[MikeG]

G'day all,
My first foray into bone carving.
Still not finished as I need to polish it up now. I picked something relatively simple but something I could learn a lot from, so this is a (sort of !!) copy of one of Stephen Myhre's works from his book on Bone Carving. I love Stephens lashings but still trying to learn and figure out how he's done them (despite a diagram in the book) which is why I've opted on this humble effort to just drill a hole and put a finding through it. It measures 40mm X 25mm. Will put up a pic if the polishing turns out !!
Cheers
Mike.



Here is it polished
Hmmmmm ...... doesn't look it in the photo, but it is. Didn't get as high a polish as I wanted, was using brasso and the dremel to polish it. Ended up putting a buffing wheel on a bench grinder and found that a lot quicker and easier as long as you held the piece securely. Will also have to experiment using the peroxide as you can see little flaws in the bone (and will have to sand the next one a bit better). But for a first attempt I'm very happy with it and there is something satisfying about working with bone. Next piece will also be an easy one so I can learn some more from the processes.

Anyone please feel free to comment and give advice. Pick it to pieces if you want (but also say what you would have done) ...... constructive criticism is the only way I'll learn.
Cheers
Mike.

[Don Barnhill]

Nice, thanks for sharing the photo.

[Janel]

Hi Mike,

Thank you for showing the photos. The side light helps show the surface better in the second photo. I have questions for you: Is Brasso a colored powder for polishing? Do you have fine files and multiple grades of sandpapers to use for finishing the surface before using a polishing powder?

The constructive criticism part from my perspective begins with the interrupted line you have created with this form. Slight wobbles and deviations from a straight outline or intentional flat surface stand out to my eye here. The bottom of the inside V is not an intersection of clean straight lines. Careful use with a file and the hand finishing would correct that. The plane that arcs around on the left side from top to bottom seems to have a bump in it. That also would be corrected with more care with a file and finishing. To my eyes, when the intention is to present straight lines and planes the energy is diminished by the little wobbles.

I am wondering about the nature of the material you used when seeing the places where there are holes or roughness. Is that the porosity of the bone?

So much of the success of the piece depends on what your goals are. I understand that this is your first attempt and look forward to watching your work progress.

For wood, mammoth tusk, amber and antler, my own arsenal of sand paper and emery cloth ranges from 50 to 12,000. Most often used are 320, 400 and 600 for wood, and for dense and shiny woods up to 2000 or on to the emery cloths for polish. Much attention is paid to removing the scratches left by the previous grade of paper. Also, much of the surface is now planed smooth by sharp tools so there is much less left to be sanded. All of the sanding is done by hand since the rotary tool is difficult to control in tiny spaces. At the end, if a gloss is sought, the buffing wheel attachment bit is used, or vigorous rubbing against my jeans or a with a cloth.

Perhaps the other bone carvers will contribute on how to approach the surface finishing. I imagine that Brasso is not the ultimate or ideal polishing compound, though it may be the only thing you have on hand at the moment. Look at your tooth paste to see if it has silica in it... that is likely a much finer abrasive powder than in the cleanser.

Janel

[MikeG]

Thanks Janel,
Learned a lot from this first one. You are right about the porosity of the bone, but had to stop somewhere. Every time I'd smooth off to get rid of porosity more would show up elsewhere. grrrr. Brasso was the only thing I could get hold of to polish (drawback of living in a small town population 900). Interesting what you mention about toothpaste, I'l have to give that a go and a foray into town is coming up very quickly !!

After looking at it for a day, I agree that I've made this one too angular. Doesn't flow enough and I've been too stingy with the size of bone. Also relied too heavily on the use of the dremel. Need to learn more about it's use for specific purposes. Done a lot of research last night and will have to look at hand gravers, more use of files and what was almost non-existent ..... proper sandpaper.

Thanks for the critique, you've given me a few areas and ideas to follow up on.
Cheers
Mike.

