Thread: First attempt at homemade scales.

So, I got bored last weekend and decided to use some of my spare time trying to make a set of scales to replace the ones I cracked trying to take apart my Ebay special Henry's X for some cleanup. Here are a couple of pics. They were made out of about 1/8" aluminum plate that I happened to have laying around the garage. Let me know what you think. I don't know if the weight difference will be too much but I think they would look nice.


I haven't drilled them yet because I don't have a drill press and I know the holes need to be very close to perfect to keep the blade centered like it needs to be.

Also, I was able to fit a 3/32" brill bit through the hole in the blade with a snug fit. (Not drilling it out, just to gauge size) The pins in the original scales seem to have a lot of room for play inside the blade. Would I be better to get 3/32" rod to make the pins out of or should I stick with the normal 1/16"?

Thanks in advance for you thoughts and opinions.
Hal

Hal,

The scales look pretty cool in my opinion. Nice work.

As for drill bits. If you're going to pin, most of us use 5/64" for pinning with 1/16" rod.

If you're going to use microfastener bolts, then a 1/16" drill bit will work, as the bolts are just a hair smaller than that in diameter.

Good luck

Thanks Maxi. I would guess that it took around 5-6 hours to get them to where you see them. I traced the pattern from the original scales in the picture and modified the shape from there. I cut the rough shape with a hacksaw, then shaped it from there with my die grinders and dremel tool. I sanded it starting with 150 and 220 grit dry sand paper, then moved to 400, 600, and finally 1200 grit wet/dry sandpaper with water. I polished the sides and bevels with the polishing compound that came with my dremel set. I need to find a polishing compound finer than the stuff I used, and have considered using Mother's aluminum wheel polish, Maas, or Flitz. I have had the Mother's polish in my hand a couple of times while at the store, but I have put it back each time because I just don't know how well it will work on something like this. After reading labels and/or website info on all three, they sound more like a tarnish removers than polishing compounds. I guess I will just have to pick something up and give it a shot.

Hopefully, I can get the scales finished so I can get the blade sent out to be cleaned up and honed by someone that knows what they are doing. I really would like to have a razor that is honed properly so I can see what it is like to shave with a decent edge. I have played around with some hones I have and can actually fumble through a shave with a different razor, but I can tell that the edge is no where near where it should be. A WTG and XTG passes aren't too bad, but ATG just feels like it is pulling my skin and the hair instead of cutting the hair.

Personal opinion here...Mother's is really great for steel, and really junk for aluminum. Kinda funny since it's mag and aluminum polish, but I've never, ever been happy with it's effect on aluminum. If you pick it up, let me know how it worked out on plate. I like your scales, man. I'm jealous I don't just have materials sitting around waiting to be made into scales. haha. Which reminds me....time to place an order...

IME aluminum tends to be a little heavy for scales, but there are plenty of them out there as well as SS. They look great though.

You might have to work a bit to get the balance right, as others have pointed out, but they look really cool. Definitely going to be a nice set of scales when you're done with them!

Thank you for the kind words and opinions everyone. I have read about people ditching stainless steel scales because of the weight, but hoped that by using the aluminum I would negate at least some of that extra weight. I have considered trying to either drill or cut out holes along the scales to shave some weight and make them look more like a modern knife handle. Something like this.

I have also considered attempting to fill those holes/ cut outs with either a wood or acrylic, just to make sure that the blade is as secure as possible and kept away from anything that might dull it. At this point these are just ideas and will probably never materialize, but hopefully some day I'll have the tools, time and skill to make some scales that are even nicer than these have turned out.

I do have a quick question if anyone could help me out though. Does anyone know what the thickness is of the stainless scales on the Wapi's? My scales are just under 1/8" so if the stainless ones are much thinner, I might just sand these ones down to get them a little bit thinner and see what that does to the weight.

Thanks again for the thoughts and opinions.
Hal

Wapi scales are maybe 5/64 if memory serves... not sure though never owned one. I'm sure someone else could get you a firmer number. If it were me, I'd shoot for around 1/16 in a metal scale.

Thanks for the info BKratchmer. The plate started out about 1/8" but lost a little due to sanding and polishing. I just drilled the hole for the pin that will hold the blade so I can separate the scales and sand down the inside a little bit. I'll see how much I can shave off while cleaning up the inner surface of the scales without making it uneven.