James Combs
02-28-2011, 11:17 PM
Yes it it is wood working. I had to make the plaque right!:D
I had made a 30-06 cartridge pen for a customer and when he came to pick it up he asked me if I could mount a set of antlers for him. Now I have never before mounted antlers so of course I said "yes, sure, I can mount them, not a problem":rolleyes:. I can also occasionally stick my foot in my mouth:o. However, this time I didn't stick it in so far that I choked. For a first I believe the mounting came out pretty good. I had to do some online research of course. Heck I didn't even know which way they were suppose to point or which one went on which side. I found a lot of mounting kits available but they didn't seem to apply to lose antlers. Most assumed that the section of the skull that holds the antlers is removed with the antlers and skull piece intact which of course would also maintain proper orientation. Anyway here is my version of lose antler mounting.:)
I had to make the shield plaque and the "manikin" head piece. The shield is made from solid 3/4"x12"x12" oak shaped, edge routed and lightly stained then finished with WOP.
The manikin is a piece of scrap poplar from an old piano leg shaped but w/o any finish.
184662 184669
I test fitted everything together and made sure that the antlers matched photos I found online.
184668
I covered the manikin with a layer of thin foam rubber and a layer of old terry cloth.
184667
At this point I call the customer in to select a color for the final covering. I offered Brown, Black, Red, Blue, and Green, he selected Brown. I liked the blue but...
184663
This is a comparison of the before and after treatment of the screw attachment. I hid the mounting screw under a mound of tan epoxy that I formed to resemble a small growth on the antler and stained it to match. This side turned out a little better then the other side.
184664
A close up of the screw mounting.
184666
You may have notice that the left antler is missing a "point". This is the reason the customer keep the antlers. Apparently when he shot the deer his bullet hit this antler knocking the deer out. When he got to it and was getting ready to field dress it it came too and had to wrestle it down an cut it's throat to finish it.
184665
Comments appreciated.
I had made a 30-06 cartridge pen for a customer and when he came to pick it up he asked me if I could mount a set of antlers for him. Now I have never before mounted antlers so of course I said "yes, sure, I can mount them, not a problem":rolleyes:. I can also occasionally stick my foot in my mouth:o. However, this time I didn't stick it in so far that I choked. For a first I believe the mounting came out pretty good. I had to do some online research of course. Heck I didn't even know which way they were suppose to point or which one went on which side. I found a lot of mounting kits available but they didn't seem to apply to lose antlers. Most assumed that the section of the skull that holds the antlers is removed with the antlers and skull piece intact which of course would also maintain proper orientation. Anyway here is my version of lose antler mounting.:)
I had to make the shield plaque and the "manikin" head piece. The shield is made from solid 3/4"x12"x12" oak shaped, edge routed and lightly stained then finished with WOP.
The manikin is a piece of scrap poplar from an old piano leg shaped but w/o any finish.
184662 184669
I test fitted everything together and made sure that the antlers matched photos I found online.
184668
I covered the manikin with a layer of thin foam rubber and a layer of old terry cloth.
184667
At this point I call the customer in to select a color for the final covering. I offered Brown, Black, Red, Blue, and Green, he selected Brown. I liked the blue but...
184663
This is a comparison of the before and after treatment of the screw attachment. I hid the mounting screw under a mound of tan epoxy that I formed to resemble a small growth on the antler and stained it to match. This side turned out a little better then the other side.
184664
A close up of the screw mounting.
184666
You may have notice that the left antler is missing a "point". This is the reason the customer keep the antlers. Apparently when he shot the deer his bullet hit this antler knocking the deer out. When he got to it and was getting ready to field dress it it came too and had to wrestle it down an cut it's throat to finish it.
184665
Comments appreciated.