Antler

[JackTheSquid]

I have just tooled some nice pieces of antler, with some bark showing on one side, and marrow (or whatever that soft stuff is called) on the other. I fortified the marrow with thin CA and it seems quite stable. I completed sanding and the piece looks nice. It's final resting place will be on a bullet cartridge pen, and my question is...what do I do to finish the antler? It looks pretty good as is, but I am not sure how it will hold up down the road. I guess CA is a possibility but that is usually a risky business in my shop. Thanks in advance for your expertise.

 

[artistwood]

if it's a round barrell (no bark) i'd say use the thin CA. it will seal the porus stuff and polish to a high gloss. if it helps, polishing a blank takes awhile. i am constantly catching myself going too fast with too much pressure. i found that with CA, light pressure and TAKE YOUR TIME will result in a beautiful finish......now if i could just remember to take my own advice! i spent an hour polishing a CA'd blank the other day but that was because i messed up when applying the CA. (that time thing again......got in a hurry) anyway, i have used the CA on antler with great success.......and practice. you'll do fine.......now go turn some antler!.....bear

ps....from my late grandma.....if you aint makin' mistakes, you ain't learnin nothin!!!!!..yea! pen-turning!

 

[jedgerton]

Jack,

Love the SC flag in your signature. I was born and raised in Florence and I love the Charleston area!

Regarding the finish, this CA is my recommendation. I would apply it and them buff with white diamond. It shouldn't build up in the bark area. Medium or thick CA wouldn't be a good choice because of the bark.

John

 

[JerrySambrook]

I have to ask, Why put a finish at all?

Why not just buff at this point.
You have already sealed the marrow, and the rest is a close cell bone.
You should be able to buff what you have already, provided you have removed any scratches.
You just need to be careful around any discolored bark you want to keep.
I personnally like the bark to be dull. Kind of like a natural edge bowl. Typically, natural edge bowls do not get a glossy finish if the bark is still on.

Just my .02

Jerry

 

[GouletPens]

CA is most commonly used to finish antler.

 

[Crashmph]

Jack,

Love the SC flag in your signature. I was born and raised in Florence and I love the Charleston area!

Regarding the finish, this CA is my recommendation. I would apply it and them buff with white diamond. It shouldn't build up in the bark area. Medium or thick CA wouldn't be a good choice because of the bark.

John

I think that is a US Navy flag not a SC flag...:biggrin:

 

[JackTheSquid]

Mother Navy flag as the avatar, SC flag in the sig. Thanks for the input, I ended up putting 3 coats of med CA on and it turned out OK. Just OK because I have some geometry (or Trig) problems with drilling the blank to keep some bark. I left the blank a wee bit short and there is a small gap between the barrel and the bullet. I can fix that, but it will be a pen to carry vs a pen to sell. It does look nice, though, and people love these cartridge pens!!