag and rub them vigorously like you are polishing and then give them a sniff..
The heat from this should release a camphor smell if they are Celluloid...

I was going to tell you how to fix those scales but you will never get the extra metal work off the ends with out really buggering the scales up. Do what Max says, Replace the scales with a new set! Good Luck!

A little research did turn up one possibility--an old issue of Popular Mechanics online says you can "weld" pieces of celluloid with 3 parts alcohol to 4 parts ether. It also says the mixture is volatile and shouldn't be used around sparks!

Model cement might "weld" the celluloid, model cements melt plastic then allow it to dry and reform. It might not be that strong, though, or might not even work on that type of plastic.

Good advise so far about mending the scales, and if done carefully will be as strong as the original material and hardly noticeable. However if the scales snapped so easily, that you don’t know how, or don’t remember braking (and you are not going senile), then the celluloid may be in the final stage of life, where it becomes brittle and may also appear to lose some of its volume.

Does the tip of blade touch the little black wedge at the butt end? Or does the fancy metal work on both ends of the scales appear to be coming loose?

If you see any of these symptoms then it’s possible the celluloid material may have shrunk because over the decades the stuff that makes it flexible has “dried out”, and now the material is hard and brittle, and will snap easily again in the same or another spot (it's not that the glue is not strong enough, but the material that's glued, is weaker than the glue). So, you may also want to consider making some new ones.

Those look like celluloid… that’s the material most commonly used with the fancy metalwork.