making scales

D

dendass

Joined
Tuesday December 3, 2013
Hi guys,

I am in the early stages of restoring my first straight. can some one point me in the direction of a place i can buy the material to make some scales? I have found kirinite on ebay which I really like, but not sure about where to get some nice wood from?
also replacement pins?

Cheers

Si
 
I have bought from here before http://www.exotichardwoodsukltd.com/page72/page74/

They have some beautiful woods. I need to do a few sets myself ;)

For pins I use 1/16 brass rod, available on eBay or model shops. I think (check first!) that 10BA washers are correct for the 1/16 rod. again find on ebay or model shops.
 
I've bought from exotic hardwoods before. Nice people.

You can buy small blocks of wood from any company supplying wood turners but you will need a way of thicknessing them. The best option would be to find someone local to you with a bandsaw to rip the blocks into usable sizes.
 
You know twice I bought wood blanks thinking: I have a band saw; I have a sander; I've got the blanks!
You know... Boy those blanks still look good!!
 
jodypress said:
Have a look on eBay for this item no: 251198432776

It's 4mm thick which is perfect for scales.
Click to expand...

They will still need to be taken down quite a bit - finished scales should be around 5mm for the pair I find - especially if you are using wood as the wedge need to flex the shape and you won't achieve that if your scales are too thick.

Generally speaking, getting the material to the right thickness and ensuring an even thickness throughout is the most difficult part of scale making. I have a luthier's friend (that's a device rather than a person by the way) which does a really good job and saves hours of hand sanding. Another method would be to get hold of a table top plane - but a bit over the top for occasional work.
 
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