Building your own scales in wood or plastic isn't the most difficult thing to do, but when it comes to metal scales it becomes hard labour and requires a lot of patience... I used a piece of hardened aluminum of 4mm thickness. Drawing the outlines is perhaps the easiest part, because soon after, I started sanding and slicing (with the Dremel-tool) the larger pieces away. Once you reach the outlines you need to carefully start grinding with the metal-file till you have a nice straight edge. I wanted a clear mirror finish and started sanding the scales with a 150 grid paper and ended with a 600 grid paper. Afterwards I used steelwool to even the surface up. To get the mirror finish you can use a polishing tool (Dremel) or a liquid polishing paste and cloth. I used them both, just to be sure... The result is amazing! It has the same bright shine as silver. This is a very labour intensive job, but extremely rewarding when you reach the end! You can always grind your name or some drawing in the aluminum, but I went for the "less is more" design....
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