Thread: When is it ok to beat children into pulp and paste?

Magpie,

I have read all your post and you never mentioned dad at all and other comments you made lead me to believe he is not in the picture. If the girl has always been respectful before and is acting out now she may be wanting a male influence in her life and you may be the closes person to that for her.

Personally, I LIKE the idea of whacking the kid about the head and shoulders with a wombat. Even more so if her younger sister were watching.
Thats the sort of thing that gets told at family reunions for generations to come! " and then crazy uncle magpie pulled out a wombat and started smacking her on the head with it, and he sat on her and brushed her teeth with its tail..." "it was so funny!" "SHUT UP!" " I HATE That story!"

Originally Posted by Magpie

Personally, I LIKE the idea of whacking the kid about the head and shoulders with a wombat. Even more so if her younger sister were watching.
Thats the sort of thing that gets told at family reunions for generations to come! " and then crazy uncle magpie pulled out a wombat and started smacking her on the head with it, and he sat on her and brushed her teeth with its tail..." "it was so funny!" "SHUT UP!" " I HATE That story!"

... That is the stuff of nightmares, and years of therapy.

On a positive note, I FOUND THE BROKEN PIECE! Thank goodness! Now a repair can at least be attempted.

I'm sure when you get done with it, you won't even be able to tell it's been broken. Good luck with it.

Not sure if I am going to take on this one. I'm good, but I have no experience with this material. I will think about it, but I may end up sending it off to a restorer with more skills.

Originally Posted by Magpie

Not sure if I am going to take on this one. I'm good, but I have no experience with this material. I will think about it, but I may end up sending it off to a restorer with more skills.

Found this on the Society of American Silversmiths website (Society of American Silversmiths - Working With Ivory)

Glues:

Gluing ivory and finding the right glue can be problematic. Ivory has a creamy texture and, on a molecular scale, it is oily - hence it does not like to be glued. Elmer’s white glue works in many applications. Epoxy glues seem to work well in most inlays into flat grain wood but they tend to push ivory out in side grain applications. CA glues work great if the ivory and its counterpart are very smooth flat surfaces - we just do not know the life span of CA. For most applications I use a 55% PVA resin glue ( high strength white glue - it is like Elmer's Glue-all on steroids). In most applications one needs to clamp the ivory while gluing because the moisture in the glue will cup and pull the ivory until the moisture in the glue has flashed off. Clamp for 48 or more hours. Hide glue and fish glue work well. Titanium dioxide added as a whitener will allow the glue to dry white, thus aiding thin ivory applications with the age-old problem of translucency.

Please note - sealing the end grain of ivory with super glue (several coats) is an excellent way of protecting the ivory from cracking. This is most applicable to cue joint faces and to knife handles, especially where the ivory is fitted up against metal bolsters as the bolsters get hot during buffing and send heat into the ivory causing cracking. The CA glue will help as will caution and speed control of buffing.

Looks like it might be more of an adventure than one might prefer, so sending it off to someone with more experience with ivory sounds like a good idea.

Originally Posted by Jimbo

you could do the old fashion thing and insist she "work it off" so to speak around your house or wherever - cleaning, yard work, something constructive. Might even be good for her. However, that kind of thing doesn't seem to be in fashion with parents nowadays for some reason.

That's exactly what I got when I was a know-it-all teen. I had to work all summer for putting a dent in the front door. Strip and paint both sheds. Re-shingle the sheds. Mow and weed eat. Plant trees. Rebuild the porch. Fill in holes that the dog would dig up. Cut back the branches from the house.

Man I will tell you... you learn fast when you work off your debt.

Ya have to go to Mom and Dad - who are, after all, your friends - and admit that, as much as the situation sucks, you need to hold the daughter responsible for having irreparably damaged something of tremendous personal and objective monetary value that is for the most part irreplaceable.

As their friend, the reason you are asking is because there is a teachable moment -- after all, you won't really be able to replace the scales and you likely won't get them back into original condition (though I have no doubt you'll try).

If they are true friends, they will understand.

And if the friendship is lost over this, a razor - however much craftsmanship went into the now-illegal scale material - is a small price to pay to get a selfish person/couple/family out of your life.

As a kid I never got a wooping I didnt deserve,However, with a fourteen year old girl,If mom did'nt do anything, I think your boned. But theres always Karma....maybe it'll catch up with her.