Whitetail Antler Pen

[Travis White]

CA finish. Comments and questions welcome.
http://www.penturners.org/forum/albums/Penmonkey/DSC04729.JPG
Thanks for looking.

[Pete Jordan]

Very Nice!

Which kit is that?

[Jeff Myers]

WOW! That's a beauty!!! How does antler compare to wood in terms of
drilling for tubes and turning?

[Bernie Weishapl]

Beautiful Travis. Nice job.

[Kurt Rosenzweig]

Very cool! Is the red something that happens naturally or something you added?

[Barry Stratton]

Beautiful pen and perfect finish. Hope that isn't a scratch on the end cap:( ......... Is that a Baron kit??????

[Travis White]

It is a little hair on the end :) The kit came from CS USA, it is a statesman. Most antler is harder than wood but it is not too hard. The red is marrow, it adds a lot to the pen.

[Corey Hallagan]

Excellent Travis, that is some nice antler. Great job on the pen!

Corey

[Corey Hallagan]

Travis, how do you go about turning your antler. I mean, getting it square and drilling it. Do you pre rough turn it and then drill it and square the ends?

Corey

[Jim VanBramer]

Beautiful pen!!!
Say, my nephew's sending me a box of whitetail antlers next week, so I'm going to be giving it a try myself. What part of the antler did that come from ... it's very cool looking!
Thanks.

Jim V

[Frank Fusco]

Travis, how do you go about turning your antler. I mean, getting it square and drilling it. Do you pre rough turn it and then drill it and square the ends?

Corey

The answer to your question is: yes, no and maybe. ;)
Perhaps the trickiest part and biggest discouragement to turning pens from antler is the initial drilling of a straight hole through a curved piece. Expect failures, it is part of the process.
Some folks do turn between centers first.
Others sand, saw or mill a flat on one side to obtain an orientation before drilling. (this hasn't worked for me)
Others eyeball the straight line and drill. Sometimes adding prayers for help can be useful.
The 'eyeball' technique with the antler secured in a vise is how I do it.
Making pens from antler is never easy but the results are often worth the effort.
A small tine makes the best pen because there is more hard bone and the appearance is more pleasing. But small tines are very difficult to get the initial drill on and there isn't much to work with when turning.
Big tines are easier to drill. But as you turn down you lose the hard, attractive, bone and get more into the marrow.
It's a comprimise, balancing act.
BTW, have ventilation. Some folks can't stand the smell when working antler. I don't find it too bothersome.

[Ernie Nyvall]

Wow Travis, that's a beautiful pen.

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Great looking pen Travis! You did it proud!!:)