Finishing a wedge, how not to ruin the scales?

[Firewalker]

So I have been working every night for the past month getting old eBay razors refurb'd and I started on scales the other night with the intention of using water clear epoxy on the scales and paper micarta for the wwdge. All went well until I noticed that if I grind the wedge down to be flush with the scales, I will burn off all that epoxy around the wedge.

What do you do to remedy this? No, the pins have not been peened yet.

HELP!?!

 

[daflorc]

This is how I fixed that problem:

Use 2 coats of epoxy. This will give a thick enough coverage that when you do sand a little into the scales you can "spot" sand that area of epoxy. I always sand the wedge into the scales to get a perfect transition, and I use a 120 grit belt sander to sand the wedge down to the scales. Once you spot sand (and go up to 1,000 grit) you can "spot" buff that area. Keep it minimal because even with blue or pink jewelers compound on a loose sewn buffing wheel, you will never get that freshly dried, extremely high gloss back - but you will get close. If your spot sanding is minimal and on the edges of the scales and not on the face of them, you won't even notice the slight change in gloss. Also, glue in your wedge on both sides, and that will give you a perfect seal on either side of the wedge, as sometimes just peening will leave a hairline gap between wedge and scale, especially if you are "forking" the scales with the wedge (as you should - for most materials). Here is an example of what I'm talking about, sorry if the pic isn't clear enough its the best I could do:

 

[Firewalker]

I have a pretty good coating on the scales already so I will have to sand into it a ways. Perhaps brush on a second coat after sanding?

 

[daflorc]

I edited this because I misunderstood your question, lol.

you can brush on another light coat after sanding, that will work fine to make the finish thicker, allowing you to spot sand after assembly without burning through the finish. Don't try and apply epoxy after the scales/wedge end is assembled, that would be a mess. If you get into 3 or 4 coats of epoxy and the finish still isn't perfect (air bubbles that bubbled up after you applied heat from a pen torch, or thin areas, or dust on the finish) you should sand off the epoxy so its not one giant epoxy mess, and start from the beginning again. You don't want a super-thick coating on your scales, as they are supposed to be thin and light.

 

[otto76]

I don't use epoxy, I use a clear wood varnish but I assume it's around the same thickness once dried.

When making wood scales I will just fit the wedge (pin it in), sand it down flush with the scales and I don't worry about taking the finish off or even roughing the scales back up. I use a dremel wheel to get close and then finish getting it flush with some gentle hand sanding, just trying to avoid any deep scuffing. I sand the end and the wedge all the way through until it looks even with the rest of the scales and then add another coat of varnish. Blends right in.
I tried once making a wedge that fit exact and then pinning it in to avoid re-sanding and re-coating but it was way more hassle than it was worth.

Daflorc, those are beautiful scales! Impressive work.

 

[daflorc]

Thanks for the compliment otto. Regarding your clear wood varnish method - when I used polyurethane finishes the method you described works great. Epoxy resin is different primarily because it goes on with the consistency of honey, and it self-levels, which means if the stuff is applied to anything other than a flat surface facing the ceiling it will find the lowest point and cause a saggy, uneven finish. I believe on the bottle it says that one coat = 50 coats of varnish, though it could be 20, I'd have to get up and find the bottle and I don't want to, lol.

 

[otto76]

I need to start reading these posts all the way through before I reply, I see you already stated you wouldn't want to apply epoxy after the scale/wedge end is assembled. With it being so thick I can def understand why, that could get messy.