Thread: Making new scales

That's interesting. I'll have to look at that more closely. For this one I've decided to use a piece of wood I found around the house.

I'm still working on getting the angle exactly right. I thought super glue would work and therefore bought some but in reading the directions I see that it doesn't work with wood.

I thought I had some Elmer's Wood Glue but I can't find that. I did find some Elmer's Glue All which says it works with wood.

I don't know if it can handle getting wet but I don't plan on letting my razor scales get wet for long anyway. Do you think it will work for this purpose or should I just go and buy some Elmer's Wood Glue?

I'm still working on thinning the wedge so that the blade can't go too far into the scales.

Personally I just glue one side of the wedge. That way, if I have to take the razor apart later, I don't have to break it loose. I've always used superglue. As you can see from the comments, there is more than one way to do it. I'm assuming you are going to pin the wedge anyway, so the glue isn't terribly important. If you are not going to pin the wedge, use epoxy.

Titebond III is a great wood glue. And it says right on the bottle "water proof". But it is definitely permanent.

I thought I post a few "lessons learned" from my first scale making project.

I'm not a particularly mechanical guy compared to most in this sub-forum I'm sure.

I'll spend more time fine-tuning things with the sandpaper next time. I do like the "natural" looking effect of shellac.

The wedge took more time and was harder to fashion that I would have thought. It turned out to not be a perfect fit but at one point I just decided to continue on with the project just to get it finished.

I should have installed the blade before I glued the front end (wedge) together but I didn't. Therefore when I did pin the blade the scales were tight enough that I couldn't use the inner o-rings.

I could also just have glued only one side of the wedge so that everything could be taken apart.

When pinning the blade the outer o-ring from one side fell off without me noticing so as I penned one side it did flatten out the brass but there was no o-ring there.

It's still working (didn't pull though) but one day I'll redo it when I have more parts. So far the blade isn't tight enough or as tight as I'd like it. I still may be able to adjust this.

I bought some wax today and may use that on top of the shellac. Pinning in general was a little more tedious than I would have thought.

All tools used were hand tools except for an electric drill. Another lesson learned (for next time) is to put a pin through the first set of holes drilled before drilling the second set.

I visually lined things up while drilling and everything worked more or less but one set of holes were slightly offset. I did drill though both pieces of wood each time but it's easy for the pieces to not be lined up precisely.

Going thought this process from start to finish is definitely a good learning experience. As you can imagine I will do things a bit differently next time.

I'll post a picture in a day or two after I've had time to tweak a few things but this first project is nothing to write home about compared to some of the examples I've seen on this site.

It's a start however.

Got pics?????????????????

Double sided scotch tape is your friend here, makes things so much easier when driling and shaping.

Originally Posted by gcbryan

I thought I post a few "lessons learned" from my first scale making project.

I'm not a particularly mechanical guy compared to most in this sub-forum I'm sure.

I'll spend more time fine-tuning things with the sandpaper next time. I do like the "natural" looking effect of shellac.

The wedge took more time and was harder to fashion that I would have thought. It turned out to not be a perfect fit but at one point I just decided to continue on with the project just to get it finished.

I should have installed the blade before I glued the front end (wedge) together but I didn't. Therefore when I did pin the blade the scales were tight enough that I couldn't use the inner o-rings.

I could also just have glued only one side of the wedge so that everything could be taken apart.

When pinning the blade the outer o-ring from one side fell off without me noticing so as I penned one side it did flatten out the brass but there was no o-ring there.

It's still working (didn't pull though) but one day I'll redo it when I have more parts. So far the blade isn't tight enough or as tight as I'd like it. I still may be able to adjust this.

I bought some wax today and may use that on top of the shellac. Pinning in general was a little more tedious than I would have thought.

All tools used were hand tools except for an electric drill. Another lesson learned (for next time) is to put a pin through the first set of holes drilled before drilling the second set.

I visually lined things up while drilling and everything worked more or less but one set of holes were slightly offset. I did drill though both pieces of wood each time but it's easy for the pieces to not be lined up precisely.

Going thought this process from start to finish is definitely a good learning experience. As you can imagine I will do things a bit differently next time.

I'll post a picture in a day or two after I've had time to tweak a few things but this first project is nothing to write home about compared to some of the examples I've seen on this site.

It's a start however.

Get yourself a couple of O-80 size nuts and bolts - about 1 inch long. Use them to check fit before you pin your scales. Saves a lot of mistakes before they happen. Good luck - waiting to see the pictures.

Yes, I used double-sided tape and it was helpful. It moved around a little on occasion however. It was great for the sanding though.

I did just stick in a long piece of the brass rod for alignment for much of this process.

I just forgot to do it for the drilling on the second set of holes.

I think I need to spend more time on the wedge in the future and to get better with the pinning process.

After tweaking things a bit I'm liking the result a bit more. I'll post a picture or two later tonight or tomorrow. I want the last shellac treatment to dry and I'd like to try waxing it on top of that and then I'll take the pictures.

I have a couple of questions for those with more experience with this....

I've been ordering the 1/16 " brass rod with the proper sized outer and inner o-rings online from someone selling them specifically for razor scales (short rod length).

1). Are these small sizes possibly available at the local hardware store or is this just too small to find locally?

2). Will this work...for my next project I was thinking about putting lemon oil on the wood blank (spaulted sugar maple) and letting it dry and then using shellac over that and maybe wax over that.

My thinking for this is that the lemon oil (which I already have) would make the wood darker and the grain more pronounced and the shellac provides some protection while looking natural and the wax adds a bit more shine and protects the shellac from any possible alcohol from cleaning the blades.

If you want local, hobby lobby sells the brass rod only. Ace carries the 0-80 machine screws, and the #0 and #0wide stainless washers. Try using danish oil and let it dry for about 3 days then the shellac, or you can use a satin exterior app rated tung oil, usually for marine apps,same look but better water resistance.