Thread: My Sort of restoration/customization

Chris,

I use brass wedges because I like the look but it is more of a pain to taper and shape than wood or plastic.

I use 3/32" x 1" x 24" brass strip. I sand it on my belt sander by press it down with a piece of wood to keep it flat. Dunk in water to cool it off. Mind you I did not get any metal sanding belts and resort to a 50 ro 80 grit wood belts. So a propper belt may work better.

Afterwards I rough cut the profile on a metal bandsaw and further rough shape on a grinder. The final tweaking is done with a file by hand. Sand and polish to a shine.

One thing to watch out for is the weight which is considerable. It also sits all the way out on the furthest point from the pivot pin. A good thing if the wood is light but may make the scales a bit heavy with denser woods for lighter blades.

I will often use carpet tape on my fingers to hold small parts for shaping them on a belt-type sander. If you are not careful, though, you lose flesh in the process. It eventually grows back...

You could use the carpet tape on the end of a stick as Vlad suggested, as well. No burned fingers that way. A smarter way to do it, that's for sure.

It's got sort of a bulldog collar/studded leather S&M bra thing goin' on...I like it.

Outstanding job!!!!!!! Im curious though how did you get the cone shape by pinning the scales?

The 'cone' is actually a 1/16" x 1" brass nail with a round head. I put the nail in the Dremel and use it as a lathe to file the dome to a spike using a metal file. Then I add some #0 washer's to the nail and sand them until uniform with the spike-head (all on the dremel/lathe). Drill holes in the scales, clip down the nail to size, add a dab of glue to the hole. Pass the spike into the scale, and on the opposite side (inside of the scales) peen and file flush with the scales. The peen does not need to be that wide since there is also glue holding them in place. I'd say the trickiest part is peening and sanding the inside scales so not to crack or scar/scratch up the horn......

C utz

Very nice my complements to on a job well done and thanks for the tip.