Becker handle scales, wood, manufacturing process

Arkanian said:
What type of wood should be avoided for handles? And to be a killjoy, don't answer this with 'Balsa.'
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I like the wood to be hard. I did a set of cherrywood grips and while the wood tooled very easily I don't know how well they will wear. i gifted those out.

I like the exotic hardwoods a lot and I've got a few nice pieces, leopardwood, wenge, and a big ole chunk of Brazilian cherry. I'm gonna wait till I get just a little better at this stuff before I cut those up.

I'd say whatever you can get for free. There's a lot of old wood hoarders out there who are more than happy to give you wood to play with.

I guess the point is don't use anything too nice for the first couple. You can't expect top quality the 1st time out, Lonesome Dove taught me that.



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Done. Sanded to 220 and melted Bee's wax into it with a heat gun.
 
You do some awesome work man! I need to get another 17 or maybe a 15 to put the scales you made on. I feel guilty not using them, but the 17 I have is going to see some really nasty and wet work so I took them back off of it.
 
Just wanted to bump this. Excellent tutelage FAL'ER. Learned anything else in the last couple of years to pass on? I, for one, would love to see them. I have some ideas that I've been itching to try, this thread has given me a couple more...gonna have to wait until I can be on my feet again, tho.
Thanks again for all the superb info and pics.
 
Nice tutorial - thanks. A new band saw is on my wish list and would be a step up from the jigsaw on certain projects.
 
granitestateofmind said:
Just wanted to bump this. Excellent tutelage FAL'ER. Learned anything else in the last couple of years to pass on? I, for one, would love to see them. I have some ideas that I've been itching to try, this thread has given me a couple more...gonna have to wait until I can be on my feet again, tho.
Thanks again for all the superb info and pics.
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Hell yeah man, appreciate the compliments. I haven't made a set in almost a year but I just started re-working a piece of fiddleback maple I had partially completed. I do it pretty much the same way as far as the drilling of the holes and the alignment, I just use sandpaper to do all the contouring and I have this set of dial calipers I use to measure them at specific area's to make sure they even from side to side but also so they are close to Kabar specs. I really try to make them feel like the grivory.
 
FAL'ER said:
Hell yeah man, appreciate the compliments. I haven't made a set in almost a year but I just started re-working a piece of fiddleback maple I had partially completed. I do it pretty much the same way as far as the drilling of the holes and the alignment, I just use sandpaper to do all the contouring and I have this set of dial calipers I use to measure them at specific area's to make sure they even from side to side but also so they are close to Kabar specs. I really try to make them feel like the grivory.
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I started making a bunch myself and stalled out trying to figure out some things, one of which was the shelf height to the bolt head - never occurred to me to use a dial caliper.

I made a router jig to trim them to handle dimensions, the bandsaw to resaw the block in two. I've got an idea for a drill press jig to drill bolt holes, but it will have to wait until I can be on my feet again.



I'll let you know how it works out.
Do you know if there is an engineering drawing of the full size scales? Got an idea for a jig to rough them out, but trying to make a drawing of the top profile (view looking at the palm swell ) is muy dificil...
 
You could use a contour gauge. They allow you to transfer any shape to paper
They are quite cheap. I paid $4 for one last week.
 
FAL'ER said:
Lookin' good. drill your holes before you cut them too close to size.
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Thanks. Pair of scales per blank, drilled right thru and split the blank lengthwise on the bandsaw, then shaped the cut side, drill the stepped part for bolt heads and nuts and chiseled the (can't type this without smiling) nut holes. Been designing a jig that will automatically line up the blanks on the drill press, but can't build it yet. Probably be a while still, laid low by a back injury. The top photo was my pre-jig "learning" set, made from the maple blank at the bottom of the last pic. The scales are all sized on a router table with a bearing guided bit and jig. Probably still have a lot more "design opportunities" to experience.

Edit: just looked at my other post trying to remember what I'd already said, to post another pic that wasn't already posted. Most of the above appears to be redundant. Oh well, pic anyway:

and another:


Thanks for the input. Now I just need to get myself vertical.
 
Great tutorial, I made some mistakes (luckily fixable) on my first scales and all this info is very helpful for future projects.
 
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