Wood trouble

H

hellgap

Joined
Dec 17, 2008
Messages
1,189
I bought a set of asian iron wood scales they are stabalized but there is a problem they are warped .I am afraid that when im done taking out the warp ill have slivers left can they be steamed and flattened or am i stuck just sanding . ??? thanks kellyw
 
If the warp is minor, just sand it flat. If it is severe, return them for replacement. If you didn't pay enough to make the return postage worth it....well that tells you a lot,too.
Stacy
 
Was it Geraldine Jacobs off of eBay? I had a thread about dealing with those POS idiots. I bought a set of "stabilized" scales last year, went to use them and the wood looks like beef jerky. Then they emailed me telling me I was crazy to wait a year to use them. I'm just glad the scales didn't get out of the shop.
 
I got a pair of stabilized scales from knifekits a week or so ago and was pretty miffed. The wood itself is fine, but whoever cut it into scales must have been sloshed. One is way thinner than the other and the path of the saw cut looks like a winding country road :grumpy: By the time I grind them both flat they'll be about 1/8" and the grain won't match. Maybe I can use them for spacers. Yes, Stacy, I know I should send them back, but what a pain.

I should point out that other than a missing spade bit, everything else I've gotten from them was fine, including several other pairs of stabilized scales. (some have voids that can be filled/sealed but I think that's just the nature of the beast) But at $20 or more a pair, I'd like to see them all cut straight at least. Hopefully this won't be a recurring thing.

When I get my bandsaw set up I'm going to look for bigger blocks and try to resaw them myself. At least then if I mess up a cut, I can flatten it out and start over without wasting a whole handle's worth.
 
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I've been a member for a while but don't think I've ever posted. I always buy blocks, not scales. If I want to make a hidden tang knife I have a block. If I want to make a full tang knife I saw the block and flip the halves. That way I have matching grain on each side of the handle. A band saw makes it easy but it can be done with a handsaw or even a hacksaw.

I buy my wood and other handle materials from Jantz Supply, Texas Knifemaker's Supply, or Dixie Gun Works. It may be a little higher than from someone on ebay but if you have a problem they will make it right.
 
OK here's another question... do all you guys flip the scales like arrowhead, or do you keep the scales facing so the grain lines up on the spine? I've been doing the latter...
 
Troop, kind of. A true bookmatch would be the scales glued together side-to-side with the sawn faces up. Like the top of a "flamed" Les Paul.

Maybe I'm biased (formerly known as GibsonFan ;) ) but I like that look. Even though the faces are together (with the tang between) instead of side-by-side, you still get that cool symmetrical look on the spine/butt/underside of the handle.

It's not quite as impressive on something so small as the spine of a knife handle but I dig it and I figure the grain's going to be different on the outside of the scales anyway. Especially with burl.

Maybe I'm completely wrong?!?
 
James, I'm not sure I'm following you completely. Most makers "slice" a piece of wood, i.e, bookmatch, and place the scales so that the sides that were formerly on the kerf are now on the outside of the tang, so that all the nice figures match up, at least in theory.
I don't understand why you would leave the bookmatched pieces facing the tang. Why go through all of the bookmatching process, if no one is going to observe the matching grain. It's all personal preference, of course.
- maybe I'm missing something?
 
If the "matching" parts of the wood are against the tang, the two sides look more and more alike as one grinds away the outside and approaches the match on the interior. The patterns diverge towards the center if the match is put on the outside. Much depends on how much variation there is from side to side of the block from which it's cut and how much is ground away. There's no right way, every block is different, and personal preference rules.
 
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I bookmatch this way: I offset one by the thickness of the blade so it looks like the grain flows over the spine:
spine.jpg
 
For most fixed blades, I put the scales inside-in. That way it looks like the tang simply passes through the block of wood. I try to match the saw kerf thickness with the thickness of the tang so there is no interruption.

