Advise please on drilling antlers for pen blanks

[DonEve]

Fellow pen turners,

I'll be attempting to use deer antlers for pen blanks soon. Do you have any advise for me? I understand that drilling them can be frustrating. What finish do you recommend? :icon_scra

Also, Penn State Industries has a Sambar Deer blank. Have any of you used them? What type antler blank have you used? :eusa_doh: Where would I find the best blanks?

Don

 

[DaveO]

I have only used White-tailed Deer antler. I get mine from the deer, actually when the deer is done with them. I have a friend that is an avid hunter and he collects the sheds for me.
I use a technique told to me by Eagle for squaring up the antler section so I can drill it using my pen vice. Choose as straight of a section of antler, long and large enough for one barrel of the pen. Use a Bessy type clamp to hold the irregular piece of antler so you can shave a side on the BS. Then turn that flattened side 90°, clamp again and flatten the other side. Those two flattened sides should be sufficient to mount in a pen vice and drill for the tube. More than likely you won't drill true all the way through the center, but that doesn't matter and can sometimes result in cool effects like leaving some of the "bark" on the outside of the pen.
I use a CA finish for mine, especially if I get into some marrow spots and have to harden them.

MTCW,
Dave

 

[JRD]

I've done four or five and Dave has the best advice I can think of.

Shaving two sides down allows you to hold the antler as close as possible to vertical for your drill press.

Most eastern White Tail have smaller antler and finding a section large enough in diameter and without too much curvature can be mighty tough.

Good Luck.

 

[gator]

Here is how I do mine

www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/data/197/100_1559.jpg

I use a drill bit chuck in the headstock. I lay the drill bit along the outside of the piece of antler to see where the hole should go and visually or physically mark the spot on the ends of the piece. I do this in two planes 90 degrees to each other. This is to help make sure that I don't have a blowout on the antler piece. I place the piece with one end against the drill bit point and the other end against the center on the tailstock. I grab hold of the antler with a pair of pliers, turn on the lathe and start cranking the tailstock forward holding the antler steady.

George