Finishing deer antler

[Sawdust]

Any suggestions on finishing deer antler. Seems that no matter what I do there always seems to be just a bit of a roughness to parts of the antler material. The only time I seemed to work around this was when I coated the almost finished antler with CA glue and then finished that when it dried.

Your thoughts?

- Russ

 

[wdcav1952]

My thoughts are that you are right. Seal the antler with CA as you sand it down, and use a CA finish.

 

[gerryr]

The roughness you're getting is probably from the marrow. But, even if you don't get into the marrow, I've found that antler doesn't polish all that well, even with MM and buffing with White Diamond. I did an order of 65 antler Sierras this summer and finished every one of them with 2 coats of thin CA, sometimes 3 depending on how much marrow I encountered. When I turn antler, I start adding CA as soon as I encounter marrow because it can come off in big chunks.

 

[Penmonkey]

Yes, CA is the only way to go if you want a durable finish.

 

[kent4Him]

A medium or thick CA will help. If you don't hit marrow, you can get a real nice shine.

Some people actually prefer the rougher feel of a little marrow. I'm not one of them.

 

[ctEaglesc]

My method would depend on how smooth the antler is when you are done turning it.I use a skew and have very little tooling marks to sand out.
Once your tooling marks have been removed sand lengthwise.
This works well with Klingspor gold "paper" which is really sanding belts cut up and I buy by the pound at the store.
Let me say I did NOT invent this method.
After I sand lengthwise , say a 220 grit .I do not clean off the blank.Using the same piece of sand paper I apply a blob of thick CA or gel CA right to the "Dusty" sandpaper. and sand lengthwise.I am not really sanding at this point I am forcing the dust ca mixture into the porous section.
I continue to "sand" with the used paper until it has glazed up.If necessary I will light sand with the same grit with a new piece of paper and repeat the procedure.I move up the 320 and sand with the lathe on and after sanding lengthwise I repeat the CA application again with the dusty paper.(320)
Move on to 400 grit and repeat.There is not need for waiting very long between grits I do one right after the other.
Now I go through the MM(I DO NOT USE MM TO APPLY CA!)
After I have gone trough the MM I give it what I call the "lip test" My fingers are always encrusted with CA and I cannot feel anything with them.
I remove the mandrel from the lathe and fell the blanks with my lower lip.Any irregularities are evident.
I don't feel any I am done.If I do I repeat the steps again.
You will find the areas of the antler that are not porous will not accept the CA well but the porous sections will fill with a nice solid uniform hardness to the other parts of the antler.
Once the pieces are smooth, I can put a light CA finish on the whole piece.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Originally posted by gerryr
<br />The roughness you're getting is probably from the marrow. But, even if you don't get into the marrow, I've found that antler doesn't polish all that well, even with MM and buffing with White Diamond. I did an order of 65 antler Sierras this summer and finished every one of them with 2 coats of thin CA, sometimes 3 depending on how much marrow I encountered. When I turn antler, I start adding CA as soon as I encounter marrow because it can come off in big chunks.

I have found the white 'bone' part of antler does polish quite well. It can be CA'd or not depending on personal preference. Left alone it will eventually take a patina from skin oils and handling. The marrow part does need the CA treatment to take a polish. But, in my experience with my personal antler Baron, it doesn't take long for the CA to wear through and give a textured feel to the marrow. Not everyones preference. I am undecided on which I prefer, smooth or the textured feel.

 

[ctEaglesc]

I have not had CA wear away on any of the antler pens or any pen I have finished .
Iguess itis how you apply it.
I have found the unfinished patina is really grungy and detrats from an ootherwise beautiiful writing instrument.
I guess it is like finisheing a pen and being too lazy too prep the surface before applying the finish.

 

[bob393]

Antler and CA seem to work well together.

 

[les-smith]

What if you have some of the bark left on the barrell? Do you still use CA even though the blank will turn rough (not spin smoothly because of the irregularities of the bark) from the barrell still having bark on it?

 

[Rifleman1776]

Originally posted by les-smith
<br />What if you have some of the bark left on the barrell? Do you still use CA even though the blank will turn rough (not spin smoothly because of the irregularities of the bark) from the barrell still having bark on it?

Bark and irregularities are part of the attraction with antler.
BTW, CA is the stuff to use. But lasting qualties vary depending on use and even body chemistry of the person using it, or any pen.

 

[cozee]

Well, it seems I am going to be the odd man out on this and disagree with a few. I have had no problems sanding, buffing, and polishing whitetail antler to a gloss without using any type of finish. Granted, marrow can pose a problem or two but once you get the feel for turning antler, this can be avoided. I finish the antler just as I do CA. After turning I wet sand with 1000 and 1500, then 2000 and 4000 (these being Abralon pads). I then use foam buffing pads, starting with a machine glaze then a polishing glaze. Wipe down with a 3M polishing cloth. It isn't as high a gloss as CA but glossy in it's own right. Papers, pads, and glazes are all common automotive refinishing industry products.