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Tip: An easy fix for gaps between OEM Scales and body plates

tw Offline KTesh

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Backstory...  One of my knives developed a gap between the scale and the body plate. Pushing it down would close the gap, but it would spring back once pressure was off. I figured that the scale was warped, or there was a piece of foreign material lodged in there. To find out what was going on, I pried the scale off, but without the guidance of a YouTube video, and damaged it slightly (made it a little loose).   :oops:

After cleaning the knife of all the gunk under the scale, I tried putting it back on, but that didn't solve the gap issue. 

Now I was certain that it was a warped scale, but I wasn't able to simply bend the piece and get it to stay put.  Then I remembered a trick I learned for fixing warps in plastic model parts...  Hot Water. 

I filled a coffee cup with water, and microwaved it for several minutes, then placed the scale in it and let it soften up.  A minute or so later, I pulled the scale out, and bent it back.  Rather than waiting for it to cool, I ran it under cold water, and "locked" the new shape.

Due to the damage, I decided to try poster putty to help hold things down, and it worked for years.  I'd still be using that scale if it wasn't for the fact that I just upgraded to "Plus" scales.
« Last Edit: January 18, 2013, 08:13:46 PM by KTesh »
If you can't fix it with duct tape, a hammer, a screwdriver, bailing wire, zipties, or a Swiss Army Knife, it's broken and irreparable.


us Offline colt 1911

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Re: Tip: An easy fix for gaps between OEM Scales and body plates
Reply #1 on: January 18, 2013, 08:14:35 PM
Nice thanks for the tip, i used a hair dryer and jack up a set of scales.
CHEERS


tw Offline KTesh

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Re: Tip: An easy fix for gaps between OEM Scales and body plates
Reply #2 on: January 18, 2013, 09:22:19 PM
Nice thanks for the tip, i used a hair dryer and jack(ed?) up a set of scales.

jack/jacked I presume that was what you meant (and was just a finger slip)...  Please forgive me and my occasional prescriptionist ways.  I'm studying to be a Teacher of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL).
 
The nice thing about water is that it's really hard to get it over 100°C (212°F).  I just looked, and some hot air guns get up to 500°C (932°F) and hair dryers apparently average 60°C (140°F) (again that's average, some clearly get hotter than that).  They can get hot fast and they don't heat evenly.
« Last Edit: January 18, 2013, 10:13:21 PM by KTesh »
If you can't fix it with duct tape, a hammer, a screwdriver, bailing wire, zipties, or a Swiss Army Knife, it's broken and irreparable.


gb Offline nuphoria

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Re: Tip: An easy fix for gaps between OEM Scales and body plates
Reply #3 on: January 18, 2013, 09:26:01 PM
Brilliant fix. Thank you sharing that :tu:
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