Turning deer antler?

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stevers

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Only turned it once. Deff wear a good dust mask or respirator. I had good luck getting it to polish up nice. MM and plastic polish.
I'm sure more will chime in.
 

Ozzy

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Keep your tools sharp, wear a good dust mask or respirator, and be prepared for the stink. Finishing is the easy part, I finish it the same way I do wood.
 

DocRon

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Just one hint. Coarse sanding dust can become imbedded in the pores of the antler, so keep sanding to a minimum. I usually seal with CA after the final skew or scraping work, before doing the sanding.
 

cozee

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Yep, all the above. Good antler will polish out quite well itself. Older dryer antler may need a little help from a coat or two of CA. If you are turning it in the house, open a window and use a fan to exhaust the odor outside.
 
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You guys keep talking about the odor of antler, I had a pig farm across the road from me all last summer.. compared to that, antler smells sweet [:D]

I only use Ca if I have a lot of marrow.. if it's just the bone, I will polish through as high a grit sanding as I can and generally leave it natural...
 

hanau

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smell wasn't that bad, but it is real hard.

Felt like every 2-3 passes, I needed to resharpen my chisel.
posted pic in show your pen thread.
 

wdcav1952

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Frank,

I've been told that the poly glue will expand into the porosities of the antler and can show through in the final product. I haven't used poly glue on an antler, so I can't say for sure.
 

tnilmerl

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San Antonio, Texas, USA.
Antler doesn't smell? Either you are turning some different stuff than what I have been turning, or you people are really, really sick. I suspect the latter. [:eek:)]

As far as quality, sheds are superior to killed. They're denser, and less porous throughout.

Use sharp tools, resharpen as needed.

Always wear GOOD mask or respirator.

I always use a 'white' aluminum sandpaper. The abrasive particles tends to separate from the substrate and can embed in the antler and alter its final appearance (not good).

Fill porous areas with CA. I use the thin and let it naturally wick into the porous area (instead of flooding with thick or medium). Give it a shot of accelerator before starting up lathe or you'll get CA thrown all over the place. You may have to do this several times before acheiving your final dimension.

Drilling thru curved pieces can be a challenge. There are numerous articles here and there detailing the process. There are always several lengthy threads in the archives well worth your reading. Find those and read them.

Good antler is not 'totally' dried out, so the dust tends to gum up the backs (tops?) of your tools, so you'll need to stop every now an then and clean your turning tool.

Finishes - try what you like. I have used several friction polishes, lacquers, waxes and CA finishes. Use the one that best suits your skill level.

But, overall, the best way is to just do it. The experiences of others will cut down on your failure; however, you'll learn and remember more thru your own failures.
 

Rifleman1776

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Travis said, "As far as quality, sheds are superior to killed. They're denser, and less porous throughout."
Disagree. Check with a game biologist. No difference. Shortly after the loss of velvet, antler is a dead bone. Something like your fingernails.
And, Travis also said: "Always wear GOOD mask or respirator." While protection from any dust is a good idea, there seems to be unfounded fears about antler. Why would you say this?
 

its_virgil

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Wichita Falls, TX, USA.
Fingernails, hair, horn (not antler), hooves, etc are one substance and antler (bone) is another. I do agree that shed antler or harvested antler is no different. Some antler is more porous than other. Elk is very pouous with little "enamel" but axis antler has very little of the pouous material and is mostly "enamel" and the vein of pouous material us usually drilled out. Antler is shed each spring but horn (like on cattle) is permanent. Antler and horn are not synonyms.
Here is a good article on Horn vs Antler: http://www.enaturalist.org/unit/28/fr
Do a good turn daily!
Don





Originally posted by Rifleman1776
<br />Travis said, "As far as quality, sheds are superior to killed. They're denser, and less porous throughout."
Disagree. Check with a game biologist. No difference. Shortly after the loss of velvet, antler is a dead bone. Something like your fingernails.
And, Travis also said: "Always wear GOOD mask or respirator." While protection from any dust is a good idea, there seems to be unfounded fears about antler. Why would you say this?
 

Russb

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Oct 22, 2005
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Thousand Oaks, California, USA.
I just had to go turn some antler. No smell turning. I did get a smell when sanding the ends to get near the brass tube to square the ends, I was heating up the antler, of course I get a smell then. Turned two pens. One a fairly fresh piece appeared to be shed turned ok. The other piece was cut maybe killed, was very dry turning failed even though I was using thin CA to stabilize. Failed much like a piece of dry burl might. Some say it turns like wood. A very hard wood or like very hard synthetics. I always like the suggestion "use sharp tools". Of course. We should never use dull tools. The hard part turning antler is finding a piece straight enough to use for pens. The piece I used had the outer layer turned away but had enough color inside to make a nice Sierra.
 
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