[LWKINDER]

I am curious if and how anyone makes Ivory and Antler Beads? I picked up a bunch of scrap and I would like to turn it into some nice beads but have nothing but inner visualization as to go about it. Any suggestions for me?
I picked up a Taig Lathe to give it a try, but frankly I have used a lathe once and that was about 20 years ago
Thanks.
Lee

[wunderlich]

Hi Lee,

here is a link to an article of the Society of American Silversmiths that deals about ivory. You may be interested in this Book ( its stated that is somewhere free in the internet - have a look around for it).

Karl

[Ed Twilbeck]

I have turned some Antler, several years ago. I found that a scraping tool works better than a cutting tool.
Keep a shop vac or some dust removal system on when doing this.
The scraping and sanding on the lathe worked well for me. I made a couple of pens out of antler. Sanded down with 400 grit paper, then polished out with polishing compunds, then waxed with carnuba. They came out nice, but the dust was hard to deal with.
I hope this helps you
Ed

[T Paulsen]

LWKINDER, on Jan 28 2008, 12:02 AM, said:

I am curious if and how anyone makes Ivory and Antler Beads?Lee

You might want to go to this site, has a tutorial on stone beads, and how he makes them. Used this technique for a few jade and common opal beads last year for Christmas presents

here is the link

http://www.lopacki.com/howto/