Making scales for the GPC-1000, HELP !

[Mark Roe]

Well, I'm giving in and asking the question....I am making scales for my first knife kit (GPC-1000) and am stumped. How do I not only insure that I have rough sanded them to a close approximation of the desired thickness, but then attach them to do the final contouring and thickness sanding? It seems to me that it should be very simple; but since screws are used instead of pins, how do I attached the rough shaped scales to begin the fitting process?

Thanks to Coop for the tip on using the rotary burr and template to make the bolster curves.

As always, any help is appreciated.

Mark

[Mail4Tim]

If you have the scale to bolster match up done then the hard part is pretty much over. Here is the way I do it. First make sure the bottom side of the scale, (the part that will be next to the liner) is completely flat. Mount the bolster on the liner and clamp the scale in place. Be sure the scale and bolster are matched up and then going from the back or inside of the liner mark the location of the mounting screws. Using a very small bit, drill a pilot hole going from the liner side of the scale. This is best done with a drill press. Next I turn the scale over and using a counter bore, make the screw hole in the scale. Just be sure to set the stop on the drill press so that you don't drill all the way through the scale. I use the bolster as a gauge to set the counter bore. If you don't have a counter bore you can do the same thing using two different size drill bits. First drill the clearance hole for the screw, and then carefully using a larger bit drill a clearance "pocket" for the screw head. Again it helps to set your drill stop so that you don't go too far and ruin a scale. The scale thickness that you start with doesn't really matter. You just have to drill a little deeper if you are using a thicker piece. Once the mounting holes are drilled I usually completely assemble the knife and do the final shaping of the scales. Hope this helps!

Tim