Thread: My first scales: Purpleheart with brass inlay

Decided to dive in and try making scales. These are my first scales made from Purpleheart (Peltogyne spp.) with a Big Dipper experimental brass inlay. I added brass tube liners for the pivot and bottom pins to prevent cracking of the scales.

The color of the wood is a deep purple like purple fountain pen ink. The pictures don't show the true color. I sanded them down to 1500 grit and will finish them with Tung Oil to a gloss finish.

These will be used on an e-bay special 6/8 blade I tried to clean up. The scales came out better than the blade but being a first for me I guess it will have to do.

I also made some nice, slightly domed washers for peening. Used a slightly modified Bill Ellis' jig for making them. Takes about 3-4 minutes per washer including sanding and polishing to a mirror finish. No hassles getting the washer out of the jig either. If anyone is interested I will post pictures of the jig and method for sanding and polishing them really fast.

Very nice work. I am most interested in the washer setup you used. Thanks.

Very nice work, indeed. I think you'll be very happy with your new/old razor!

Vlad, that's an excelent work! I love the Purpleheart wood, it's great for making guitars too...

I also had the idea about using added brass tube liners to prevent cracks, but I don't think you need them on the Purpleheart, it's prity hard wood...
I would love to see the jig and method for sanding and polishing the washers...

thanx,
Nenad

Thanks for the support guys. Here is the jig (modified from Bill Ellis' version) and mandrel for sanding.



The jig is made from 1/2" steel rod available from local hardware store. I made one piece about 3" the other 1". This is almost identical to Bill Ellis' jig with the difference that it is all made from 1/2" rod and the post is NOT glued in. This allows it to be removed with the newly made washer and then tapped out of the washer.

1. Drill a 1/16" hole to a depth of about 1/4" to 3/8". Make sure the hole is vertical. Centering is not as critical. In one of the pieces drill out the washer shape using a 3/16" drill. Do it a little at a time so you don't make it too deep. (Pictures 1, 2 and 3)

2. Cut off the bottom of a 1/16" drill bit to use as a post. The two pieces should fit flush with the post in the holes. If not then shorten until they fit flush. (Picture 1)

3. I sanded down the faces by putting one of the rods in the drill press and skewering a folded a piece of sandpaper (so you get sanding action on both sides) on the post then sandwiching it with the other rod at the highest drill press speed. After a while the two faces were sanded smooth and flush. This was not really necessary since you will sand the washer anyway.

4. I place the longer piece in a small vise as in picture 4.

5. Insert the 1/16" post into a brass or copper 1/16" I.D. tube (pic 5) and cut about 1/10" by pressing a knife (I use a carpet knife) with a rolling action. After a few seconds the tube will be scored all the way through (pic 6). Pull out the post with the cut off tube (pic 7).

6. Place post into the rod (pic 8) and sandwich with the second. After a few taps with the hammer the rough washer is formed. (pic 9).

7. Take out the post with the washer and remove the washer. I place the two into pliers and tap out the rod with a hammer as in pic 10.

In Bill's original jig the post is glued into the rod this creates more handling and difficulties in removing the finished washer.

Finishing the washer requires sanding and polishing. I experimented with a few methods and finally lucked into this one.

1. Make a conical mandrell to fit the washer. My experimental version was ground from a small screw by placing it in a dremel and grinding it against a rough stone.

2. Place a newly minted washer on the conical post, seat firmly and grind off any of the post that sticks out. (pics 11, 12, 13 and 14).

Sanding & Polishing:

1. Place the conical mandrel into a dremel (pic 14).

2. Place a newly minted washer on the conical mandrell, a bit of pressure will firmly seat it (pic 15). Make sure it is well aligned otherwise it will sand lopsided.

2. At the lowest speed sand with 320, 600 and 1500 grit. I do it by pressing the sandpaper with my finger against the washer.

3. Dip the sanded washer lightly into polishing paste (any brass/copper polish will do) and press into a kleenex or paper towel to polish. Mirror finished washer in pic 16.

4. Newly minted washer back side is rough (pic 17). Sand it smooth by running it on sandpaper with your finger a few times (pic 18).

Cutting, stamping and sanding/polishing takes a bit under 4 minutes without rushing.

I also heat treated the wood to give it a deeper color. I accidentally discovered that purpleheart turns a deep purple when heated during sanding. So I experimented and figured out that if you bake it at about 275 F for 90-120 minutes it becomes a deep purple. Increase the temp to 300 F and you get a very deep purple but leave it too long and you get almost black.

Here are heat treated samples on top of an untreated one. BTW I got the wood from Lee Valley. 3" x 24" x 1/8" for about $10 Canadian. They have a few exotic woods from 1/8" to 3/4" thick.

Excellent tutorial! Very informative for all of us DIY types...

Vladimir, Thanx a lot for this tutorial! What does the brass inlay mean? Is it a part from a PCB?

Very nice and thanks a bunch for the tutorial!

I just can't wait to see the finished product!

Superfly, the inlay unintentionally looks like part of a PCB.

I made it by drilling holes for the 1/16" tubes then carving grooves in the wood with an exacto knife for 22 ga. brass wire and epoxied it in. After 24hr curing I re-drilled the 1/16" holes for the brass tubes and epoxied those in. After curing filed down the excess and sanded for a smooth metal/wood surface.

To make the wire to tube boundary seamless make sure the wire overlaps the 1/16" hole so that the hole for the tube is drilled through the wire. When epoxying the wires fill the hole too so it supports the wire during re-drilling.

It also helps if the grooves for the wire center on the hole. This being an experiment, I was a bit sloppy on some of the grooves and the resulting brass lines do not line up with the circles.