Burner and tip

[AlArchie]

See the earlier pst on the Northern...thes are the shots of the burner I use.Here's the burner I use for scales. I made up about 4 or 5 different sized tips fpr differernt fish.. the cheap-o hobby burner works great for scales.

Al

[btree50]

Thanks for the idea! I like the scale burner,
JimB

[toycarver]

What type of metal do you use to make your tips?

[AlArchie]

Kris, those are made from brass rod. Mostly I use 1/4" stock. the threaded end is turned down to 3/16? then threaded at 8-32. If I want a 1/4" dia scale I simply drill a 3/16" hole about 1/4" deep in the end then using a coutersinkg cutter, cut into the hole till it makes a sharp edge with the outer circumference. After that i take a file and remove half of the 1/4" end, leaving a half circle with a sharp edge to it.

If I want smaller scales, I turn the 1/4" stock down (after cutting the threads) down to the diameter I want, drill it out with a smaller diameter drill land then cut with the countersink bit.

Larger scales, like for a carp could be made by using 5/16" or 3/8" brass rod. the threaded end always has to be turned down to thread to 8-32 (at least for this burner. some burners have a larger male thread on the burner and accept a larger female cut tip. you'd have to do a lot more turning to get one of these to work, and be able to cut intermnal threads on the scale tip. I wouldn't try that.

My tips take about 15 minutes or less to make and cost virtually pennies, compared to the Colwood scale tips for the pro burrners.at 8 to 20 bucks

Al

[toycarver]

Al, that is more than I figured. I was thinking maybe you just cut up an old soup can and bent it around or something! Your answer sounds more logical though.

[AlArchie]

You can also "carve" those scales in, using a small half round veiner. Simply press it intothe wood. Or make a scale press from small steel tubing, available in most hobby shops. Put a lenght of tubing in a drill and file the edge sharp, then filehalf the tube away.. Press this sharpenwd edge into the wood.

Al