Thread: My first attempt at making scales

Well on my way home i picked up a piece of wood. They did not have any exotic wood but i saw a nice piece of cherry. I hope it will be ok. I cut 2 sets.

Looks pretty good so far!

You're way ahead of what I did when I made my first set - I see you are shaping your wedge piece at the same time as your scales. Your edges will line up flush that way. I didn't do that, and you could tell.

There are plenty of guys here who are excellent at finishing wood, and have posted great tips on working with various types including cherry. Keep us posted on your progress.

Thank you! Im wondering what finish i should use. What are people using?

You might consider a cherry finish to compliment the wood, maybe some tung oil and then some quality wood wax to seal it up. So far so good!

How did you cut the one piece scales in the picture?

Originally Posted by straightrobert

How did you cut the one piece scales in the picture?

I cut it on a band saw. I sut the scale shape first then I measured to the center of the scale. Then evenly out from the line. At the wendge 1mm to each side. At the pivot 4mm to each side. The scale is for a 8/8 friodur.

How long does it take tung oil to dry?

Great job cutting those curves. Very smooth.

Originally Posted by nicknbleeding

How long does it take tung oil to dry?

That depends what tung oil you're talking about. If it's 100% pure tung oil then I usually let it soak in completely over night between applications.

If you're talking Tung oil finish like miniwax or formby's tung oil finsih just follow the instructions but usually the re coating depending the brand will be between 12 and 24H

OK! I picked up some minwax tung oil on my way to work. How many coats do you usualy do? Also how many coats of wax?

Thank You Rene

The Miniwax Tung Oil Finish contains no tung oil at all. It's a mixture of varnish and linseed oil. It's a marketing plot many companies use to mimick the end result or appearance of using real tung oil. It isn't a bad product at all. In fact in can sometimes be even more protective and durable then real pure tung oil. It will all depend on the end usage.

Formby's tung oil finish on the other hand is a mixture of varnish and mineral spirits. Basically it is just thinned out varnish. Sometimes also sold as wiping varnish. It is slightly more protective compared to the varnish/oil mixtures just because it doesn't have as much oil content.

2 or 3 coats should be sufficient.

I mostly use renaissance wax as a final layer of protection but like any other wax it will need to be re applied as it does fade with usage.