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Scale making

Sxot

Sxot

New Member
Artisan Producer
So I received a Bengal with some of the ugliest scales known to man kind. I'm not going to let that shit detract from my enjoyment of the shave, and may not be original anyway - so off they came. Here are the new ones - silky oak from my g'mars old cupboard. It's easily as old as the blade. First attempt so wish me skilful hands beyond my experience.

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Sxot said:
So I received a Bengal with some of the ugliest scales known to man kind. I'm not going to let that shit detract from my enjoyment of the shave, and may not be original anyway - so off they came. Here are the new ones - silky oak from my g'mars old cupboard. It's easily as old as the blade. First attempt so wish me skilful hands beyond my experience.

d0d44f506e393e9dbd08ad6089af70fa.jpg
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Those instructions look overly complicated for making scales. I'm not sure most people would need a locking chain on them.

I admit that I would, but you are probably not as clumsy as me.
 
good luck, it will be interesting to see how you go. the last set i did i ended up going a little thicker that i liked, it seemed ok when i was shaping them but when i assembled it all it felt a bit chunky, so i need to have another go.
 
nathan1983 said:
good luck, it will be interesting to see how you go. the last set i did i ended up going a little thicker that i liked, it seemed ok when i was shaping them but when i assembled it all it felt a bit chunky, so i need to have another go.
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That's going to be the hardest part... thinning them down evenly. The stock is 7mm and will need to get under three I reckon.
 
I make mine out of Jarrah or Oak when I need to and they are about 2 mm. There isn't a lot of skill needed as such just care and a willingness to take your time. All the best as it is very satisfying to see what can be done with a coping saw, sand paper, a drill, hammer and pins to hold the scales together.
 
Stage 1 complete. Thinned down to 3mm and haven't lost a finger tip. I feel like they should be thinner but nervous as to how strong it will be if I go thinner. I've only just realised I have the grain going across the width of the scales too. It was stained before and I couldn't tell. Probably should do another pair and turn them around. Alternatively I keep going and use this as a practice run.

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Mrs is deserting me tonight for a girls night out so I'll do the shaping tonight and hopefully the wedge. Undecided if I should use like timber or black plastic for a bit of contrast.
 
Started again with the grain running along the length. Thinner now too. Just over 2mm. Sanded to shape. Next step is the wedge and a trial fit. For that I need the belt sander so I'll leave it tomorrow and duck into work to sand the wedge down.

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I have made some silky oak scales that are only bees wax sealed & since the wood is soft the pivot comes loose so you will need to firm up the wood around the pivot hole at least.
you could finish sand then go with a CA glue (Superglue) or similar epoxy coating which will firm & seal the whole scales I have used this a few times several but takes several coatings.

or I just recently saw that you can just superglue the pin holes & an area the size of your washers with a very runny superglue so it soaks into the wood edges in the holes & let it cure before you finish sand the scales, then re-drill your holes & finish as normal with you favorite sealer.
 
Great work @Sxot - know exactly what you mean about scungy scales spoiling the overall experience of the razor. What you've done so far is simply awesome - I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that the finish does it justice.

When you've finished, it would be awesome if you publish a quick how-to for the rest of us straight lovers. If you can put together a quick tool list that would be a real help too.

Anyway, thanks a heap for posting this. I'll be following it to the conclusion...
 
Thanks for the comments.

I made a wedge, and did a test fit. All good so went ahead and glued it in. The best step is sealing/finishing.

I found I had some cabots brand "stain and varnish" so after some more sanding I put a coupe of coats of that on on Saturday. Will give it a couple of days to dry before hitting it with some sandpaper again. Looks okay so far and will be a success if I can sand it back without ruining it.

Doing the shaping is the easy part. Getting the finish right is both the hardest and the most likely to ruin the scales.

I'm not going to be upset if the finish is sub standard on these. I'll just do another set and try again!

Oh, I did another test fit after the wedge glue had dried and found that it needed to be a greater angle! In future, the test fit will be with a bolt to make sure the angle is right. Holding it with my fingers obviously wasn't firm enough. It's not a disaster, and the perfectionist is me says bin them and start again but it will be fine and I get a trial finish even if I do discard them.
 
Substance said:
These are the bees wax only sealed silky oak scales, not heaps of figure but still nice I think
Look forward to seeing how yours come out
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Looks great! I had thought about using bees wax but I was turned off after doing some reading. Same with the CA glue finish. First the instructions I found were complicated! Second, most seemed to say it ruins the natural feel of the wood. In the end I tried the product I had.
 
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Nice work @Sxot mate. Let us know when you're making a business of it, as I have a few waiting.

BTW: anyone got a good local source for pins and washers?
 
Going direct Microfasteners in the us works out a lot cheaper for bulk buys but railcard will do small quantity orders for when starting or only doing a couple or restore or repairs
 
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Finishing done. Just need to drop by the hobby joint for some brass rod and washers.

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Finish is better than I hoped. It's a little rough, as in the surface is not dead flat and glossy in one uniform surface but that's natural timber I feel. By sanding and decorating several times (this was two coats, sand third coat) you could get it that way if you were after that.
 
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