My first attempt at making scales

well i recieved a scales kit from vlad and have been terrified to do anything with them. However during a visit to my mothers in which i spoke with her neighbour, he seemed quite interested and i showed him a razor that i recently recieved from joe ( my blade with Joe scales) and explained my interest in making new scales for another blade.

Cut a long story short, he took me to his workshop in his garage and he had everything I needed to make a cracking job a bandsaw, fret saw, vertical drill and an awesome bench sander...i was tickled pink....

I went back there a few hours later and cut my first set so I have enclosed a picture of the first stage...i apologise for the poor quality picture as It was taken on my mobile phone so bear with me, next stage is to drill the holes and shape them...i cant wait but it did take me a few hours but i hope it wont take so long to do the next set....

regards,simon:D

ps..these are the tools I was lucky enough to be able to use so I think i was quite fortunate..wouldnt you say...

Nice looking wood,what type is it? ,should look great when finished
Kind regards Peter

i think its bloodwood, is that right? I got it from vlad when he did the kits so i think its pretty hot....

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Originally Posted by coully

i think its blood wood, is that right? I got it from vlad when he did the kits so i think its pretty hot....

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its good that you have access to some tools,it will make the job a bit easier,take your time and I`m sure they will turn out great.
Best of luck
Kind regards Peter

You also may want to try to convert your mom's neighbor to go straight.

Good job, Simon - I'm looking forward to seeing the progress on this one.

here is the final effort, i finished them at 1245am and im tickled pink, there a few issues that with practice im sure I will get to grips with.

Background....

This is a Easy Cutter 6/8th, that I got as my first proper straight razor from Bill Ellis's site last Xmas, so I did nothing with the blade at all, it is however one of my regular razors cos i like it....the scales are bloodwood, that came in kit form from Vlad with pins and washers, reason it took so long was I was chicken...lol...

Enough Said here are the pics

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/3313/img1201os9.jpg

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/8088/img1202lf6.jpg

So any newbies like me, take the plunge, have a bash at it, its a great feeling to have completed it....

Cheers to all the guys who helped me do this...you know who you are...Simon

Excellent job there Simon. :tu

You see..it ain't that daunting when you give it a try.

Gary

see I hate to say I told you so ,but they did turn out great,actually bloody great
nice effort ,but you know what you have done ,each set has to be better than the last,so given that you haven`t cut your self much slack
excellent
Kind regards Peter

They look pretty darn good from where I sit, Simon. Good job. Keep 'em coming.

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.

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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.

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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:D :tu

:y

http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/5087/img1209iz2.jpg[/URL][/IMG]

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/6595/img1210gp4.jpg

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:tu

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,:tu simon

Laburnum is a small European tree which is often used in woodturning. Since it is so small, there is no commercial access to the wood. Chances are your friend, or his friend, cut down the tree himself.

If the wood has been drying for years, chances are it is fine. If it is still wet, laburnum is likely to check or split, so you may have trouble.

The grain is usually straight, and the wood is fairly strong and hard. It is considered fairly dense and heavy, weighing in at around 50lb per cubic foot.

And stabilizing is a process where dry wood is treated with a liquid resin that hardens, essentially making the wood a plastic, almost impervious to water. A worthwhile but expensive process. The major benefit is that softer wood, like spalted woods, can now be cut and used like any regular hardwood. K&G and WSSI are two of the more popular wood stabilizing outfits in N.A\merica.

Best of luck,