Thread: My first attempt at making scales

Very nice work! Whe you move to the USA and get your own workshop you just might be dangerous!

At the rate your workshop is going ..... defenately! Great work Kilty!

They look pretty good. I am going to get going on trying my first set soon. Keep us informed.

I still have mine in the closet as well....with my wedding a few months ago I've yet to gather all the tool (from my dad) and start working on it.....I'm scared to mess it up though.

If you mess it up, just try again. You learn from your mistakes. The only problem is that once you get started, your wife will probably contact a divorce lawyer b/c of the neglect lol.

Originally Posted by LX_Emergency

I still have mine in the closet as well....with my wedding a few months ago I've yet to gather all the tool (from my dad) and start working on it.....I'm scared to mess it up though.

well thats just how i felt so i got all the info i could and went for it, i didnt do any dummy runs as I didnt have the free time, and they came out nice I thought, i did it for me and i got an amazing sense of accomplishment from it plus I enjoyed the challenge and I hope that any newbie reading this understands that with some tools and a little patience we can achieve something that will give us pleasure to use and to look at, plus its nice to share.

Thanks to all the guys for the encouragement and kind words, they help so much in so many ways.

cheers from norway,simon

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This is the material for next set of scales, its called LABURNUM, and this piece is absolutely ancient.
I got it cut by the guy who lets me use his shop and it was in log form originally but thanks to New Yankee workshop he figured out how to cut it into planks.

So stay tuned for my next attempt...lol...listen to me...damn I think my heads swollen

Cheers for nooo..simon

beautiful timber
Kind regards Peter

Simon...

I don't know a great deal about woods, but I do know that if it is "green", you could have problems with it while it dries out after it's on a blade. When I have cut pieces of wood for my small projects, I put them in a toaster oven at around 125 degrees for a full day. For thinner stuff, this usually seems to work. If it is going to warp, it usually does it by then.

Most of the wood I use has been stabilized. In fact, I just got back a bunch of dynamite wood from K & G that I had sent to them for stabilization. I will still line most of it because I really like the look of thinner scales.

Maybe the wood guys here on the forum could give some more insight. I'd like to know more about it myself.

You may also want to take a spare piece and flex it to see how easily it breaks at a narrow thickness.

Thanks Bill for the heads-up, the pice of wood there was cut the other day but has been inside in dry storage for years..as far as I know....he cut it on a circular saw which to me had an insanely thick blade as he didnt expect it to work with much sucess.
By green i guess you mean damp? You have more knowledge than I do about these fancy timbers and your method sounds like a really good way of doing the drying out, if thats what the toaster oven is for...(we dont have them as much over here in scotland)...will have soon..when I move to the US...
I dont know really what you mean by stabilization, only what common sense tells me, i think i know what you mean kinda, please excuse my lack of knowledge.
I will definately flex the wood and as it has been lying dry all week, maybe i should exercise caution.

I thank you for the advice Bill, much appreciated, simon