On most folders, I put the scales on inside-out. The grain then matches on either side. I do this because of the thickness of the space between the scales. And folder scales tend to have less relief, so they match better anyway.

Phillip

P.S. What is Asian ironwood anyway?

I would probably send the scales back. If they're stabilized, bending them back will not be an option (or a good idea anyway).
 
Because it's easy to visualize, I'll stick to describing curly (or "flamed" or "tiger-stripe" maple as luthiers sometimes call it) like in the pic I linked to above.

When the kerf sides are against the tang, the edge of the scales will match grain-to-grain. Just like it grew. So the horizontal "tiger-stripes" or "curls" in maple for instance, will be continuous across the back of the handle. With a vertical stripe (the tang) down the middle.

When the kerf sides face away from the tang, who knows if those stripes will meet up or not. Wood-grain hardly ever comes in nice clean right angles :)

I contour my handles a fair amount, and I've found that putting the kerf side out, you grind away anything that matches. This is with a "straight" piece of curly ( :eek: ) where the ribbons are relatively evenly-spaced throughout. On quilted maple, the matching faces get less matchier ( :o ) as soon as you cut it, birdseye can be just as "bad" that way. Because of the randomness. Burl? Spalt? Forget about it. It's not going to match if you flip it and grind it at all.

On high-end guitars and violins and such, a carved book-matched surface, whose two sides are symmetrical on both sides of the seam, even through the different thicknesses*, is HIGHLY prized. That's because it's just plain rare for the pattern to be so consistent throughout a given thickness of wood. Plus, it looks really cool!

*Maple tops on electric guitars are generally 1/4" - 3/8" thick. Check the net for outfits that sell large pieces of nice wood for luthiery. I'm just sayin' ;)

When the kerf side faces the tang, the wood is in it's natural position and it will look good no matter how you carve it. The sides of the handle will almost never be a mirror image, but you're guaranteed that it will match when you look at the spine.
 
Man, I just realized I spent almost an hour trying to figure out how to explain myself, and you guys kicked my tail with a couple sentences and a couple pics.

I'll shush now :o

EDIT: ONE pic, and it's a beauty, too! Thanks :thumbup:

EDIT: OK now we got that squared away... how's that offset (use the thickness of the tang... still another "Doh!" moment for me) work on a tapered tang? Depends on the piece and the taper, I suppose...
 
James_Terrio said:
Because it's easy to visualize, I'll stick to describing curly (or "flamed" or "tiger-stripe" maple as luthiers sometimes call it) like in the pic I linked to above.

When the kerf sides are against the tang, the edge of the scales will match grain-to-grain. Just like it grew. So the horizontal "tiger-stripes" or "curls" in maple for instance, will be continuous across the back of the handle. With a vertical stripe (the tang) down the middle.

When the kerf sides face away from the tang, who knows if those stripes will meet up or not. Wood-grain hardly ever comes in nice clean right angles :)

I contour my handles a fair amount, and I've found that putting the kerf side out, you grind away anything that matches. This is with a "straight" piece of curly ( :eek: ) where the ribbons are relatively evenly-spaced throughout. On quilted maple, the matching faces get less matchier ( :o ) as soon as you cut it, birdseye can be just as "bad" that way. Because of the randomness. Burl? Spalt? Forget about it. It's not going to match if you flip it and grind it at all.

On high-end guitars and violins and such, a carved book-matched surface, whose two sides are symmetrical on both sides of the seam, even through the different thicknesses*, is HIGHLY prized. That's because it's just plain rare for the pattern to be so consistent throughout a given thickness of wood. Plus, it looks really cool!

*Maple tops on electric guitars are generally 1/4" - 3/8" thick. Check the net for outfits that sell large pieces of nice wood for luthiery. I'm just sayin' ;)

When the kerf side faces the tang, the wood is in it's natural position and it will look good no matter how you carve it. The sides of the handle will almost never be a mirror image, but you're guaranteed that it will match when you look at the spine.
Click to expand...

James, I get what you mean now.:o
 
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