I am pretty satisfied w/ the scale thickness, came out w/ good balance overall, I used a matte finish poly urethane on the oak before assembly. As far as the washers go, therse were the smallest I could find at my local hardware store where I also got the 1/16" brass stock for the pins. Never fully satisfied w/ my work. Am my own biggest critic. Might disassemble find some smaller washers and put a thicker finish on them and reassemble.