Questions about Trying to Make Custom Scales

Sylafari

Sylafari

Joined
May 23, 2013
Messages
54
I want to try making custom scales and I been looking at other threads for advice but I still have some questions.

I'm a college student so I'm limited to a Dremel or just a normal power tool. I also will have the usual array of sandpaper and will be wet sanding.

I plan to make scales out of carbon fiber, g10, or micarta and was wondering if a Dremel is enough to cut these materials (How fast of a rpm should I use?).
I plan to outline the scale first than cut it with a Dremel cutting wheel and than clamp them together and use a grinding wheel to get it almost flush but not quite and than wet sand the rest.

Also for drilling the holes I'm wondering about the precision needed (do I need a drill press like setup or can just lining up the original scale with the one I'm making and drilling vertically is precise enough?).
The scales I'm making are simple ones like ones for a ZT 560 where it is just a flat scale.
I'm also planning to use diamond coated rotary bits to countersink the holes I drill and was wondering if there is a better way to do it?

I plan to wear a respirator and safety mask and have a vacuum sucking the particulates as I work with them.

Thanks in advance for the help. Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated.
 
Don't grind in your dorm room or apartment etc.

G-10 is Very nasty stuff that will lodge in your lungs and make you etch where ever it makes skin contact. Micarta isn't much better. work slow so you don't burn these materials
Yes a Dremel and paper along with a can of elbow grease will work.

Use real drill bits and counter sink with a real steel counter sink or larger drill bit.
 
2nds on the toxic stuff. Please be careful.

As for drilling. I use a hand drill for tinkering but found it much easier to drill one hole and then place a pin in the hole before I drill the next. Just to keep things lined up. Can't tell you how many times I drill them all at once only to find out they don't match up.
 
With a hand drill my holes would never be straight. Your dull bits will work well as pins as Tankerwolf suggested and I second. I might suggest a coping saw.
 
Yeah, wear a respirator when working with any G10 or micarta. Hand coping saw is a way better idea than a dremel. I've ruined a few scales in my day with a hand drill as well, does your school have a wood shop you could use? That's what I would recommend investigating! If you live near Milwaukee I'd be happy to let you use my shop ;)
 
Based on your responses how would you guys drill holes? Does a coping saw from any hardware store work? Also I'm thinking of sticking with carbon fiber, is it easier to work with? Thanks for the responses, they've been very helpful.

I'm in California but thanks for the offer!
 
Sylafari said:
Based on your responses how would you guys drill holes? Does a coping saw from any hardware store work? Also I'm thinking of sticking with carbon fiber, is it easier to work with? Thanks for the responses, they've been very helpful.

I'm in California but thanks for the offer!
Click to expand...

A coping saw with a new SHARP blade in it will do the job. These two synthetic's were designed to have lots of strength and toughness for their weight. Remember to just take your time and work it slowly. Perhaps you can use a drill press at the school to get clean exact holes?

We have a saying in knife making. You can always take a little more material away, putting it back is a whole different story! Relax and work slowly.
 
With your experience level and equipment I would NOT suggest you do CF scales. Even Micarta and G-10 will be beyond your situation. At a minimum you will need good dust collection equipment, tooling, respirators, and safety clothing.

Not trying to be a Debbie downer, but if you value your health, don't do this in your dorm at all, or any other place without the proper equipment, training, and experience. It may not make you sick today, but it may shorten your life and greatly affect the quality of your last years....which may be sooner that expected.

I have a fully equipped shop and many years of experience.... I don't work on CF in my shop at all.
 
All of the warnings would be why I suggested the saw. And yeah any place will do. They'll dull and break, but it removes material in a manner that creates less dust. A jeweler's saw is about the same thing but it takes a larger variety of blades and you can adjust it to even use the broken ones sometimes. Of course, that's even more investment....
 
There is an Engineering Fabrication Lab at the University i'm in but they don't have any ventilation equipment nor do they provide any or require any (which is really surprising). Just a lab with a bunch of machining equipment with a bunch of students doing work on all kinds of materials and none of them wear any respirators or anything. I think if I did my work outside with a vacuum hose next to a Dremel or saw while wearing latex gloves with a respirator along with my lab coat and safety goggles, I think I can do the job properly enough. Also once I get the shape where I want it plan to just wet sand the entire way. But I will think a bit more about this, though I am feeling pretty committed to doing so but I want to do it without risking my health.
 
use a respirator, do it outdoors, its a pain to clean g-10 dust. when you are all sweaty and think you can just wipe it off of you arm, surprise it burns and itches. id say high speed for sanding with a dremel because you don't want it to skip, it gives max control imo. and for cutting go medium speed with plastic cutting disks
 
It's not a big deal, don't overthink it. You're not working with radioactive material.

You certainly don't want to breathe it in.

I've never had a problem with it g10 causing skin irritation or itching.

It'll cover you and your work space with dust.

You're probably going to botch the first few attempts, so you may as well start learning now.
 
