11-01-2015, 09:18 AM
Had the urge to go play in the shop. Now if you know me you will realize that these "tools" aren't something I use. So I had to experiment some to get to success. First thickness of the blank should be about 1/4". The teeth should taper across the thickness to about 1/32". The length of the teeth are up to you. The spacing determines whether the comb is better for fine hair or thicker. I started a walnut blank using 1/16" teeth and the gap was the kerf of my 3/8 band saw blade. I found this was way to stiff. So I thinned the teeth by recutting and ended up losing a tooth. I tried again to get spacing correctly with the maple purse/pocket comb. This time I didn't layout the teeth to start. I set the teekth to the same width as the blade kerf. I cut a slt, move the comb over and just touched the blade to the wood, used the resulting kerf as my gauge to cut where the kerf ended. I tried using the bandsaw to taper the teeth (important), but it is dangerous. It is better to use a sanding drum on the drill press to taper the teeth. I found the the taper is best formed by listening to the tinkle of the teeth when strummed by the sanding drum or your thumb. Finishing was sandpaper between the teeth (150/220) and a small file. I also used rasps/files/sandpaper to smooth/shape the sanding drum work and to basically round the sides and tip of each tooth. This whole process for a comb took about 1 hour. Final finish is mineral oil. From what I read on the net, wood combs are preferable for hair health but should not be used when the hair is wet. Hope this gives some ideas for quick gifts.
