Ron Smith: I need antler help

[Noah Alkinburgh]

Ron or any other turners who have done stuff from antler, I need some pointers.

I recently was able to obtain some antler and would like to get some information.

So my questions are, how do I cut, drill, turn etc. I think remember reading about boiling or something...is that necessary? Any pointers, reccomendations on articles, or reading material would be great.

Thanks

Noah

[Ron Smith ... Richmond, VA]

Ron or any other turners who have done stuff from antler, I need some pointers ... It wasn't a very old buck so the rack is pretty small, but I was thinking I might be able to get a pen or posible 1.5 pens out of it. So my questions are, how do I cut, drill, turn etc. I think remember reading about boiling or something...is that necessary? Any pointers, reccomendations on articles, or reading material would be great.

Thanks

Noah

Noah,

You don't have to do anything special with antler to turn it. Once the velvet is off, the inner core dries up and quits supplying blood through the vessels. This leaves the entire antler without fluids. Granted on a fresh antler, the inner marrow may be a little spongy, but this is what you usually drill through anyway and a lot of it is removed. The boiling you refer to is done with cow horn to remove the inner core. The inner core on antler can't be removed and dries out so the antler can be shed yearly.

Take your brass tube and lay it on the horn, mark a straight piece the correct length and cut it on your bandsaw. Treat it just as you would any wood blank. Be careful as you drill to make sure you have it lined up properly, so the drill bit won't come out the side, especially if you're having to work with a small diameter piece.

Cutting to get a decent piece and drilling are the difficult part. Then you glue in your tubes and turn, taking nice small, smooth cuts. It turns like a fine grained wood. If you want, you can leave some of the outer texture to make the pen look "authentic" if using a small piece. Have fun with it, and by the way, I also carry a hacksaw in the truck, just in case I find some along the highway. I've found two sets so far this year. Here is a photo of three pens I turned this morning and some antlers I acquired over the weekend.

[Noah Alkinburgh]

Ron,

Fantastic!

I don't have a bandsaw so I will be cutting by hand. I will square up on the disc sander. Thanks for the info and I am glad to know I am not the only crazy person out there handling road kill :)

Noah

[Eric Apple - Central IN]

Noah,

You better check with the PA game commision. I think having fresh deer parts without a deer tag in PA could set you up with a hefty fine. It's worth a call.

[Todd Burch]

Quick question - can antler be bent, perhaps being softened first by boiling or steaming? Todd.

[Noah Alkinburgh]

Noah,

You better check with the PA game commision. I think having fresh deer parts without a deer tag in PA could set you up with a hefty fine. It's worth a call.

Good thought! I will make sure I don't carry them around with me too ;)

Seriously I never considered that I will have to look into it...having a fine could really raise the cost of a pen :) Might be worth buying a hunting liscense.

Noah

[Charles McKinley]

Hi Noah,

Here in the fine Comunism of Pennsylvania you better ask about the legality of selling the pens made from wild animal parts. It has been a long time since I read the laws but there used to be restrictions on selling animal parts. The game commission needs something to justify there existance.

DO NOT tell them you have picked up antlers from road kill already. Call and ask them on a purely hypothetical basis.

If they say it is alright and you start making these pens it would be a good idea the call and ask them if the laws have changed at least once a year.

You do not want problems with the game comission. They can take years to go away.

[Noah Alkinburgh]

Charles,

Thanks for the heads up. Boy this is unbelievable! I never thought of anything like this. Anyway, I looked up the game code and here it the rules: Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the purchase ...or the sale or purchase of any inedible part thereof, from game or wildlife lawfully killed, if such parts are disposed of by the original owner within 90 days after the close of the season in which the game or wildlife was taken. Prior to selling parts of game or wildlife under the provisions of this subsection, all edible parts shall be removed

So, I am iffy at best. Since these ones are for personal use I think I am all good, but will be more careful in the future. Thanks so much for looking out for me.

Noah


Hi Noah,

Here in the fine Comunism of Pennsylvania you better ask about the legality of selling the pens made from wild animal parts. It has been a long time since I read the laws but there used to be restrictions on selling animal parts. The game commission needs something to justify there existance.

