Thread: How Do I Turn These Into Bone Scales?

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to make bone scales from a fresh beef femur bone (I have since read that hind shin bones have thicker portions of usable bone, but let's not get sidetracked). I have cut the bone lengthwise into three long pieces and am trying to turn those into scale blanks.

Something like this:


But I don't have many tools at my disposal. I used a hacksaw so far, and am trying to use a belt sander (don't worry, I know the hazards of inhaling bone dust) to "plane" the pieces into blanks from which I can cut my scales. The belt sander is a very slow process and is really heating up the bone. I would like to use some sort of saw for this step instead. The problem is that I don't have a table saw.
This is what one piece of bone looks like so far:



What methods/tools would you recommend at this point?

Originally Posted by MisterLewisR

How Do I Turn These Into Bone Scales?

Have you tried "Abracadabra"?








OK, not very useful.....

If you have a bandsaw, that is the way to go.

I used a bandsaw to get mine as far down as possible, and then from there used a belt sander with a 36 grit belt to eat away at it quickly.

It was a pain. Cut down the slab into pieces before going to the belt sander will speed it up a bit.


check out this thread for a couple in process pics:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/galle...-5-8-bone.html

Seraphim, I didn't try Abracadabra...But I DID sit there for a good ten or eleven minutes putting the bones into my top hat and taking them out again. Then I saw the neighbor watching me with a concerned look on her face and decided to try another tack.

Unfortunately, I don't have a band saw.

Wow, great job on those scales, Undream. You just helped me make up my mind about whether or not to bleach the bone. Thanks for the link.
You couldn't overstate how difficult it is to find flat slabs of bone. To make things worse, the scales I am making need to be a bit over-sized as they will go on a 9/8 chopper with a long blade that I am restoring. That's why I am trying to get as large a flat portion as possible before I plan to make shapes with the coping saw.

Speaking of losing fingers, I think I will have to try the jigsaw, or at least some coarser grit on the belt sander; all I had was 80. You'll know how it went if my next post is missing all the letters from the right side of the keyboard.

Hmm, and they thought those cow mutilations were done by aliens eh? Now we know.

This is turning into a vey funny thread, I about blew coffee out of my nose with the "putting the bones in a hat and the naighbor looking at me funny." LOL that is good!!!

i used a bench grinder and cross cut file then placed the piece on granite tile (to insure flat surface) and hit it with my sander and 60 grit... took a while but no "special" tools.... just good ole fashion elbow grease with a big dose of patience

You can saw the bone with a coping saw. It is not as easy as with a band saw but it works. Go slow, and buy several packs of coping saw blades and change them when they get dull.

A double cut file or rasp for the rough flattening then rub the bone on a full sheet of sandpaper on a flat surface, use coarse paper to start out with 40? 60? grit. Belts for belt sanders are usually better quality then sheet paper that comes from a big box store, A cut up 40 grit belt on a flat surface would make for a long nice sanding surface.

Search for Buddels post on working with fresh bone.

Charlie

Why not pick up a bone saw?

18" BUTCHER'S HAND MEAT and BONE SAW new butcher on eBay!