Awesome score on some antler

[Skeels]

Well i love turning antler. It looks great and sells great. So obviously I've been lookin for some cheap antler. I found some cheap blanks (like 3 bucks for one piece). Only problem with them is is one piece and only enough material for one blank. I don't like haveing my blanks not match up so I was pretty much limited on what I could buy. Well I scored pretty big yesterday. My mom hits me up sayin she's commin over to drop some crap off. My grandmother died recently and they're givin a lot of her stuff away so I figured it was stuff from her place... NOPE. Turns outta step dad gt "tired of lookin at them" and took all his mounts off the wall and told her to take then to my place. Box doesn't look like much but there's 5 sets of antlers in there. Needless to say, I'll be able to get a couple blanks from it lol. Some will have to be straightened but its all good bit I'm sure I can use every but of them

 

[Brian G]

That's a good score. Looks like some nice ones. First pen out of the lot should go to step dad.

 

[RPD63]

"Straightened". Is that something that can be done or are you kidding? I have never turned antler.
Ray

 

[Monty]

Great score.:good:
Looks like at least one or two good pens from the batch.:biggrin:

 

[Dusty]

Same here, I didn't know they could be straightened. What is the process if I might ask?

 

[Dusty]

duplicate post

 

[Skeels]

"Straightened". Is that something that can be done or are you kidding? I have never turned antler.
Ray

Nope it's for real. Idk about the whole thing but I've straightened smaller ones. All u do is boil some water with a little vinegar and drop them in. Then out the in a vice and let them dry for a few days. Only problem I've found is if the antler has more than one major curve u can't do it twice... Or at least I haven't found a way to. Every time I've tried for a perfectly straight piece the bend that I made straight came back.

 

[Skeels]

That's a good score. Looks like some nice ones. First pen out of the lot should go to step dad.

That was the plan lol. I was gonna do him and my mom a pen set for Christmas. Wanted to do him a fishing pen and was having problems figuring out wha I wanted I use as a blank. He hasn't hunted in YEARS. He took me an my brothe out a few times before we could go on our own (well till we were trusted on out own lol) and he pretty much quit. He's from PA, the hunt here I'm De ain't nothing compared to up there. So between it gettin boring simcha he liked the long range shots and the *** holes down he road driving all the deer to their property a few miles away, he gave it up. I still think it would be a good present though. He killed them and it's something that he can hang on to and say "I killed this" lol. And he's got a good pen too lol.

 

[Skie_M]

"Straightened". Is that something that can be done or are you kidding? I have never turned antler.
Ray

Nope it's for real. Idk about the whole thing but I've straightened smaller ones. All u do is boil some water with a little vinegar and drop them in. Then out the in a vice and let them dry for a few days. Only problem I've found is if the antler has more than one major curve u can't do it twice... Or at least I haven't found a way to. Every time I've tried for a perfectly straight piece the bend that I made straight came back.

Use a vice that will press in multiple directions ..... for instance, you could make an auxillary vice face with a steel tube that has been split down the center and place the softened antler section inside the tube ... apply pressure with the vice and it will straighten even a spiraling antler section.

Or you could use some metal plates and apply them above and below your vice jaws, and clamp them in place to apply the vertical pressure to straighten a compound curve.



The major issue with using this technique is that the vinegar will also weaken the antler as it will dissolve and remove some of the calcium while making it more pliable. As it dries, it will harden up a bit, but never back to it's original strength, so make sure you seal it or stabilize it with generous amounts of CA .... vacuum stabilization would be best, as that will force the CA into the very pores of the bone structure.

 

[Skie_M]

Can we get some details on the antler straightening solution? How strong is the vinegar, how much water and vinegar, how long do you leave the antler in there?

 

[bfrazier]

That's a good score. Looks like some nice ones. First pen out of the lot should go to step dad.

That was the plan lol. I was gonna do him and my mom a pen set for Christmas. Wanted to do him a fishing pen and was having problems figuring out wha I wanted I use as a blank. He hasn't hunted in YEARS. He took me an my brothe out a few times before we could go on our own (well till we were trusted on out own lol) and he pretty much quit. He's from PA, the hunt here I'm De ain't nothing compared to up there. So between it gettin boring simcha he liked the long range shots and the *** holes down he road driving all the deer to their property a few miles away, he gave it up. I still think it would be a good present though. He killed them and it's something that he can hang on to and say "I killed this" lol. And he's got a good pen too lol.

Try some Whale Bone for the fishing pen... It will have a similar look as the antler; however, the bone coming from the water says much more in a conversation.

 

[keithlong]

Why straighten them? When I want a pen with the bark of the antler showing, I drill holes in the curved pieces, makes nice pens. If you look in the library, there should be a tutorial on the drilling process.

 

[keithbyrd]

I generally drill without straightening - have only tried to straighten once and it didn't work. I think I boiled it for 30 minutes or so! Don't remember how much vinegar I used but probably not enough!