Thread: wade & butcher scales replicas

Hello gentlemen,

I have 5 wade and butcher for restore. I think I made a good work with blades but scales seem to be not restorable
Does anybody know where to buy replica scales?
I have been looking some sites but not sure they will fit...
I don't like to have other model because I love the original designs.
Wade& butcher are so popular that maybe there's a site who have scales for sell (not necessary original but replica)
Sorry for my bad english
have a nice Sunday gentlemen!

There is no Wade & Butcher original/replica scale store I know off.

Your only option if you want the exact replica is to make your own scales just by drawing a line around the original scales when fitted on the scale material to be used. You cut, saw, sand and finish from there.

If anyone would know it's the man who posted above! Like Max said, you'll probably have to replicate your own.

I have never made my own scales, allways bought kits but for a w&b... they won't be right...
I am reading all post about made your own scales and I think I'm going to try (it seems quite difficult to do a good job)

But maybe there's someone who wants to start a business by selling scales replicas! lol (I'm sure many people would buy!)

Thank you gentlemen!

It also depends on which W&b scales you're looking for. If you have the tools nothing wrong with attempting to make your own. Cant hurt to try
There's guys around here that do some amazing work..i'm sure someone could hook you up.

One thing that for sure doesn't work is melting broken bakelite scales down to re-mold as new ones.

I just tried this out, and the melting point for bakelite is apparently very close to the flash-point. I never did get a liquid suitable for pouring. I got a lot of sizzling and burning.

Note to anyone wanting to try this: Formeldahyde (which is a component of Bakelite) is considered a carcinogen at concentrations above 0.016 ppm. The IDLH is 20 ppm. The bakelite starts smoldering and off-gasing well before it develops anything resembling a liquid state. Attempt at your own risk.

Edit: Now that I'm thinking about it, even though I've seen a ton of W&B's dressed in Bakelite or Vulcanite, those probably weren't the original scales anyhow.

One thing that for sure doesn't work is melting broken bakelite scales down to re-mold as new ones.

As I remember, there are two kinds of plastics:

. . . those that melt, and re-form into themselves when they cool -- "thermoplastics".

. . . those that are catalyzed by heat when they're molded, and are destroyed when somebody tries to melt them -- "thermosetting plastics".

I think Bakelite is in the "thermosetting" category.

Charles

I've seen another post recommending Masecraft USA as a vendor for scale making materials and they seem to have a large selection. Are there any others?