stabilized woods have polymer forced into them. but...they are still wood. wood fibers take in and expel moisture depending on humidity. if a scale is backed with say g-10 you have sealed that side of the scale. if the other side takes in moisture on a humid day it will swell and bow the scale. "end grain woods more so". useing a natural material takes a bit of skill, and if we all had our wish those materials would work easy, stay dead flat and never move. a lot of good posts here. but lets start at the beginning.... woods should be aged years to allow them to find their happy place. then after stabilization they should be rested as well. (why? poylmers shink.) so allowing a block of stabilized wood to shrink and ajust is a good idea. after it has, slice off the first 1/8 inch or so (always wants to warp to the inside) then cut your scales. (what every you do to one side, you must do to the other.) sand, flip,sand turn 180 degrees sand, flip sand flip. stand on their edge. (why? you want both sides of the scales to breath equal and ajust. both sides will both cool and take in what every humidity is in your area on a given day. (on that note, when buying scales,when you get them, stand them on their edge and let them ajust for a couple days.) make sure they no longer want to move. "ALWAYS" sand the back flat on a dead flat surface before atempting to glue them on a knife. the most common mistake knife makers do is when they grind and work the steel and handle material. they heat it with agressive grinding. ( there is no need for this) cutting your material to closer tolarence is a much better way to go. keeping things a bit cooler when shaping drasticly cuts down on woods movements later. also by coating your scales and or sealing them with a finish you cut down on the woods ability to take in moisture or swell. this too can cut down on wood wanting to move. just my opinion but i hope it helps some of you.
