Moose Antler?

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mecompco

mecompco

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Apr 24, 2015
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Fairfield, Maine
So I've got this old moose antler that I think could yield some nice blanks. Anyone have experience cutting/turning this material? Thanks for any advice and opinions!





Regards,
Michael
 
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http://www.penturners.org/forum/f45/moose-antler-shaving-brush-130008/
Here is a link to a shaving brush I made out of moose - turns nicely and stinks while cutting, drilling and turning! Use the base of the antler for this.
I have simply laid tubes on the antler, marked their dimensions and cut out pieces. Just make sure its thick enough to meet the dimensions need for the pen. It turns and finishes just like white tail antler
 
It is very porous in the center so try to cut your blanks where you can keep as much of the outer layer along the contour of your finished pen as possible. You cannot avoid having some of the porous area showing. I use CA glue to try to stabilize that. It cuts easily with a bandsaw and turns similar to other antler. Be sure to use a respirator and eye protection. Good luck.
 
I have a few pens turned from moose antler, the antler I am using now is a bitter yellower than the deer antler I have turned. As stated before protect your lungs, from antler and ca.
 
I am a couple hours south of you if you ever want to swing by, I am about 5 minutes off 95 at the NH/Mass border. Check out You tube, there is one person i have seen, that shows how to create a plexiglass guide to mark center on the antler pieces and to see how the tube will sit. He also shows how to drill the antler on the Lathe.
 
Crayman said:
I am a couple hours south of you if you ever want to swing by, I am about 5 minutes off 95 at the NH/Mass border. Check out You tube, there is one person i have seen, that shows how to create a plexiglass guide to mark center on the antler pieces and to see how the tube will sit. He also shows how to drill the antler on the Lathe.
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Thanks for the invite. I don't generally get much south of Portland, though. I'll take another run through YouTube--I did watch one about trimming/drilling deer antler that was pretty interesting.

Regards,
Michael
 
with any material like bone, antler, etc you are supposed to make sure you use a respirator. Apparently the dust gets into your lungs and does not leave. I have turned some antler and the biggest issue was drilling the hole. the antler is not round so it is tough to hold it. I use vice grips and drill in a series of two holes, the first smaller. Then the second follows the hole and it is easier to hold, at least for me.
 
wyone said:
with any material like bone, antler, etc you are supposed to make sure you use a respirator. Apparently the dust gets into your lungs and does not leave. I have turned some antler and the biggest issue was drilling the hole. the antler is not round so it is tough to hold it. I use vice grips and drill in a series of two holes, the first smaller. Then the second follows the hole and it is easier to hold, at least for me.
Click to expand...

Mitch, thanks for the info. Yes, I have a respirator on the way. Been thinking about the drilling--how about putting the odd-sized piece between centers and turning it round before drilling? BTW, I drill on the lathe w/the blank in my 4 jaw chuck (self-indexing) to the blank has to be pretty square/round.

Regards,
Michael
 
I know others do exactly what you suggest, turning to round between centers. I have not had a lot of luck that way, mostly because the antlers I have had are kind of.. umm.. for lack of a better word.. punky in the center so they tend to slip for me. Plus I have more issues drilling the center of a round blank exactly in the middle. I need to get a set of pen jaws for my chuck which would help I am sure. Regardless, I love the look when the pens are done. :)
 
My experience with antler is that they're basically all the same as far as turning. As far as density goes you never know until you cut it what the inside looks like. I think the best antler is the Axis Deer. It's white with some grey streaks and solid except for a small hole the weaves through the center. Also I've found that the larger diameter the antler the bigger chance it has of being porous. The porous ones always crumbled or were just plain ugly so I didn't use them for a while. Then I noticed a big pile that was going to waste so I started thinking of a way to use them. A friend talked me into using Gorilla Glue and it helped a great deal with gluing up the brass tubes in blanks. The G.G. expands so it fills up any gaps between the tube and the blank and also fills up some of the voids in the antler. After using the G.G. I didn't have trouble with the antler crumbling when it was turned thin. The glue has a tan tint to it but the antler is normally brown or has a rust tint so that never had any effect on the finished pen. When I finished turning the pen I would seal it and fill any voids on the surface with C.A. and finish just like I would an acrylic pen. I try to keep the different types of antler separate so I could tell the pen owner exactly what he was getting. If I knew where it came from that would also be part of the story. The porous antler has a completely different look and most turn out pretty decent but every once in a while you still get one that's just plain ugly. Good Luck.
 
Antler, horn, teeth, and bone all stink like crazy when working with it. They are all also potentially toxic if you breath too much of the dust. Make sure you where a proper mask or good dust collection while working with it.
 
Thanks for the input! Got a four day weekend so I hope to cut up some of the moose and try it.

I do have a piece of deer antler on the lathe and it is not going well--maybe its just too old. The center is very soft (got it between centers right now) and the turned part is extremely porous (trying to make it about 3/4" cylindrical for a basket tool handle--not a pen).
 
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