turning deer antler into pens

[John Nowack]

I drew my uncles name for chistmas--would like to turn him a pen from some dear antlers he has collected over the years. I currently only have 7 mm mandrel and slim line pen kits that I turn into various thickness pens.

Most of the bone or antler pens I have seen seem to be to be a differnt kind of kit.

Basically the questions are:
Any pointers on turinng and preping blanks for turning antlers (they are not very big)
Do you think 7 mm pen line with work to creat something for him.
Can you finish is with standard sand paper and friction polish

I am a novice so the less complicated the better

Thaks for you advise

[John Hart]

John,
Last year, my Amish neighbor asked me to turn him a bunch of antler pens for a school auction. I had a half dozen slimline kits and a half dozen Americana kits to work with. Both went well and I varied the shapes somewhat on the slimlines to offer some uniqueness to each piece. I found the antler to be fairly pleasurable, although the smell of burning hair eventually got on my nerves.:rolleyes:

But, all in all it went well. The subtle color variations in the antlers made it an art to cut the blanks just right. Remember that there is marrow in the center and the solid colorful part is around the outside. Also remember that the actual material left after turning is very thin.....sooooo...if you drill down through the center of the marrow, there's a good chance that your pen will be mostly marrow, which is a "rough" look and feel. If you drill at an angle, you'll get some rough and smooth variations over the length of the pen.

Try to keep your two blanks matched up from the same antler section. The color variations from antler to antler are just enough to glare obviously in the finished product.

I didn't put a finish on mine. I just micromeshed to 32000 using water....but I'm sure that a clear friction polish will work ok. I would avoid any finish with any amount of color though.....because of the marrow and smooth nature of the antler....you'll get blotchy results.

They were all sold at the auction. So I felt pretty good about that.:)

[Bobby Perry]

Here are a few I have done. I just finish with a clear coat of poly. I don't really mind the smell that much the DC takes care of most of it.

[Alex Elias]

If you run into a lot of marrow doue to the thikness of the pen you could satbilise the blank with some ca to fill the pores and get it smoother. Use a respirator first because it does smell pretty bad also I don't think the powder of the antler is good for you. As for the finish you could use a friction finish.
Good luck and show us the pens when yu are done.
Regards,
Alex

[David Fried]

I did one for a friend who gave me a couple of antlers. The only thing I found tricky was figuring out how to hold them and align them when drilling the hole through them. (They were curved and not much bigger than the pen)

In the end I had a pretty precarious clamp set up and managed to pull it off but I doubt I could have done more without drilling through a side. As it was, my holes were pretty off center.

I soaked mine in water which I was told would help with the smell. Having only done it once I have no basis for comparison but it was still smelly turning!

Maybe if I just gone around spraying lacquer :rolleyes:

[Greg Savage]

I've done a few fountain pens from whitetail deer antler and a few bottle stoppers with elk antler. As posted before, it does smell and creates some nasty dust when sanding , so wear a mask. BTW...You should get a whiff of Mammoth Ivory!!!!! YIKES!!!!! Best advice is to make light cuts and TAKE YOUR TIME!!!!!!! I have had good results when finishing using the Beall buffing system and Ren. Wax as a final coating for protection.

Good Luck!

[michael gallagher]

Here are a few I have done. I just finish with a clear coat of poly. I don't really mind the smell that much the DC takes care of most of it.

Bobby-

can't tell from the picture - Is that a spent 30-06 cartridge for the bottom of the pen? If so, you've just inspired me.

[Bobby Perry]

First picture is a 308 second picture is a 308 on top 30-30 on bottom Last picture is a 30-30. I just did a 458 elephant gun cartriage for a guy in a fountain pen.

[Grant Wilkinson]

John

I've done a few now, all Cigars, but I would think that what works for one kit will work for them all.
If you don't have any straight pieces, you can boil the antler, and clamp it straight. When it dries, it will stay straight. Boiling doesn't stink, so you can do it in the kitchen.
As others have said, turn slowly with very sharp tools. If you hit marrow, stop immediately and flood the marrow with thin CA. Otherwise, it is soft enough that you will tear it out.

[John Nowack]

as always great advise. I turned a couple and my wife threatened to leave me:eek: (at least for the day until the smell went away:D )
. Great idea about straightening them I will have to try it so get more out of the raw product I have

[Dean Thomas]

Another thought is to use the straightest segment of antler that you have and couple it with some other jazzy material. If you're fortunate enough to get some antler chunks that are straight enough and long enough and not too fat so as to get some antler color on the whole length of the pen, you're a very fortunate turner. Most racks I've ever seen have mostly tight curves. They'll make you work for your pens.

Don't forget pix when you make your choices! And don't forget that we all learn something from the pix. Some of my own pix teach others how NOT to design things! :p

[Bobby Perry]

I use a lot of Axis deer horn too. They have long strait pieces.

[Jim Doyle]

I learned from Bobby down here on the Texas coast. He does great work with antlers and cartridges.. Here's an Axis on the left and a white-tail deer/cartridge combo on the right...

Hope I don't mess this up....first post on this board.. Was looking for improvements on finishing antlers...and you guys came thru...

[Tom Wakeley]

Here is a design for whitetail antlers I came up with. I wanted something that showed unturned antler. It might not show in the pictures but the bottom barrels have some natural, unturned curves. I have made 8-10 similar to these. If these pics come through it will be the first time I have been able to do it on my own. Here's hoping.

These are not too balanced for writing but they look good on a desk. I will see if I can figure out how to photograph and post a couple more.

Tom

[Mark Hix]

I have made several different styles of pens with antler. The Sierra (middle pen in the group shot) was the easiest and the Cigar showed the most antler. One of the tricks is to try to select antler that is closest to the finished size of your pen so that you are not worried about marrow and can get some of the color of the antler in the pen. The smell is bad. Dryer antler is better. I have some that is over 30 years old. It still smells but not as bad as the younger stuff. I added a small fan close to the lathe (no DC system yet) and it helped. I ususally leave them w/o a finish because the softer finishes wear off too fast. If you want whiter pens, soak them in peroxide. A sharp skew and light cuts are a must.