Turning buffalo horn

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qquake

qquake

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Feb 8, 2004
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I've made a couple of deer antler pens, that turned out good. I ordered a water buffalo horn blank from Crooked mill. Is it translucent or opaque? Do I need to paint it? The deer antler was completely opaque, but I don't know if the horn will be the same. Anything I should know about turning it? The pen kit is a Classic Elite 2 from PSI, and the lower body gets kind of thin.
 

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To reduce the chance of cracking. When it stinks you are getting it hot or you have a sensitive sniffer that I don't. Drill slowly and keep everything cool. Best to drill undersize and set it aside for some time to let the inside dry some more and relieve stresses. This may be one occasion where a slightly bigger hole and Gorilla glue would be best as the bond is a little more flexible. Don't get it hot when turning especially when sanding, sharp paper and pause to let it cool. Sand out the tube so it barely has any resistance when put together and use purple or blue Locktite to hold it together Don't store the pen in a hot place. It may still crack someday but is less likely if you take the precautions.
 
Any experiences on using Buffalo horn for bespoke pens .. is cracking to be expected since in bespoke we can have better thicknesses compared to kits , I want to experiment with an ebonite insert and avoid threading on the material completely. Should I expect cracking even in this process ? Would acrylic be a better option instead of ebonite ?
 
I do. I have created several in many flavors and forms over my many years. I did a post thread some time ago on this subject and shared some key points still very valid today. Even after checking the pens that I have, there are no cracks, I also have some test pens that have cracks as well in expected places.

My epic post on working with Buffalo Horn is here. https://www.penturners.org/threads/oh-give-me-a-home-where-the-buffalo-roam.136225/
 
edstreet said:
I do. I have created several in many flavors and forms over my many years. I did a post thread some time ago on this subject and shared some key points still very valid today. Even after checking the pens that I have, there are no cracks, I also have some test pens that have cracks as well in expected places.

My epic post on working with Buffalo Horn is here. https://www.penturners.org/threads/oh-give-me-a-home-where-the-buffalo-roam.136225/
Click to expand...
What was the short rollerball cartridge that you showed in the old (even older) thread?
 
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