gumamelagomez Posted February 15, 2014 Report Share Posted February 15, 2014 Hi everyone! I've recently started working with cow skulls and came across this site as I was looking for tips. Thank you Janel for accepting me on here I'm from the Philippines and grew up on a cattle farm so I do have easy access to cow skulls. I once saw a really pretty carved skull in a store in Sydney and thought I could learn how to do that. I've always very much enjoyed making things (I used to make beaded jewelry) and am quite excited to be starting carving! I'm working with a dremel 4000, as well as whatever I can find in the local hardware stores. When it comes to specialized pieces, the selection in Manila leaves a lot to be desired so I make do with what I can find. I'm happy to be on here and look forward to all the ideas and advice! Here's the first skull I'm working on. Not yet as intricate as I want but I'm figuring it out as I go along Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony N Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 love your work so far keep up the good work have you tried buying bur bits on line from over seas of try jewellery suppliers they have bone carving bur bits and you might even ge a fret saw for cutting bone by the way welcome from new Zealand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gumamelagomez Posted March 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2014 thanks fro the reply tony! yes, so far, the bits and burs have been coming from online orders. still working on making friends with the local jewelers i appreciate the encouragement will look into a fret saw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janel Posted March 8, 2014 Report Share Posted March 8, 2014 Hello gumamelagomez, I know that many people use power carving tools almost exclusively when carving bone and other materials. I use power tools to begin for roughing out the excess material, and then switch to hand tools to do the expressive detail work. Granted, I have carved only one piece in bone so I am not the end all of information about bone carving tools. I used my wood tools for that work with great success. Sharpening the tools was important. You can see my tools on my web site in the section about tools. The cutting faces are from about 1/2 inch to 1 mm, so many different cuts and scrapes can be done with them. These tools will help to create clear lines at transition points between shapes, and can remove tool marks left by the rotary bits without using sand paper, or will prep the surface for the finest grits of sand paper towards a polish, so could be less time spent with sanding. I make the tools from O-1 drill rod, shape them, then harden and temper. It is fun to make shapes that are not available commercially to us who need small tools. You will also note that there are a number of re-purposed dental tools. I shape those, careful to not make them hot if using a grinding wheel, and do not harden or temper them. When you think about dental tools, they are designed for teeth and bone, so you may find befriending a dentist or two might net you some good tools easily. I look forward to see where you go with carving! Janel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gumamelagomez Posted March 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2014 thank you for the tips janel! i am actually related to a dentist and a doctor, who has promised to keep an eye out for useful bits from his orthopedic friends. will let you know if and when that works out. i'm currently only using dremel bits and a set of carbide burs that my dremel guy found for me. (dremel isn't sold in the bis stores here and i found a guy who sells hobby tools... he's sort of my new best friend ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David G Posted March 16, 2014 Report Share Posted March 16, 2014 Welcome, nice work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gumamelagomez Posted March 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2014 thank you david Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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