DO NOT tell them you have picked up antlers from road kill already. Call and ask them on a purely hypothetical basis.

If they say it is alright and you start making these pens it would be a good idea the call and ask them if the laws have changed at least once a year.

You do not want problems with the game comission. They can take years to go away.

[Peter Lyon]

after roughing the antler to size, you'll likely have to saturate it with CA glue due porosity (sp?) of the marrow. Also, if I were you I would seriously consider purchasing a barrel trimmer for this. I've made many pens (100?) out of moose, elk, deer (mule, white tail, and red) antler and the hardest part is squaring the piece to the barrel on the end.

Oh yeah, prepare for an odor... kind of like the burning smell of enamel from the dentist office :D

[Terry Quiram]

Noah

I buy antlers from a local locker for $5.00 a pair. I will be contacting him again in January after all the hunting seasons close. Granted they are not big trophy sets, but big enough for pens and bobbles.

Terry

[Steve Rybicki]

I don't think you'll get into any trouble with the possession of antlers without a tag. If you look at ebay, you'll find hundreds of antler carvings and pieces for sale every day. I don't imagine ebay would allow an illegal activity to go on for years on their site. I personally have dozens of antler sets, from years of hunting. None of them still have the original tag on them. In fact, none of my friend's mounts do either.

Most hunting regulations state that you can't be in possession of the meat without a tag. The antlers have to have a tag on them while at a taxidermist, but I've never seen any other regulation on them.

Still, it's worth checking into. Let us know what you find out.

[Julie Wright]

Does anyone know where I can aquire some antler? THere are not to many deer running around Charleston SC. I want to make a pen for a friend who just started to date a guy who is a really big hunter.
I think she would really love to give him one. I am always showing her the different pens I make.
Sorry to ramble, thanks for your help in advance.
Julie

[Peter Lyon]

Does anyone know where I can aquire some antler? THere are not to many deer running around Charleston SC. I want to make a pen for a friend who just started to date a guy who is a really big hunter.
I think she would really love to give him one. I am always showing her the different pens I make.
Sorry to ramble, thanks for your help in advance.
Julie


Julie,

If I recall correctly Penn State sells deer antler in small quantities. My last purhase was through a place in Oregon that I found on the web after searching for "antler". This place not only had very reasonable prices but had a large variety of species as well. I suggest just typing in antler on Google and see what turns up.

FWIW, there is little to no difference in antler between species.

[Steve Rybicki]

Julie,

There are tons of them on ebay.

[Ron Smith ... Richmond, VA]

Does anyone know where I can aquire some antler?
Julie

If nothing else, you might try E-Bay ... someone always has antler for sale there. You have to be a little selective because of some of the outrageous prices on certain items though. You also might look for Hunt Clubs or Shooting Ranges around your area. Calling or stopping by one of these may result in a hunter having an extra set lying around gathering dust. Good luck and be sure and post a pict when done!

Ron

[Dale Thompson]

Noah,
Antler pens are great and in much demand. I'm not a hunter but I was lucky enought to have a cousin who was married to a state patrolman. He carried a small saw in his squad car and supplied me from road killed deer. I don't know about Pennsylvania but, in Wisconsin, the possession of antlers is probably not a firing squad offense. He had the audacity to retire. Now I'm in a quandry. The rednecks up here would rather GIVE you their kids and dogs than SELL you a set of antlers.

The subject of blanks has already been covered. It's the toughest part. I win some and I lose some but the ones that I win come out looking more like ceramic than deer horn. To minimize the chance of a "win" blank splitting from heat during drilling, I talked my Doctor into a prescription for hypodermic needles. He bought my story because he knows that I scream and faint every time he gives me a shot. Anyway, I use them to inject water into the blank during drilling. I also use the needles to "inject" glue into 1/4" dovetail joints.

As far as the odor is concerned, the same Doc, who is also a coroner, suggested that I use a common dust mask sprinkled with a few drops of after-shave. It worked great but, realistically, the smell becomes a non-factor after turning a few antler pens.

Good Luck with your antler pens. They are WELL worth the extra effort!!

Dale T.