[Don Barnhill]

Janel, Brasso is made for polishing metal. I first encountered it in the military. We used it to shine our brass.
I have a question for you also, do you burnish your carvings?
Mike, toothpaste is an abrasive and we also used it to polish our brass when Brasso was not available. Does the Brasso not stain the bone?
I haven't tried bone carving yet, unless you class antler as bone.
Looking forward to seeing more of your work in the future.

BTW, I use a metal graver to cut lines (hair, wrinkles, etc) as well as scraping when carving antler. They are rather inexpensive and will hold an edge for a long time when used on bone. I also use my carving knife, but it dulls it rather quickly. For an inexpensive handle I used a small file handle on my graver. Works great for me.

[Yuri]

Brasso is a very fine polishing compound suspended in a liquid that has all sort of things, including ammonia (for cleaning), It smells it, too. The grain size of the actual polishing thingy will be at least the equivalent of P1200, probably finer. There is also Silvo, that is finer, and goes easier on the ammonia.
What I used to do when I still used it was to soak a rag with Brasso, liberally, then leave it to dry out completely. Then use it as very fine sandpaper. This way the liquid doesn't have any effect on the bone, which otherwise it does. It turns the bone slightly yellow, for one thing. You can also use it on a polishing cloth, the sort you put into a grinder or whatever. (The revolving kind)

[Janel]

Mike, Sand paper of higher numbers, perhaps up to 2000 grit, may be found in the auto body repair section at auto parts stores. Hardware stores in the town nearest us may go to 400, and may not. Wood worker's stores may have emery cloth varieties.

When polishing amber and mammoth tusk, I use a plexi-glass scratch remover, which must have an extremely fine abrasive in it. It renders a very fine shine when used by hand or on a cloth wheel running at slow speed on my micro-grinder.


Don, On occasion parts of some pieces are burnished deliberately. Other pieces may take a shine after any finish has set by rubbing with a cloth or brush. It all depends on what it needs. One more recent example is the centipede http://janeljacobson...rvings/409.html . I wet the background to raise the grain and de-shine it, then burnished the raised design elements to create a contrast without adding color. I did not add any oil or finish to this piece of wood, because anything else would have negated the contrast.

Antler is not bone.

Janel

[Yuri]

Antler, strictly speaking, is composed of fairly much the same material as bone, except the structure is completely different. It resemples a sponge under the magnifying glass, rather than a piece of wood, like the bone.
You can get up to 10 000 grit sandpaper in lapidary supplies places.

[Don Barnhill]

Janel,
Thanks for the look at the centipede, very nice work.

[MikeG]

Janel,
Yep have discovered the use of fine sandpaper on another practice piece !!!! Man, it polishes up really well with very little polish if it's sanded properly. Got onto White Rouge and a proper buffing wheel. Also invested in a foot pedal operated micro grinder (which can also be used for jade carving), rather than a dremel which keeps running out of battery power. Just need to score a desk so I can work indoors as winter is coming on. As someone once mentioned to me ........ this can be addictive !
Cheers
Mike.

[Janel]

Mike,

It would be a good idea to learn about dust capturing and filtering for bone and wood working, and for working stone with water to trap the dusts. Stone workers have discussed it here, and there are topics that include a variety of solutions for dust capturing at various carving benches. It is very important to not breath the dusts of any material you work with. Some dusts are more harmful than others, but all are harmful to your lungs.

It is good news that you found a micro grinder! A carving bench/desk would be helpful. Take a look through the archives and see how others have arrived at working places for carving.

Winter coming on, you are in the southern hemisphere? Our snow is just melting away in a week of fog, clouds and rain where we live.

Janel

[MikeG]

Hi Janel,
I'm in Australia, in a small town in Victoria (pop 900). The two dogs and cat are eating like there's no tomorrow and always after more food. The mice are active everywhere around here and getting very game and daring, much to the delight of the cat ! I think it might be both an early and very cold winter down my way so I've already got a more than adequate supply of wood in to see me through to next summer.
Cheers
Mike.

[Sandy Seton-Browne]

The better the sanded finish the less staining you get from wet brasso, using it dried on cloth or buff works better without staining much at all, gives a very glassy finish to shiny depending on surfce preparation and length of buffing.

Can make bone look like plastic if overdone
Sandy