Riddle me this on stabilizing scales.

Fletch Helical

Fletch Helical

Joined
Sep 29, 2009
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So I've been giving this some consideration. I have my mini war chest of handle material I've been acquiring from Burl Source. I was debating getting it together at some point in the near future possibly and sending a bunch of it off to WSSI.

Then I was also considering the idea that I likely won't be attempting a hidden tang for a little while. So the bulk of the blocks will be cut into scales. So I'm wondering: What, if anything, is different about having the blocks stabilized and then cutting them into scales.... Or cutting the scales and doing a CA finish on them?

Aside from the obvious one will be resin impregnated opposed to the CA glue.
 
A CA finish isnt going to almost stop the wood from moving,swelling,etc like stabilizing does.Buy,make,or use the best materials you can and you'll be much happier as your customers will like it better and you'll have less warranty issues.
 
A CA finish isnt going to almost stop the wood from moving,swelling,etc like stabilizing does.Buy,make,or use the best materials you can and you'll be much happier as your customers will like it better and you'll have less warranty issues.In the long term,materials and supply's are but a small percentage of what they sell for.
 
A CA finish isnt going to almost stop the wood from moving,swelling,etc like stabilizing does.Buy,make,or use the best materials you can and you'll be much happier as your customers will like it better and you'll have less warranty issues.In the long term,materials and supply's are but a small percentage of what they sell for.
 
A CA finish isnt going to almost stop the wood from moving,swelling,etc like stabilizing does.Buy,make,or use the best materials you can and you'll be much happier as your customers will like it better and you'll have less warranty issues.In the long term,materials and supply's are but a small percentage of what they sell for.
 
Holy smokes.
How did you do that?
How did you do that??
How did you do that???
How did you do that????
 
I'd recommend you get the blocks stabilized and THEN cut them into scales. Wood can warp and twist when stabilized (not always) and if the scales are too close to final shape when you send them to Mike, they'll be TOO THIN by the time you get them flattened back out. I've never seen a big block with much noticeable warp after being stabilized.

If you simply cut them into scales and then do a CA finish, your chances of them moving is greater (in my experience).

Mike will treat you right. It's a rare thing for me to use wood that hasn't been through his stabilizing process. :)
 
If you have some really dense woods in your stash, then I'd recommend cutting them into relatively thick, oversize scales before sending for stabilization (leave plenty of extra - both to be on the safe side if they warp a bit during stabilization, and to generally be less likely to warp to begin with as thicker scales), rather than depending on the stabilization to fully and evenly penetrate a large dense block.
 
Fletch Helical said:
Then I was also considering the idea that I likely won't be attempting a hidden tang for a little while. So the bulk of the blocks will be cut into scales. .
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If you cut all those beautiful block into scales...... I'll have a serious meltdown.:D Dont do any cutting until you're sure what you want to do. I recommend Nicks advice, Stabilize first then cut as needed.

On a side note, if you need some cash I'd be more than happy to take some of those blocks off your hands.......Please?:o:D

Shawn
 
S.Knowles said:
If you cut all those beautiful block into scales...... I'll have a serious meltdown.:D Dont do any cutting until you're sure what you want to do. I recommend Nicks advice, Stabilize first then cut as needed.

On a side note, if you need some cash I'd be more than happy to take some of those blocks off your hands.......Please?:o:D

Shawn
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So you're saying I have to make some hidden tangs at some point then? :p

I was going to leave them "as is" if they went to WSSI, which seems like that will be what is going to happen based on the responses. As far as sharing my stash as of right now I'm too much of an addicted junkie to part with it :D
 
Im sorry if i misunderstood this post but---you dont need to make a single hidden tang knife if you get your blocks stabilized. You can cut them into scales at anytime after your stabilization done. It is miuch safer to stabilized blocks thenn scales --as far as warping--. thanks marekz
 
Fletch Helical said:
So you're saying I have to make some hidden tangs at some point then? :p

As far as sharing my stash as of right now I'm too much of an addicted junkie to part with it :D
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Yes!:D

I know, I know. That was my pathetic attempt to rid you of some of it since I can NEVER catch Marks sales threads in time!:D:(

Shawn
 
S.Knowles said:
Yes!:D

I know, I know. That was my pathetic attempt to rid you of some of it since I can NEVER catch Marks sales threads in time!:D:(

Shawn
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I'm sure at some point I'll attempt a hidden tang. However at the moment I still have to actually complete a knife.... I do however, have 5 knives at various stages of development going on at the moment.
 
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