1st antler pen

[sawduster]

Someone whose name escapes me at the moment has a great tag line that basically says " If you want to learn to build a house , just build a house "

Well I decided to learn to turn some antler today. Tore a bunch of it up before I found this inside of it :

View image in gallery​

View image in gallery​

Talk about a learning experience !! For starters that is fer shure some stanky stuff !! :tongue2:
It turns well though once you find a straight enough piece and turn the bumps out of it :icon_thum

Thanx for lookin :mrgreen:

 

[ptt49er]

That looks great!

But isn't your scroll saw getting jealous?

 

[Trent Mason]

Nice work bro! That turned out great! :icon_thum

BTW- that is Earl's signature that you were referring to I believe

 

[dlrion]

Earl is your house-builder, and those look pretty nice. You sure do make some nice pens bro. I really admire your ability to turn everyday objects into amazing heirlooms.

Dan

 

[CarvedTones]

Very nice! Please tell me you wore a mask or at least had a fan on; bone and antler produce some serious bad "don't breathe this" dust.

 

[JackLeg]

Bro, as much as it pains me,:icon_scra if you need some more, I've got some shed I can send you. But, like Phil said, don't let that saw get rusty. Those are beautiful pens.
:wsmile:

 

[PChristy]

Bro that is a very nice pen - :icon_thum

 

[boxxmaker]

Beautifull,:icon_cheers :icon_cheers

 

[erasmussen]

If you want to learn how to turn antler, just turn some antler.
You got it, good job :icon_thum

 

[sawduster]

Bro, as much as it pains me,:icon_scra if you need some more, I've got some shed I can send you. But, like Phil said, don't let that saw get rusty. Those are beautiful pens.
:wsmile:

Reggie my friend , I believe I will take you up on that :icon_thum

Don't worry, no rust on the scroll saw either ........been hummin right along with that as well :mrgreen:

Having 2 weeks off, I actually have done more stuff than i have time to photograph right now :embaresse

Thanx everyone for the kind words :icon_thum

 

[TheLazyC]

Where do you get antler from? Can you buy stock? I wouldn't want to cut up any antler that I have here, would make my wall mount look crooked.

 

[JackLeg]

Reggie my friend , I believe I will take you up on that :icon_thum

Don't worry, no rust on the scroll saw either ........been hummin right along with that as well :mrgreen:

Having 2 weeks off, I actually have done more stuff than i have time to photograph right now :embaresse

Thanx everyone for the kind words :icon_thum

Gimme a couple days and I'll put something in a box for you. I've got a friend that might have some he'd part with also.

 

[jhreed]

Gosh, that is beautiful. I tried 3 times and got an aroma that would gag a maggott and a center hole that came out the side. Never had antler long & straight enough for a pen. Now that I have seen yours, I must try again.

Reggie, if you have a supply source, I will gladdly pay the going rate for a few blanks.
James

 

[BrandCall]

That is awesome. Came out beautiful. I had a buddy give me some antlers from something he claimed in the woods a few years back.

How big was the antler you started with. I'm a little concerned that I don't have enough strait section.

Cheers!

 

[Ted Hardee]

Robert>>>Hope everything is going well>>Ted

 

[RandyJ]

Another beautiful object de arte from the Artiest!!!

Great looking pen ya got there, Robert.:icon_thum

 

[sawduster]

That is awesome. Came out beautiful. I had a buddy give me some antlers from something he claimed in the woods a few years back.

How big was the antler you started with. I'm a little concerned that I don't have enough strait section.

Cheers!

I had the most success with the points and the upper half of the rack . The base of the rack is so thick that I found myself turning down to a very cellular and brittle part that did not sand or finish well at all :no:
It's a crap shoot .....added to the fact that I don't know what I'm doing and I did indeed screw up a lot of material before I got it right :BangHead:

Andy ( carved tones ) made a good point as well in that the dust is pretty toxic to the lung function ....dust mask fer shure :icon_thum

Oh yeah , and it stinks ...not just a regular kind of stink either ...it is wicked :tongue2:

Good luck .....just play with it , but pack some patience...... it was quite a learning experience for me :mrgreen:

 

[BrandCall]

Thanks for the info and shared experience. If I find some success I'll send you a picture.

Cheers!

 

[CarvedTones]

Andy ( carved tones ) made a good point as well in that the dust is pretty toxic to the lung function ....dust mask fer shure :icon_thum

Just to "clear the air" , there are two or three issues...

First is that bone/horn dust is very abrasive and can actually do injury in the lungs. It's way worse than wood; it's almost as bad as metal filings. A little Googling will reveal the medical name and symptoms.
Second is that any organisms that may have found their way into it are bone eating orgamisms.
Third is that there are some carcinogens that settle in bones/horn if the animal somehow encountered some and sometimes things used to kill the organisms that cause the second problem leave traces of nastiness themselves.