how to straighten antler for drilling?????

[maverick31]

well, I have drilled and blown out the side of my last antler.( at least I hope) I read somewhere that some penmakers boil the antler and then straighten the tines before drilling. I have read several places that it works great. So next time I have a curved antler and want to make a pen I will boil it up and try it out. Just thought I would post since I know there are several of us that like making antler pens. Not sure if it works yet but will post results when I try it.

[sachbvn]

Mav,

Not sure if you are making longer pens, or just needing enough for bullets - or what. The longer the tube, I'd imagine the harder it will be.

It will be interesting to see how the boiling works for you. My method? I cut the antler plenty long, making sure that the piece I am using will allow the brass tube to run all the way through. I then take it to my DP and tighten it pretty dang good with my metal working vise. I just eye ball it making sure the drill bit will run as straight and true as possible. If you are going to be cutting right into the corner of a piece of antler - you may want to saw off a flat spot to get the drill bit started.

I use my barrel trimmer and slowly true up the blank to the tube. Mount the sucker on the lathe and slowly start turning it round. I suppose you could hack off a bunch of corners and crooks on the BS or with a dremel or hacksaw - I just go slow on the lathe. (slow as in taking my time, I still turn it fast)


Zac

[sachbvn]

Oh - and - did you catch Doug's post regarding the antler dust being really bad for you? I wear a mask when working with it at all - probably not a bad idea.


Zac

[maverick31]

I only have trouble when trying to make slimlines or something with similar length. I will sometimes blow out the side on one or two. I end up cutting up a lot of antler to compensate for blow outs. I am hoping this will put an end to it though

I pretty much do this the same as you do but I try to get as many blanks out of what I have as I can. I have a buddy that brings me shed antlers and junk antlers that are not good enough to do anything else with.

oh, and yes I have a 3m paint mask for auto painting. I figured auto paint is about the worst you can breath so it should be ok for antler dust.

[Doug B]

There is a really neat way to drill antlers on the lathe. I tried it once with poor results, but I still want to figure out what I did wrong...I think I just had the speed too high. But, I am also trying to figure out a way to do the same thing using a drill press, which I would prefer.

Most times I want some curve to the antlers because I like to leave a little bit of the "bark" on them, but I know some antler is not usable because it is too crooked, so I'm looking forward to hearing the results of your testing Mav.

[maverick31]

I should here back from a guy that wants to buy 4-5 antler pens for gifts in the next few days/week. I am not sure if he wants the bullet style or what. If he goes for the or what version I will try it pretty soon. I think it will work though.