Native UK wood for scales

[mike66]

Following the recent storms in the uk, there are a lot of trees down in my local woods. Mostly ash, oak and beech, even an old apple tree. Set me thinking as to which native / naturalised uk tree species would be suitable for scale making (given land owners permission to remove some branches). The obvious answer is all, but some may be too soft? Need stabilising?

What would you consider? Any to avoid? For example I think poplar would be way too soft? Do I recall oak is not good as it reacts with steel?

Any pics of finished examples?

Mike

 

[Mike Smart]

Morning Wood give that a go you’ll love it

 

[Jester]

Morning Wood give that a go you’ll love it

Although you may find the brush a bit stiff......

 

[mike66]

Guys! Be assured, at my age, any kind of wood is welcome!

 

[UKRob]

To my mind it has to be a hardwood and, from an aesthic point of view, look good when polished. Oak is certainly up to the job, but probably would not have the necessary looks on such a small scale.

My favourite woods are Rosewood and Ebony for scale making and I’ve used lots of others. There is one major drawback when using wood - the fact that each scale needs to be thinned down to about 3/32” means that whatever wood you use has to have lateral strength when it comes to creating the bow that is necessary for straight razors. This is a problem that can be overcome by using a liner - either man made or in a veneer such as Wenge which has a strong lateral grain.

@mike66 - you asked for pictures - here’s some of my work.

From the top you have stabilised birds eye maple, ebony, snake wood and lastly ebony with a white liner.

 

[vates]

 

[Bogeyman]

Yew.

 

[mike66]

@UKRob - lovely examples Rob, and thanks for the tip re the use of a liner. How easy was the maple to work with? Did you stabilise the wood yourself?

@Bogeyman - my local yews are mostly in churchyards, but they seem to be rock solid. Never seen a branch come down yet! One day hopefully...

Local forester was cutting up some beech trunks yesterday, and was happy to give up a couple of hefty chunks. Going to leave in the garage for a few months and see what I can do with them. Not a traditional hardwood or exotic, but I guess even if not particularly suitable for scales, the wood won't be subject to heavy use. And the natural scavenger in me will be pleased at something I've made myself, no matter if ultimately not a good material.

 

[UKRob]

How easy was the maple to work with? Did you stabilise the wood yourself?

I got the maple along with a brush that was turned for me by a maker in Canada - it was already stabilised but I still used a Wenge veneer as a support liner. I won’t say it was difficult to work, but all stabilised woods are far more difficult to sand than in their natural state purely because they have been infused (if that’s the right word) with epoxy or whatever is used in the stabilising process.

Incidentally, I have a piece of spalted beech cut to size for some scales - it’s much lighter than hardwood and I’m unsure what the end result will look like but will post some pictures when I do get around to using it.

 

[Ferrum]

When it was available, I've used a fair bit of elm in marine environments; specifically in boatbuilding, and for trawl doors, in slabs at least 2' x 2' 6". It's also traditionally been the wood of choice for coffins. As it's durable in wet environments, it might be good for razor handles, but I've no experience at all of producing superb articles like @UKRob.