If you search through the boards you will find all sorts of suggestions regarding antler. Everything from boiling them to straighten the curves to heavy use of CA.
For me personally - I found that the following kind of covers the subject:
1) Stink - its going to smell bad when you drill it and work it. Unfortunately - the stink also tends to linger. So, if you don't like the smell of burning teeth (think root canal type work, but with a lot less pain) - then you probably are really not going to like working with antler.
2) Careful pen kit choice - since white tail tends to be real pithy in the middle, selecting a kit that will allow you to carve out most of the pith for the tube tends to work well. The exception is fresh antler which can have a rather interesting reddish brown hue to the pith some folks like. Just remember what Tim said about CA. When it comes to the pith of antlers - CA is your friend.
3) Consider drilling off center - if the bark is clean and interesting (not weathered white for example), a pen that shows some of the bark and has a "natural" edge can be very striking. Just be sure you have figured out how much clearance you have when drilling and don't wind up coming out the side.
4) Slow and sharp - just as Tim said, antler is pretty hard and tends to eat the edge off of even the best tools. Don't be surprised if you need to hone your tools during your turning. I use carbide tools similar to the skogger and have pretty good success. Also, don't get aggressive in your cuts. It will blow up on you if you put too much pressure on it.
5) Mask up - Antler is pretty much pure protein and no matter how sharp your tools are and how good you are at cutting - you will generate a lot of dust and that dust can do some pretty nasty stuff to your lungs. This is especially true if you have allergies or any kind of breathing issues. Make sure you wear a good mask. The little blue paper ones just won't cut it. They don't get enough of a seal.
6) Seal or not to seal - if you have a really nice white rack, I would recommend you strongly consider sealing it to keep that ivory like finish. Otherwise, there is something to be said about the patina the antler will get over time if not sealed. I've done it both ways and really can't say that I'm displeased with either method.
7) Experiment - antler can make some very nice segments and embellishment on various projects. I made an egg timer style hour glass for my wife several years ago and used antler for the spindles - turned out kind of neat if I don't say so myself.
Most folks only use parts of the beams that are straight and of the proper size for pen. But, you can use the tines for interesting small vessels, the bases for ink wells and small pull knobs, and the really curved stuff can be cut length wise to use in other pen projects as segments.
Hope this helps a bit.
If you enjoy turning the white tail and want to try some other antlers - send me a PM and I'll dig up some Axis for you to try as well.
Take care,
