I was up the coast in california yesterday and I came across a lot of abalone shells, I ended up taking 3 home that were around 10" long and had very straight pieces near the edge. The straight sections are almost half an inch thick and 8" long so I was thinking I could make a few pairs of solid abalone scales. Has anyone ever made scales out of a raw shell before? I tried to search the forum for information but all i could find were what seems like thin pieces glued to acrylic or wood. i saw a few Livi's that appeared to have solid abalone scales, so I'm sure it can be done.

Any suggestions?