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Wedge Making

Doc226

Doc226

Finishing up some scales last night and decided to take some pictures along the way.

First thing is to mock up the blade in the scales


I pinch the wedge area on the scales to see how thick to make the "thick" part of the wedge


Piece of horn


Thinned and lightly tapered


The thickness of the scales at the tang


Needs more taper, gave it more taper




Checking out how the blade sits


Looks good, pinned it and sanded it flush



Just needs the pivot area pinned
 
Shave_Rat

Shave_Rat

Very cool seeing the photo progression of that in process. Someday I hope to tackle some project like a restore. Just need the tools, time, space, materials, a project razor, and a couple bucket loads of luck since I have no known skillz in that area. lol This post will be handy to reference if/when I do attempt it though for sure.
 
pmaster

pmaster

Thanks for posting Doc! Did you use any CA on the wedge? It looks seemless! The wedge is definitely one of the points I find hard to get perfect everytime.
 
mycarver

mycarver

Can't speak for Doc but personally I hate it if a razor comes in with a glued wedge. Several hundred razors later I have never glued one.
But just like in woodworking if you want a seamless fit just be sure all surfaces are dead flat. Put them together and no gaps will appear. Just good workmanship.
As an after thought I don't polish the part of the scale where the wedge will be. I leave it slightly sanded. Same for the wedge. This gives enough friction to keep it from moving or spinning around.

sorry Doc. You slipped under me
 
pmaster

pmaster

Doc226 said:
99% of the time I glue one side.
Click to expand...

From the looks of the picture I would've suspected both sides were glued!

I tend to do glue one side as well. Only because it makes it easier to then drill the hole through the wedge at the right spot when it is glued in place, and position it exactly like I want.

mycarver said:
Can't speak for Doc but personally I hate it if a razor comes in with a glued wedge. Several hundred razors later I have never glued one.
But just like in woodworking if you want a seamless fit just be sure all surfaces are dead flat. Put them together and no gaps will appear. Just good workmanship.
As an after thought I don't polish the part of the scale where the wedge will be. I leave it slightly sanded. Same for the wedge. This gives enough friction to keep it from moving or spinning around.

sorry Doc. You slipped under me
Click to expand...

Yeah I've seen you mention this before and I believe you're right, its a matter of good workmanship to make sure everything is perfectly flat and aligned so there is no gap. In practice its not so easy though! But practice makes perfect...
 
Doc226

Doc226

mycarver said:
Can't speak for Doc but personally I hate it if a razor comes in with a glued wedge. Several hundred razors later I have never glued one.
But just like in woodworking if you want a seamless fit just be sure all surfaces are dead flat. Put them together and no gaps will appear. Just good workmanship.
As an after thought I don't polish the part of the scale where the wedge will be. I leave it slightly sanded. Same for the wedge. This gives enough friction to keep it from moving or spinning around.

sorry Doc. You slipped under me
Click to expand...
LOL, gotta be quicker Mark


pmaster said:
From the looks of the picture I would've suspected both sides were glued!

I tend to do glue one side as well. Only because it makes it easier to then drill the hole through the wedge at the right spot when it is glued in place, and position it exactly like I want.
Click to expand...
Only one side, like mark said just need to make sure everything is flat. I make the wedge larger than the scales then sand them flush.
 
mycarver

mycarver

In the future or even while building should you need to change/adjust something you're stuck. Try getting that wedge off a scale without damaging the scale. Even dbl. sided tape can damage a horn scale peeling it off.
Besides a bad gap filled with glue is still a bad and obvious gap. Like trying to hide bad woodworking with putty. Might be smooth but it's still obvious .
 
mycarver

mycarver

I too make them slightly oversized when building. This gives you more leeway for adjustments. You can certainly make it exactly to size and then pin it all together but I find it easier to just make them slightly oversized.
 
UKRob

UKRob

Here's my method for accurate wedges using a luthiers friend and a door-stop. I have a couple of different door-stops, you can see a near finished wedge in the second which has a greater angle than the first. When drilling the hole I place the wedge on the wooden stop so that I'm drilling at a 90 degree angle.


 
UKRob

UKRob

Doc226 said:
That is fantastic, I tape it to my finger and hold it against the sander
Click to expand...

Thats what I used to do as well. However, I bought the LF to help with sizing scale stock and then thought there must be a way to help with wedges as well. The great thing about this kit is that it collects about 90% of waste - and even though I wear a mask, that's important compared to the open sander.
 
MattCB

MattCB

UKRob how are liking the LF? I have agonnized over purchasing one for scale work, just haven't bitten the bullet. How has your experience been?
 
Gamma

Gamma

Very cool tool. I like that alot.
What are you using to hold the stock for the wedge onto the door stop?
 
UKRob

UKRob

MattCB said:
UKRob how are liking the LF? I have agonnized over purchasing one for scale work, just haven't bitten the bullet. How has your experience been?
Click to expand...

I would certainly advise you to get one - they make thicknessing any kind of stock material so much easier and more accurate. Previously I was taping stock to a paddle and then using a bench sander - this works OK but you can obviusly get some variations from side to side and end to end or even both at the same time!

Gamma said:
Very cool tool. I like that alot.
What are you using to hold the stock for the wedge onto the door stop?
Click to expand...

Just double sided tape. I generally turn the wedge over if there is any kind of grain running through - that way you can straighten the grain up rather than having it run from one side.
 
BSAGuy

BSAGuy

Great thread, guys. I don't have these tools or skills, but I can apprecaite the true craftsmen here on B&B. Very informative.
 
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