Tools and Supplies

• You'll need a drill, small drill bits, a screwdriver and a wood saw. These can be power tools or hand tools. Gather a supply of used, metal bottle caps. Those from long-neck beer bottles work fine. For scaling small pan fish, only two or three caps are needed. If you plan to clean larger fish, you may want a larger scaler. You'll need one, 5/8" long pan-head screw for each bottle cap and a piece of 2 x 4 wood, 4 inches long or a piece of 1 X 2 wood, 9 inches long.
  
  

Construction Basics

• Drill a hole in the center of each bottle cap, slightly larger than the diameter of the screw. Screw the bottle caps to the wood. The top of the cap goes towards the wood, the serrated edge away from the wood.
  
  

Construction Details

• For smaller size fish and those with easy to remove scales such as trout, use a long handled scaler. Attach three or four bottle caps, almost touching, to one end of the 1 X 2 piece of wood (on the 1-inch side). The rest of the piece of wood is the handle. For larger size fish, use a "scrub-brush" type of scaler. Cover one of the flat sides of the 4-inch 2 X 4 with bottle caps, leaving approximately a quarter inch between each cap.
  
  Regardless of which style you prefer, they'll work better if you don't tighten the screws to the point the bottle caps are held firmly against the wood. Stop tightening when each bottle cap is "slightly loose" on the handle. The exception is to completely tighten the cap farthest from the handle on the long handled model, tighten one of the corner caps all the way on the scrub brush style.
  
  Let your skills and preference be your guide regarding any additional enhancements to the handles. The scalers will work fine as is, but sanding, rounding off edges or even carving the handle or block to make the scaler more ergonomic can add comfort of use and personal satisfaction.
  
  

How to Scale Fish

• Before any cuts are made to the fish's body, lay it flat on its side and grip it firmly. Starting at the tail, scrape the bottle caps across the surface of the fish from the tail end towards the head. The serrated edges of the bottle caps will get under the edge of the scales and flip them off. The cap screwed firmly to the end or corner of the scaler is used to do the fine work near the fish's fins, across the back and under the belly.