Turning / finishing antlers

[kwandtke]

So I've turned a bunch of pens .. I'm in no way an expert ... did it as a side thing really. Recently decided I wanted to get into it full time (retired .. need something to do right?).

OK so recent birthday I had some turning related stuff on the old list and my daughter surprised me with some "antler pen blanks". I'm thinking OK .. I can drill these I think ... but from there I'm a little unsure. Like .. gluing the tubes? Same CA? And then I can turn them .. but what about finishing? I'm thinking (hoping) somebody who sees this might have some experience with these.

 

[Woodchipper]

Retired? You will wonder when you had time to work. AMHIK Antler can have a bad odor when turning. Others can tell how to deal with it.

 

[Alan Morrison]

Firstly, welcome to the forum, Kevin.
You need the best dust protection you can get, antler dust is about the worst.
Sharp tools and fairly easy going once you get it round.

 

[carlmorrell]

Smells like burnt hair. Yuck. Wear a mask.

 

[bsshog40]

As mentioned, bad odor, wear mask. You can add tubes just as you do wood. For finishing, I just microsand out the antler. I've never put a finish on it. I think if you want something done with antler, you want to feel the antler. Here are a couple I did a while back.

 

[Hippie3180]

If you are going to turn antler wear a respirator and use dust collection + wash your hands/face etc afterwards. I recently had an idea of turning some antler and someone posted some information about chronic wasting disease you can get from handling antler. I decided it wasn't worth it for me, for what I wanted to do. Also, antler isn't straight so there is a trick to drilling.

 

[keithbyrd]

Antler turns well, does have a bad odor, when drilling and turning. MUST WEAR A MASK/RESPIRATOR-does a nasty job on your lungs over time. When turning antler I always wear a respirator. drilling can be tricky because it is often not too straight. I back the bit out frequently and let the heat escape, cool off a bit.
sand and finish like anything else. I was told early on that it needs to be sealed - animal parts that were alive need to be sealed. I generally put 2-3 coats of thin ca to seal, sand and polish.

 

[bsshog40]

Antler turns well, does have a bad odor, when drilling and turning. MUST WEAR A MASK/RESPIRATOR-does a nasty job on your lungs over time. When turning antler I always wear a respirator. drilling can be tricky because it is often not too straight. I back the bit out frequently and let the heat escape, cool off a bit.
sand and finish like anything else. I was told early on that it needs to be sealed - animal parts that were alive need to be sealed. I generally put 2-3 coats of thin ca to seal, sand and polish.

I have to say, if animal parts needed to be sealed, taxidermists would have been doing this years ago. I have never heard of having to seal antlers. Maybe a little funiture polish or wax, but that's just for enhancing the look.

 

[keithbyrd]

I have to say, if animal parts needed to be sealed, taxidermists would have been doing this years ago. I have never heard of having to seal antlers. Maybe a little funiture polish or wax, but that's just for enhancing the look.

Can't disagree with you - but I was taught that this was important to do!

 

[randyrls]

I use Polyurethane glue (Gorilla) to glue the antler. The foaming action fills any pores. Epoxy would work too. AS others have said, use a respirator. You only get one set of lungs and they are NOT replaceable!

 

[Woodchipper]

You are more likely to get Covid than CWD from deer antlers; I question if CWD is transmittable only by antlers. There are strict regulations for deer with CWD. Here is a link to Tennessee's hunting regulations.
https://www.tn.gov/twra/hunting/cwd.html

 

[Hippie3180]

You are more likely to get Covid than CWD from deer antlers; I question if CWD is transmittable only by antlers. There are strict regulations for deer with CWD. Here is a link to Tennessee's hunting regulations.
https://www.tn.gov/twra/hunting/cwd.html

It's not only the antlers, but you can get it from the dust and stuff that comes from drilling on them/breathing that in/handling them. For me personally, I'm not willing to risk that. Many folks pick up sheds and you just don't know about them.

 

[Woodchipper]

Will check with my wildlife contacts on this. The requirement is to debone the deer and other steps to take before bringing deer from out of state. This is explained in the provided link. Never seen anything that is related to the antlers.
Hippie3180, what is your source for your reply?

 

[Hippie3180]

From a previous post where I asked about turning antlers. Read the part about transmission.

https://www.tahc.texas.gov/news/brochures/TAHCFactsheet_CWD.pdf