I'm making some scales out of Ebony (man this stuff is hard).I could only find it in 1/4 inch thickness so now I need a way to thin them out quit a bit. Any ideas..I'm thinking of screwing them to a large pice of plywood from underneath then using a belt sander. I don't know how this will turn out and would hate to ruin all this work. Also considering bringing them to a machine shop and having them milled down. This will insure they are perfectly flat but I was hoping to do everything my self..
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Thinning out scales
- Thread starter mfi
- Start date
What type of equipment do you have and what is the final thickness you are targeting? What knife are you making the scales for?
Ebony is on the list of scale materials I want to try.
In the past, I just mount the scales without any rounding, leaving them thick and blocky. Once attached, I use my belt sander for roughing out the shape, then files and sand paper to finish. I thin the scales as I shape them. I work them down, hold it in my hand in various positions and adjust the shape as necessary. I made some osage orange scales for my Tenacious. Having the thicker scales make the knife feel much better in my hand than the original G10 scales.
Ric
Ebony is on the list of scale materials I want to try.
In the past, I just mount the scales without any rounding, leaving them thick and blocky. Once attached, I use my belt sander for roughing out the shape, then files and sand paper to finish. I thin the scales as I shape them. I work them down, hold it in my hand in various positions and adjust the shape as necessary. I made some osage orange scales for my Tenacious. Having the thicker scales make the knife feel much better in my hand than the original G10 scales.
Ric
As you can see the stock is much thicker than the scales. the stock is 1/4 inch, the scales look to be less than 1/8..If I have to go thicker I will need to get longer screws which I could do. The original scales are Zytel which can be pretty thin as they are very hard..the ebony is pretty hard as well but I don't know if I can go down to the thickness of the original scales. I have a small table top belt/disc sander so I may try that but it will be a ton of work to get them down that far. I even used a grinder, the stuff grinds like steel leaving a super fine powder.
This is what I used, not the best but it works.
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Bill DeShivs
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2000
- Messages
- 12,637
Ebony dust can be a serious irritant. Don't breathe it, and wash it off your skin.
Tape 80-100 grit sandpaper to a flat surface, and sand the scales to near the thickness you want.
Tape 80-100 grit sandpaper to a flat surface, and sand the scales to near the thickness you want.
You could counter sink the screws deeper so the heads are recessed in the scale, if you don't want to get longer screws. I counter sink my screws deep so that when i shape the handle, the screw heads don't set in the way.
i accidentally got a whiff of ebony dust. It reminded me of finely ground black pepper. I make sure I have my respirator on now.
Ric
i accidentally got a whiff of ebony dust. It reminded me of finely ground black pepper. I make sure I have my respirator on now.
Ric
I wore a dust mask, not the best but I kept the drum sander speed pretty low so the dust just settled near it. I think it would take a loooooong time to thin them out with just sandpaper. I probably should have tried to split the stock before I started shaping it, a table saw might work..
A table saw will definitely work but be careful pushing such a small piece through that nasty blade. Get a good purchase on the stock or you risk messing up your digits and/or the ebony.
I'd raise the table saw blade up to just under half the height of your wood, run it through, flip it run it through again. The little connecting piece in the center should be easy enough to cut through and you won't be under so much risk of having expensive wood shooting across your shop.
Good luck.
I'd raise the table saw blade up to just under half the height of your wood, run it through, flip it run it through again. The little connecting piece in the center should be easy enough to cut through and you won't be under so much risk of having expensive wood shooting across your shop.
Good luck.
Table saws and small pieces are not a good combination.
Try this:
Find a larger piece of wood that can be easily and safely passed through the table saw. Use white glue with a layer of paper (news paper is what I usually use) between the ebony and the large piece. Clamp and let it dry over night. Now you can run the large board against the fence and have something to hold on to and keep your fingers out of harms way.
To remove the scales, use a chisel on the glue/paper line to pop it off. Sand the remaining glue off and you are good to go.
We used to use this technique to attach wood to a face plate to turn bowls and plates on a wood lathe.
Ric
Try this:
Find a larger piece of wood that can be easily and safely passed through the table saw. Use white glue with a layer of paper (news paper is what I usually use) between the ebony and the large piece. Clamp and let it dry over night. Now you can run the large board against the fence and have something to hold on to and keep your fingers out of harms way.
To remove the scales, use a chisel on the glue/paper line to pop it off. Sand the remaining glue off and you are good to go.
We used to use this technique to attach wood to a face plate to turn bowls and plates on a wood lathe.
Ric
- Joined
- Oct 4, 2010
- Messages
- 1,315
I like working with ebony - I've got a pair of black&white ebony scales on the bench now for one of my Spyderco Woodcraft Mules. However, like many heavy/hard/resinous woods, it is easy to burn the wood if you grind it aggressively. I would echo Phydeaux's comment - bolt the scales to the knife temporarily and use cabinetmaker files or rasps to trim the scales down to size.
I find working with my hands, while slower, is much more satisfying...
TedP
I find working with my hands, while slower, is much more satisfying...
TedP
Bill DeShivs
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2000
- Messages
- 12,637
Ebony will load up a sanding belt very quickly.
The scales will end up thicker as 1/8 inch might be as thin as I want to get them. Ebony is brittle and might crack if I go as thin as the original scales. It chipped out a bit when I drilled the pivot screw hole. I thought about the table saw method but I think it will damage the scales that I just spent hours on, so I think I'll take my time and file and sand them down. The screws will be the problem as I don't want to hide them so I will need longer ones..going to have to measure and figure out exactly what size and thread they are, have to get a thread pitch gauge as my taps don't run that small..then find a place that sells small quantities of them, haven't found one yet. Amazing how long this is going to take! Going to drag my small belt sander to work tommorow..should be fun dragging it on trains and subways..
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Here's a couple of things you can try to help prevent chipping/tear out when you drill holes.
Use the wood working brad point bits.
Make sure drills bits are sharp.
Put masking tape over the area where the hole enters and exit the wood.
Try an electronics surplus/supply place for the screws. If they sell small quantities of the screws, you can buy some different sizes and use them as your "poorman's" pitch guage. I found an electronics surplus/supply place near my place that has standard and metric screws. They let you buy them individually, the small ones usually are 2-15 cents each, depending on material and head type.
Ric
Use the wood working brad point bits.
Make sure drills bits are sharp.
Put masking tape over the area where the hole enters and exit the wood.
Try an electronics surplus/supply place for the screws. If they sell small quantities of the screws, you can buy some different sizes and use them as your "poorman's" pitch guage. I found an electronics surplus/supply place near my place that has standard and metric screws. They let you buy them individually, the small ones usually are 2-15 cents each, depending on material and head type.
Ric
I ordered some screws from A knife making supply company..hope they fit as shippping doubled the price. I found the Fein tool we bought a while ago in the shop and used it to thin it out, worked great. The tool is one of the best things we have bought, damn thing can do anything. Going to start on the other scale today..and polish up the blade.