Thread: Advice on shaping bone scales, please

Info needed for my upcoming first scales ever made project. I went and bought some bone this afternoon. I have minimal power equipment, and due to upcoming move, will not buy more.

I own a dremel, and was planning on using a cutting wheel to make the rough cuts. Maybe buying the tile-cutter bit and using that? Suggestions?

Once the scale pieces are cut from the bone, I was going to use a dremel sanding wheel to make rough adjustments in size and shape.

For fine shaping and polishing, I'm assuming the same type of sandpaper used on the blades can be used on the bone. What grit do most people start with? End with?

Suggestions on staining? I'd like to get an amber color on/in the bone. Will wood stain work? Is wood stain safe to use on a shaver, toxicity wise?


Any other suggestions or tips (other than ventilate well) for cutting, shaping and coloring the bone??? Any frequent difficulties people run into? This will be my first time making any scales and they will be adorning a newly aquired DD Special Wedge! Thanks for any and all help and keep a look out for upcoming project pics!

I'm in a similar situation. I'm finding that when using hand tools or even my dremel it is hard to bevel the edges of the scales correctly. I'm not the best craftsman out there but I'm hoping someone with experience will chime in so I can get a feel for how to change my process as well.

A small problem I ran into trying to use the dremel to shape the scales after cutting... because it is drum shaped and so small, I got a bit of a wavy look going down the edge. I ended up using my neighbors belt sander to fix the problem but I'm sure it can be done by hand if you are patient. Maybe even the dremel and I was doing it wrong.

I am not much help with dremel. But I have shaped bone with a hacksaw, wood rasp and coarse sandpaper. It is just slow going.

Charlie

Charlie, I am happy to see a response from you! I am using a cow shin bone dog treat, after reading your previous posts! Thanks for the idea. You did such fine work with your scales, that it gave me faith in the possibility that I might be able to pull it off. I've also started looking for other repurposable items that could be affordably turned into scales.

What grit did you use/start with? And, you had posted that wood stain will work, correct? I thought I read that in your thread. Thanks, again.

sure would be nice if had a belt sander to rough sand, but understand that is not the available tool.

If using a dremel, I would want to secure the motor to the bench so I could hold the scales with two hands as I drag them over the sanding wheel. Having the heavier, gyroscopic motion of the dremel motor in hand during shaping may be more awkward than necessary. Regular aluminum oxide type cut off wheel will cut it fine. It is easy to cut and sand.

Final shape by hand to get clean edges. Use a little sanding block, like a pink rubber eraser. After rough shape, take through all the grits from 220 up to preferred finish sand. I say at least 1500, rather complete to 12000 via micromesh.

Wet sanding will cause warping. If processed properly, should go straight when dried. Dont drill/assemble unless dry as a, er, bone.

I have not used wood dye, don't know how that will work. Food coloring and rit dye I have. I get my dyed liquid hot, not quite boiling. I want it warm to open the pours up on the bone. Leaving bone over night to cool and soak. I'll remove the bone next day, bring the liquid back to warm next day and repeat as many cycles until I get the tint I like.

Bone is very pleasant to work with. Since it is strong, you can easily make the scales thin, if wanted. Working it all by hand is completely doable. Heck, it's been done that way millennia.

Originally Posted by spazola

I am not much help with dremel. But I have shaped bone with a hacksaw, wood rasp and coarse sandpaper. It is just slow going.

Charlie

I second that.

Additionally, by backing your sandpaper with a block you can ensure crisp and accurate shaping.

When I want the best handle possible, I will only use the belt sander for rough shaping. I form and finish all of the contours by hand. The slowness of hand sanding is actually an advantage when it comes to attaining good finish.

As Phil said,your best results will be doing it by hand,dremels IMO are somewhat useless tools that can cause alot of damage.
start out with 100 grit paper and move up from there.
your doing the project for yourself so your time means nothing.
i work with alot of Ivory and some bone,A great all natural coloring agent in brown or tan colors is good old very strong brewed tea.have fun.

I use a Dremel with a flexible shaft and a standard 80 grit drum to get the initial shape to my scales, then hand sand to remove the Dremel marks. Haven't had too much trouble with uneven sanding provided you work fast. I shape all my scales when they are double-sided-taped together inside face to inside face, to make sure they are perfectly even. This stops the Dremel racing away from you and rolling around the scale uncontrolled.

Lots of really excellent advice in this thread. I do believe I will be putting some of it to good use this weekend!

Originally Posted by PDobson

I second that.

Additionally, by backing your sandpaper with a block you can ensure crisp and accurate shaping.

When I want the best handle possible, I will only use the belt sander for rough shaping. I form and finish all of the contours by hand. The slowness of hand sanding is actually an advantage when it comes to attaining good finish.

This is right on on how I finish things as well. Power tools are great for roughing out, but the details are in the hands. I use pre-shaped blocks of wood to wrap my sandpaper around. This is especially important when dealing with an inside radius like the top of a set of scales where the blade would enter when finished. This way you will have a smooth transition instead of dips. Last time I worked with Ivory to make a set of scales I used a bandsaw to rough out and the rest was by hand just because I didn't want to ruin them by a mishap.