Mother of Pearl Throws a Bolo Tie Party

[Bob in SF]

This was fun project to celebrate this remarkable naturally dichroic material. Since Mother (of pearl) is toxic - it's best to work with her outdoors with diamond tools, respirator mask, and 2 fans for ventilation. I lathe-turned Italian olive wood or Brazilian pernambuco for the settings. The tiny shells are from a friend in Florida, and I airbrushed color onto some of them with an Iwata Custom Micron B airbrush. Some of the bolo ties were sealed with UV epoxy resin (triggered with a 365nm wave length lamp).

Warm regards to all makers - Bob

(Still having trouble shaking off my bolo tie fixation)

 

[Kenny Durrant]

Wow! Very nice work. I always enjoy seeing the things you make. Thanks

 

[Bob in SF]

Many thanks for kind words, Kenny!

Best regards - Bob

 

[JohnU]

I second what Kenny saiid Bob! I always love to see your creativity at work!

 

[Hippie3180]

Just beautiful!

 

[Alan Morrison]

Beautiful works of art, Bob. Very colourful Mother of Pearl..... I thought that it was Abalone when I saw it.

 

[Jim15]

Awesome work.

 

[RoxnDox]

Those are beautiful! I was curious about the shell material being toxic, so I went looking…. Seems to be a lot of anecdotal reports but little or no actual medical data. Mostly fine dust particles, which your respirator would have been perfect for, but no verified harmful stuff other than that. Unless you have allergies it seems like it'd be safe enough to work with normal precautions.

 

[anthonyd]

Those are really cool!

 

[leehljp]

Those are Beautiful and Colorful! I enjoy looking at them!

Didn't know that Mother of Pearl was toxic to work with. Just looked it up, that along with lots of other specific dusts.

 

[Bob in SF]

John, Michele, Jim, Jim (RoxnDox), Tony, and Hank - many thanks for the kind words.

Jim (RoxnDox) - here's a cautionary tale: It was indeed the fine dust particles that got me in trouble about 20 years ago despite use of a previously helpful respirator mask, and cutting properly cured water-submerged abalone shells with good diamond bits in what seemed like an adequately ventilated shop. My sinus CT scan revealed multiple opaque/blocked sinuses - required a rather extensive fiber-optic sinusotomy. My otolaryngologist friend used local anesthesia only (at my request) so I could watch the monitor with him during the operation. Somewhere between the drilling sounds and his proximity to my optic nerves and command central while he cleared out the catacombs, I decided to go outdoors for any similar work. Have fun and stay safe.

Fondly and gratefully - Bob