On 6 Sep 2003 11:22:29 GMT, Chris Nellist
wrote:

What were wooden Scrabble tiles made of?

No idea. But the wooden racks for the tiles were made of ramin, which
would be another good choice. Ramin is not often seen as timber, but
it's very common in any DIY shop - it's what most of those small
mouldings are made of.

Lime sounds good. I haven't got the equipment to adjust the
thickness.
Would it be possible, if I got some in 1/8" sheets/strips, just to saw out
the shapes I want, and then finish them, or is there more to it? (excuse my
ignorance, but if I don't ask...)

You'll find small quantities of (somewhat expensive) lime in any
thickness you want at a modelshop, but they'll probably label it under
the American name of "basswood". Obeche might work too, and you'd
find that similarly.

You can then cut it out with either a fine gent's saw (just a little
back saw), or a coping / fret saw if you need to do curves or awkward
internal corners. If you're planning to make a million, electric
fretsaws aren't that expensive. For big cuts to rip along the grain,
you might even use a Stanley knife and a straightedge, then snap it.

To finish it, I'd use blonde shellac, applied with an artist's
paintbrush (a 10mm filbert, with synthetic bristles for watercolours -
Golden Taklon is the best bristle fibre). Thin the first coat 50:50
with meths. You'll also need some sort of drying rack. www.shellac.net
has lots of info on using shellac.

The ubiquitous on-line toolshop is www.axminster.co.uk
they'll have the lot.