Thread: Homemade scales

I really like the shape of these scales. Mind if I borrow it for inspiration?

Be more confident about thinning the wood even without a liner. Thinner wood is quite tough and more flexible so will tend to hold up well. The liners are more critical for brittle woods and materials.

You can probably go down to 1/8" to 3/64" (3 to 2.25 mm) for most woods.

And checkout Bill's blog it has tons of tips and info that will help you.

Bill,

Yes I have gone through your blog and I'm going out today to get some thin brass for liners and thinner wood. I don't have a belt sander so almost all is done with a hand coping saw, dremel and hand. Tons of info and I really appreciate your efforts in sharing you work and tips with us all. btw Check your old address over the next few days a parcel should be arriving anyday now.

Vlad,

Use what ever shape you like, someone was asking if there is templates for scales. see below my 4 experimental shapes. Size in mm.

Finally I'm happy with a smooth traditional shape fitted with a Bengal I cleaned up.

Gary

Gary,

Did you make these last scales? You did not mention it but they look great, what wood is it and how did you finish it?

Vlad,

These scales are my best effort to date. The wood is mahogony and I dressed with dutch oil, then sanded again with 1200 grit and finally applied some high quality Briwax antique furniture polish. The polish really bought out the grain.

Glad you like them.

I currently have some thin sheets of cherry epoxy'd to brass sheet. Nearly finished and depending on the look may dress a 6/8 Geneva.

Gary

I love them. Nice shape, great color, beautiful grain and a great finish. The finish looks like it has some depth. How many coats of danish oil did you apply?

Are you doing scales non-stop? You are hooked.

Hi Vlad,

I gave the scales two coats with a light sand in between. I probably could have spent more time polishing to the nth degree but was really happy when I waxed them. The colour really jumped out. I guess if you did you CA thing you would get a very good result.
I'm not really happy with the blade in them so I'm going to swap them out with a Chris Johnson blade I restored, it is a fabulous shaver and deserves a decent set of scales.
The first set of kauri ones are going back to the work bench for a tweek, I'm not happy with the finish at all now that I've got better.

Gary