snakeskin, bolt action
- Thread starter mwhatch
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Buzzzz4
Member
I got a few from Don Ward. I'm sure there are others here who would make them fir you. They sell really well.
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plantman
Member
:bananen_smilies104:You don't need to cast a bullet blank if you aren't into casting yet. Buy a snakeskin pen remnant package from " BudCamp.com ". It will have many different snakeskins of the corrent thickness for pen kits. Last box I received had over a dozen different colored Cobras, several different Rattle Snakes, Several Pythons, Boas, a couple Anacondas, some Lizards, Orsteridge, and Gaters. You can glue them directly to the tubes and build up a CA finish, or cast them yourself. You can look at my photos under plantman to see some pens, or look in the liabary under casting for my information on how to make your own resin savings molds for any pen, cheep and easy. Most of the snake blanks out there are prairie rattle snakes. There are several other articles by our members on how to cast snake skins in the liabary. Bud has Easter and Diamond Backs as well as Prairie. Good Hunting Jim S
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Monty
Group Buy Coordinator
When I type in " BudCamp.com " (without the quotes), I get
This site is under development
Joe S.
Member
I think PSI has 5" long 3/8" snakeskin blanks, you could cut it and get about 3 bolt action blanks.
its_virgil
Member
The bolt action tubes are 3/8 inch OD and just under 2" in length.
Do a good turn daily!
Don
Do a good turn daily!
Don
plantman
Member
Mannie; Funny thing, I tried several of my other supplyers of snake skins, and they all say the same thing. Try this. www.genuineostrichhides.com or call 1-800-910-4470. You should get Bud Camp. Go down the list on the left side of the page to remnants and click, second photo on top of page is pen turning remnants $39.95, click on that. If you want a better look, click on the photo to inlarge. This box will give you the thin skins you will need for pens in different colors and snakes and prepared for use. It contains enough skins to do 50-100 blanks, depending on how you use the grain of the skin. Sounds like a lot of money up front, but comes out to 40-70 cents a blank. Sure beats $27.95 for one. You can also hit snake skins on the menu, and order just about any color skin you can think of, or just one vareity of snake. Either the whole skin, or groups of 5 strips. I have a whole Cobra skin about 6 feet long with the head and red eyes I lay it out on my table for shows. It realy gets people to notice your display, and kids love it. They have very fast service, and I have ordered from them several times and was very pleased with the skins. I will see if I can connect with my other supplyers. Watch out for those easter snakes. Should have been eastern. Jim S
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yaroslaw
Member
Ok, so is it really possible to make-up a layer of CA on the skin? How much CA coats it would take, for Sierra (the thinnest, i believe)? I'll try if I had skin
plantman
Member
Ok, so is it really possible to make-up a layer of CA on the skin? How much CA coats it would take, for Sierra (the thinnest, i believe)? I'll try if I had skin
Just glue the skin to the blank with gap filling CA. Let dry. Do not use excellorator on this coat. Best to let it sit overnite. Mount the blank on the lathe and run at slowest speed. Apply as many coats of thick CA as needed to reach the size of your fittings. Use excellorator between coats. Look in the library to see how to apply the CA or go on utube. Mount a lite over your lathe a sand away any shiney places. I start with 400 and finish with 1200 grit. When you are happy with the finish and shape, speed up the lathe and apply one or two coats of polish. Before removing the blank, take a knife or your parting tool and remove any excess CA from the ends of the blank down to the bushings. This will keep the skin from pulling off or cracking. Jim S
yaroslaw
Member
Thanks, procedure sounds reasonable and familiar. But my question was HOW MANY layers of thick CA do I need?
Having no casting equipment, it could be "thrown away" money to buy box of skins for $40+$20 shipping, to find out that it would take, say, 20 coats of thick CA, which can be done for one pen, but on 30-40? It can be too much time consuming.
And I've never tried to build-up a thick CA layer, I use it just enough for protecting the wood, so I really do not now how fast it can fill Sierra-size blank.
Having no casting equipment, it could be "thrown away" money to buy box of skins for $40+$20 shipping, to find out that it would take, say, 20 coats of thick CA, which can be done for one pen, but on 30-40? It can be too much time consuming.
And I've never tried to build-up a thick CA layer, I use it just enough for protecting the wood, so I really do not now how fast it can fill Sierra-size blank.
plantman
Member
Second way you can do this. Take a piece of scrap wood and turn it on your tube to a little under your finished size. Sand smooth and glue on your snake skin. Finish with 4 - 10 coats of Gap filling CA. DON'T use thin CA and excellorator, it will turn cloudy and will ruin your blank.You only need a drop or two per coat. You can put these coats on in less than a minute for all ten. Use excellorator between coats. If you apply the CA correctly, it will take very little hand sanding. Also make sure you use a tac cloth or some type of cleaner to remone all sanding dust. Check the library for how to apply CA. ( There is also an article on how to skin and prepair a snake skin.) Just make sure all shiny areas are removed, and don't sand through the finish. Use auto or some other buffing compond to get a shine. I do 4 - 6 coats of CA before I sand, but I am used to working with it. If I don't think the finish looks good enough, I will add more coats. The larger number of coats, the deeper your shine. Good Luck Jim S
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yaroslaw
Member
Thanks, I was thinking about "wood buildup" also yesterday, going to sleep It seems reasonable also on any size blank, not only sierra
It seems reasonable also on any size blank, not only sierra
NotURMailman
Member
Excuse my ignorance, but does "gap filling CA" say "gap filling" on the bottle? I believe I saw somewhere it was referred to as "black CA". I'm seriously thinking about buying that bag of snakeskin and giving it a try. If it doesn't work out I got to try a new experiment and learned something...
theidlemind
Member
"Gap filling" is just thick CA.
plantman
Member
:search::search: Yes; It does say gap filling on the bottle. And yes it is thick CA. Depends on who is making it I guess. It gives you a little more time to work with it before it sets up. It also, as the name implys, fills gaps. It does not cloud up when you apply excellerator, nor does it smoke and give off excessive fumes and heat, and will not burn your hands as thin CA glues will if they come in contact with excellerator. If you have a blank that it split, is end grain, or is realy unstable and punky. apply a coat of thin CA to penatrait the wood or resin first to stableize it for turning. If you want to know more about CA glues. look up Bob Smith Industries Inc. (bsi) on the net. He has a pamphlet ( using cyanoacrylate and epoxy adhesives ) that tells you everything you want to know about INSTA_CURE tm. adhesives. I like your thinking about trying and learning something !! My idea is to show or tell other people on this site, that you can do the things you see done on these pages, you just have to take the first step and ask question on things you are not sure of how to do. There aren't to many things that someone on this site has not done before, with a few exceptions. Peace !! Jim S
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