Dan Posted May 22, 2012 Report Share Posted May 22, 2012 just got a set of 8 pts white tail deer antlers that im planing on turning on my lathe to make into pens. does anyone have some advice on cuting and working with atler? i know that it can be hollow and partialy spungy but some parts are solid. what areas would make better pens? and what parts should i save for later to carve with hand tools? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony N Posted May 22, 2012 Report Share Posted May 22, 2012 just be carfull of the fine dust is all i can say as well as when cutting it use a fine coping saw blade Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary G. Posted May 25, 2012 Report Share Posted May 25, 2012 I will second Tony N's advice ,wear dust mask - respirator type if possible. I also made a little down draft dust table connected to a vacuum for my work area. Vacuum hoods are available, mounted on a adjustable arm for use with lathes. I haven't tried turning antler [yet] but I can give you an idea what you may find inside the antler. There are a number of things that you will find that differ from one piece of antler to another. Your's is from a white tailed deer, if from a older mature healthy deer it is likely to have thicker solid outer covering of bone that becomes porous at it centre [not hollow]. The outer dense covering will take high detail , not the inner core some of which may even crumble while being worked. A young or unhealthy deer may have a thinner outer covering of bone, and you may be more likely to notice tines that are cracked or broken. The older the deer the larger the antlers and the more tines it has, to a limit. The tip of the tines tend to be solid [maybe 1/4 to 1/5 the length of that tine], good for deeper carving/turning , and as you move down the tine from the tip toward the base [head] slowly the centre begins to becomes more and more porous and this cross section is larger but to save weight it is porous inside. At it's base the cornet , or the larger lumpy end that is connected to the head, has a thicker outer covering as well. You'll also find that what the type of animal the antler is from determines the thickness of the antlers outer covering. Eg : Elk's large tines give larger solid tips to work and more over all material, but their centre tends to be more porous than say caribou which has a small cross section but a denser core/centre. You just have to go thru trail and error and work with as many different types of antler you can lay your hands on and play around with them. Good luck and I hope this helps a little. - gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.