deer antler turning

Hey Red, long time no see!

I can only tell you what I know from turning moose antler I bought.

You tools MUST be very, very sharp... as sharp as you can get them. The antler I turned was a tiny bit splintery in some areas, and a very sharp tool was the answer. Plan on using your skew as pretty much the only tool for the project. Cut slowly and make tiny curls.

Do the things you should be doing anyway: wear eye and breathing protection. There is something lost in my memory about ingesting the bone dust into your lungs and the possible danger, but it escapes me. Also for reasons lost to me was the importance of not turning "green" antler, probably because of the danger of ingesting a biohazard of partially dried or rotted meat and blood still in the bones and their marrow.

I finished the pens I made with water thick CA glue. I put it on the antler, and let it soak in and dry. Then I finished like a plastic bodied pen, going through all the grits and ending/finishing with a quality polish.

If you do it correctly, the antler or bone will lend a really nice touch to your work or a finished project.

Robert

Hello,

I turn quite a bit of antler, including various Deer, Moose and Elk to name a few. As the others have pointed out, wear a good respirator when turning and sanding antler. It can have a strong smell at times, but some pieces I've turned have not been that bad. I've had some green wood that smelled far worse... :-o

If you're making pens, the harder and denser material near the points makes a nicer pen, IMHO. If you're picking your own material, look for antlers that have the least amount of curve. This will make your drilling easier and allow you to have more options when turning it.

I do not use a skew, although it can work very well on antler. I prefer to use a 1/4" Henry Taylor micro spindle gouge to turn my antler pens, using an Irish grind on the profile. For fine detail areas, I switch to a 3/16" micro spindle gouge, also with an Irish grind on the profile. It's a very easy material to work with and it cuts and finishes well. It can be on the abrasive side, so you will need to sharpen your tools frequently.

If your turning reveals the centre pithy area in the antler, you will need to fill it with a thick CA glue, or similar. It may take a few applications of CA to get every tiny area filled in this pithy area. The larger sections of the antler near the buttons make nice letter opener and magnifying glass handles.

Antler can be taken to a very high polish, resulting in a surface that looks like polished marble, or stone. The only real challenge with using it is drilling an accurate hole when the blank section is curved excessively. I solved this challenge by using a laser to assist with positioning the drill bit for an accurately centred hole. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Take care and best wishes to you and yours!

"Darrell Feltmate" wrote in news:NKZri.70914$tB5.57473@edtnps90:

Darrell, I've never turned antler or pens for that matter. I taken moose and white tails and the horns (antlers) have a very different texture. Moose antlers seemed to be hairier (when you cut into them, you can almost detect a fiber) than white tail antler. Again, never turned them, but I have carved them. I never noticed the blood and stink and stuff because I usually sawed them off (with a piece of skull) right after butchering. I normally store the anlers for some time before carving or mounting. It looks like I'm going to become a pen turner. I never intended to turn pens, but the man I recently bought my "new" lathe from included everything needed to turn pens (presses, trimmers, mandrels, bushings, drill bits etc.). Ordered 10 slimline kits to practice on. Regards and love your website, Hank