Thread: Scales in horn

One of the brush turners over here sent me some pieces of antler that are too small for brushes but look OK for scales.


My problem is I've only ever used flat plates for scale making so I'm looking for advice on how to go about this. Ideally I'd like to retain the outside 'bark' just rubbing down a little to get some highlights, but I don't have any ideas as to how to get the insides a uniform flatness once I divide them.

Any tips will be gratefully received.

Rob

My totally newb opinion would be to slab it with regards to the bark being what you are left with. Kinda like peeling back a banana. Then heat/press/mold the rough slabs to straighten them. Hopefully someone a little more knowledgeable will be along shortly.

Looks like red stag horn,if well aged,split it and work it down to scale thicknes,the one marked R would be my choich to start with.

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Looks like red stag horn,if well aged,split it and work it down to scale thicknes,the one marked R would be my choich to start with.

The one marked R is red deer and the S is for Sika. I started playing around with the left hand piece as it has the most natural and uniform scale shaped curve - cut it into two more or less uniform pieces using a pull saw amd then laid each side on a belt sander to work the thickness down. It's surprisingly easy to work with and far less smelly than bone or horn. The central honeycomb should be mostly sanded out by the time I get to the correct thickness and, I'm told that soaking in a 'wet-wood hardener' or CA stabilises it anyway.

An unknown to me is whether there's any flexibility along the length to accomodate a wedge or whether I shold use a spacer and work the inside scales if necessary. Any ideas?

There is very little flexibility. I have a razor with stag scales. They have a wedge, but the scales are still pretty stiff.

I worked on this since the first post and learned quite a lot along the way. Here's how they turned out.

Fantastic work

Nice job!!

absolutely awesome! we should be asking you for tips. did you get any images of the process?

I half expected chunky looking scales from antler but they are well proportined. Nice job.