Laser Engraving Ivory

[Chris DeGerolamo]

Has anyone worked with real ivory with respect to lasering? Any stories, comments or recommendations are appreciated.

[Frank Corker]

It stinks a bit when you cut it. You need to watch your frequency settings because it will burn and char if it is too high. Engraves nicely but doesn't leave very dark marks, so infilling is important consideration. I would say be careful when you make your tests and do small areas in order to do them, it's a difficult medium to access these days and strict laws governing it's use.

[Dee Gallo]

I've engraved a bit of it and get a very dark mark using 40 speed/100 power at 600 dpi. It does stink kind of like hair. The best source for thin pieces is old piano keys or new old stock. You cannot import it from other countries unless you want a lot of trouble.

cheers, dee

[Bruce Volden]

The ivory I've engraved has turned out VERY nice! Prior to engraving I waxed my pieces with Johnsons Paste wax to seal things up. Then engraved and colored filled yadayada and finalized the pieces by cleaning them up. No problems, charge accordingly. By the way where did you get the ivory? I got mine from a trading post in Washington, they sold it by the thickness I wanted. I see places selling it now by the gram???? It is beautiful stuff but way too pricey anymore. I would also recommend a "faux" ivory by several of the solid surface manufacturers. Something to think about.

Bruce

[Andrea Weissenseel]

I read that boxwood is supposed to be a good substitute for ivory, never seen anything made out of it in real.

Andrea

[Belinda Barfield]

I purchased some ivory blanks from Boone Trading Company. I was very happy with the product, customer service, etc.

[Viktor Voroncov]

I did two times in my life, quality was good, but smell

[Chris DeGerolamo]

Thank you for all the responses. I will be sure to post my results should I move forward on this project.

After a bit of discussion, we are not going to use real ivory but instead use a faux ivory. Does anyone know where I would be able to get belt buckle blanks? I have searched with little result..I think I may be looking for the wrong thing.

[George D Gabert]

That might be a good canidate for some Corian. Easy to engrave and the fixings should be easy to find.

GDG

[Dee Gallo]

Thank you for all the responses. I will be sure to post my results should I move forward on this project.

After a bit of discussion, we are not going to use real ivory but instead use a faux ivory. Does anyone know where I would be able to get belt buckle blanks? I have searched with little result..I think I may be looking for the wrong thing.

Chris, search for "casein" and you will find what is also known as "french ivory", which is a fake ivory with streaks replicating real ivory grain.

cheers, dee

[Pete Bejmuk]

there's also a certain large tree-nut that makes for a very good replacement for ivory. it's not very big (about 3 inches max) but works for small inlays.

[Dee Gallo]

there's also a certain large tree-nut that makes for a very good replacement for ivory. it's not very big (about 3 inches max) but works for small inlays.

Oh yeah - I forgot about "vegetable ivory" from the ivory nut tree. It's possibly just big enough for a belt buckle - maybe?

[Dave Gates]

For belt buckle blanks...there are several people on Etsy selling a few designs. I have a few left over from an old job if you'd like one.

[Ray Mighells]

Legal ivory is available on ebay

[Chuck Stone]

Very nice, Chris .. I'm engraving that same image on faux ivory (vanilla corian) as we speak.