antler turners

[airrat]

Do you all finish your antlers with something or just buff them out with MM?

 

[rherrell]

If I am skilled(lucky) enough to drill one so I have some bark showing then I just buff and wax. If not I use CA.

 

[gwilki]

I just buff and use nova 2 and 1 plastic polishes.

 

[Chasper]

Sometimes I find a solid piece that I can just MM and polish/buff, but usually I have porus areas exposed and I fill them with multiple coats of CA. I prefer the look of the less than perfect pieces myself.

 

[guts]

I use C.A. because I like the shine.

 

[Charles]

I use CA for a sealed smooth finish. However, on some Elk I've done I like the feel of the punky mass so I will use only Nova 2 and 1 on those.

 

[tnilmerl]

I always seal mine with some sort of finish. Antler is porous and will absorb oils and other grudge from its environment. This tends to make the pen's beauty suffer with age. I've seen pens that after a few months use that look absolute horrid and disgusting. Most of my pens, on the other hand, look almost new after several years. The plating usually wears before the finish. I fill all punky open areas with CA. I coat the bark with a finish and buff out.

Other technique I don't recall seeing here is to use a white abrasive when sanding. If any abrasive compound should be released from the substrate, it will cloud or muddy your antler's appearance. Or use micromesh.

 

[tnilmerl]

Clarification - a red garnet or dark abrasive 'can' muddy or cloud your antler appearance. Same as sanding a light colored wood such as maple.

 

[workinforwood]

I apply one coat of thin CA and let dry for an hour. I come back and sand through all the mm pads, then liquid auto polish and finally carnuba wax. I'm sure the CA is pretty much all gone by then, but any super small voids or soft spots will have been filled and the antler itself would have absorbed some for added strength. Otherwise, it's almost like making an acrylic. I can't make enough of these dang pens, that's for sure. I sold 6 between yesterday and today, have an order for 1 more too. I'm packing a saw with me now, because I'll be out of antlers by christmas, so I'm planning on stopping on the side of the road and salvaging some antlers. I'm just now starting to see alot of deer hits with some bucks in the mix too. That helps keep the prices down, which means I sell more. Imagine if the government could comprehend that fact...lower my taxes and I buy more??? hmmmm, why?! []

 

[keithz]

While turning, I use CA w/o accelerator liberally on any porous areas, sand and MM to 12000, then finish with CA. I get a magnificent finish using this process!

 

[Dusty]

Jeff don't try your road kill harvesting in Kentucky ! If you are caught you will find yourself in jail pretty quickly. They really frown on that around here
Dusty

 

[Ozzy]

I was just advised not to do that here in Texas too. I had told a friend that I was going to start carrying bolt cutters to collect road kill antlers and he told me that its against the law.