What I do when making scales is I rough shape them to the handle (I use a band saw, but as stated above a coping saw will work fine). Tracing the handle with a thick sharpie marker and then cutting on the outside of that line will put you within 1/16" of the steel, which is where I like to be before drilling the holes. My next step is to clamp one scale onto the handle(presuming the holes are drilled in the tang already). I then drill the holes in the scale, going through the holes in the tang. Next, I put pins in to keep the already drilled scale in line with the tang while I unclamp it and clamp the other scale on. Next I remove the pins, and drill through the first scale and tang into the second scale. This assures all the holes are perfectly aligned. Next, I set my drill press for how deep I want to countersink the holes (I actually usually do it by sight, but I don't recommend you do this your first time out). If you are going to use a hand drill, wrap a good amount of masking tape around the drill bit as a stop for how deep you want to drill the hole. Always make sure your work is secure, or you will ruin your scales. Now you can put the pins back in to secure the scales. I do most of the finishing work before permanently fixing the scales to the tang, which I recommend you do so that you don't damage the blade. Only do the very fine finishing work after the scales are fixed. This is just the way I do it, and I am sure there are many other ways, but I find this way to be very easy. Hope this helps a little.
 
Joe Watson said:
It's not a big deal, don't overthink it. You're not working with radioactive material.

You certainly don't want to breathe it in.

I've never had a problem with it g10 causing skin irritation or itching.

It'll cover you and your work space with dust.

You're probably going to botch the first few attempts, so you may as well start learning now.
Click to expand...

I pretty much agree. I grind G-10 in my garage while wearing a well fitted N-100 mask. I don't have dust collection or dust evacuation equipment yet. I grind it, get dust on me, brush it off, change clothes, and take a shower. If people walk through the garage while I'm grinding, or within the hour when I have been grinding G-10, I urge them through quickly. Next, I wait hours (usually overnight) for the dust to settle, and then vacuum and blow out the area into yard. I wear a mask while doing this too.

With this said, I wouldn't recommend grinding G-10 or carbon fiber in the university shop where others will be in the same enclosed space. Also, do not do this in a dorm room. You'll never get the glass dust out of there. You'd be setting yourself (and others) up for living and sleeping in an environment which spells "lung damage".

I think you'd be perfectly safe following your suggestion for doing the grinding outside with a quality mask or respirator . . . as long as you are not skin sensitive to the glass or carbon fibers.

Mike.
 
logem said:
I pretty much agree. I grind G-10 in my garage while wearing a well fitted N-100 mask. I don't have dust collection or dust evacuation equipment yet. I grind it, get dust on me, brush it off, change clothes, and take a shower. If people walk through the garage while I'm grinding, or within the hour when I have been grinding G-10, I urge them through quickly. Next, I wait hours (usually overnight) for the dust to settle, and then vacuum and blow out the area into yard. I wear a mask while doing this too.

With this said, I wouldn't recommend grinding G-10 or carbon fiber in the university shop where others will be in the same enclosed space. Also, do not do this in a dorm room. You'll never get the glass dust out of there. You'd be setting yourself (and others) up for living and sleeping in an environment which spells "lung damage".

I think you'd be perfectly safe following your suggestion for doing the grinding outside with a quality mask or respirator . . . as long as you are not skin sensitive to the glass or carbon fibers.

Mike.
Click to expand...

G-10 has carcinogenic dust that can hang in the air for a lot longer than a day or so. You are probably alright with the simple precautions you are taking but the problem here is long term exposure. I ground Micarta for years with about the same precautions you have listed, then I started getting really severe headaches to the point of migraines that could last for weeks. I haven't ground ether for years now and feel much better for it!

This last statement is a quote, Youth, is wasted on the young! LOL

Stay safe and have fun!
 
I'm sorry but I cannot agree with your statement that "G10 dust can hang in the air for a lot longer than a day or so.". I know that it can be easily agitated, and can be a health problem.

I also understand why yourself or anyone would choose not to work with glass or carbon fiber materials on a daily basis.

Essentially we are in agreement.

cheers,

Mike
 
Sylafari,
Where do you live and attend college? Filling out your profile is also a good idea, as it will help us make better answers.
 
I would suggest 1st trying with some thin craft wood that you can get super cheap at any arts and crafts store.
Then you can see how you do cutting and shaping.
This will be the very easiest material there is to work.
Then you can see if making scales is something you want to do.
After you get good doing it with wood move on to the other materials.
 
I plan on first practicing on polystyrene 1/8th inch. Also got a cheap block of plain black micarta that I wanna first work with. Before I was interested in knives I built hobby model kits often so while I am not overconfident, I believe I can do the cutting and shaping and sanding well. My plan is to just take it slow so I don't make any mistakes. I live in Davis, California currently and as I am aware there are no machine shops in the vicinity.

My current plan is to make a stencil of the scale I'm working with, than I will glue the stencil on the scale. I plan to than cut and leave about maybe 1/8th of an inch buffer around the stencil with a diamond wheel on a Dremel or a saw (this will be done next to a vacuum). I will proceed to wet sand the entire thing over a bucket of water at various grits up to about 400 (maybe 220?). I have a Proxxon workstation that will turn my Proxxon rotary tool into a mini drill press (will test the accuracy first) and than I will put the original scale clamped on top of the custom and match the holes and proceed to drill the various holes required. Than I will test the fit and proceed to countersinking the screws. Once I'm done with that I plan to wet sand everything to about 1000 grit and round the edges out.

Thanks for all the help so far. Is it against forum rules to post pictures of making scales? I plan to maybe post pictures of my progress to gain some further commentary into what I am doing.
 
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