Help! Alligator!

[PennedDown]

I've came across a set of alligator jaw bone blanks and have never turned them. I did a search and came up with some nice finished pieces, but not really any hints/tips/faults that would help me.

A few questions:
1. Do they need to be stabilized prior to drilling, i.e. thin CA soak?
2. Would it be better to determine what you would like to go in the tooth sockets, such as turquoise powder, mixed PR, dyed/tinted epoxy prior to drilling. (seems like it may make it more stable?) or wait until the end and fill or inlay that way?
3. Suggestion for a kit to get the most out of? I was thinking Majestic.

Thanks in advance for any help you can throw my way!

 

[EBorraga]

My only suggestion is to have plenty of ventilation!! You can not imagine the smell it will produce!!

 

[jskeen]

I found out the hard way on my first one that if you don't fill in the sockets with something before you start turning, you will lose a lot of the detail. I am not going to turn any more of the pieces I have till I get my casting rig set back up and can cast them into resin before I start. If you want to turn it first, and have plenty of whatever you are going to fill with, fill the sockets with powder and thin ca first, then drill and tube. If you are using something expensive as fill, you can drill and tube first, then fill with powder and thin ca it into a layer around the tube before you start turning. To drill, I would glue some waste wood onto the ends of the blank, then grind them close to flat and perpendicular to the blank, then turn turn the wood ends round enough to chuck or get into your drill vise or whatever. If the blanks themselves are way out of round, I would try to grind them down on sander or even trim them with a fine blade on the bandsaw rather than turning them down before you have all the very fine bones stabilized with resin, or powder and ca or whatever.

One thing for sure, no matter how you prep it, you will have plenty of voids to fill in as you get close to final size. Make sure you have plenty of ca on hand when you start. And a good respirator, bone dust is nothing you want to be inhaling. You might want to consider changing clothes before you go in the house too, if your better half objects to smelly stuff inside.

 

[hunter-27]

I found out the hard way on my first one that if you don't fill in the sockets with something before you start turning, you will lose a lot of the detail. I am not going to turn any more of the pieces I have till I get my casting rig set back up and can cast them into resin before I start. If you want to turn it first, and have plenty of whatever you are going to fill with, fill the sockets with powder and thin ca first, then drill and tube. If you are using something expensive as fill, you can drill and tube first, then fill with powder and thin ca it into a layer around the tube before you start turning. To drill, I would glue some waste wood onto the ends of the blank, then grind them close to flat and perpendicular to the blank, then turn turn the wood ends round enough to chuck or get into your drill vise or whatever. If the blanks themselves are way out of round, I would try to grind them down on sander or even trim them with a fine blade on the bandsaw rather than turning them down before you have all the very fine bones stabilized with resin, or powder and ca or whatever.

One thing for sure, no matter how you prep it, you will have plenty of voids to fill in as you get close to final size. Make sure you have plenty of ca on hand when you start. And a good respirator, bone dust is nothing you want to be inhaling. You might want to consider changing clothes before you go in the house too, if your better half objects to smelly stuff inside.

This might keep a bunch of us out of the house all the time.

 

[OKLAHOMAN]

James is absolutely right, I cast all my Gator bone and still have plenty of smaller voids to fill as I get down to size. As James said plenty of thin CA on hand, it will dull your tools in a hurry and the smell is terrible. Wear a respirator as the dust is very fine.Well worth all the effort as it makes one of the most unusual pens you will see.

 

[PennedDown]

James and Roy, thanks for the input. Good idea on the wood ends! I guess its kind of like antler....you really don't know what you've got until you get close to size, but I would like to drill and prep it as to show more of the sockets as possible. I also bought a new respirator for this the other day in preparation of the smell. Someday soon I'm going to try and grab a Trend Pro respirator.
Here are the blanks if that will help you visualize and/or throw in some more input on them.
Roy, that pen is awesome!