Ed Twilbeck Posted October 9, 2019 Report Share Posted October 9, 2019 Dragonfly is Red heart carved , polished, waxed, ready to be strung for a necklace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew V Posted October 18, 2019 Report Share Posted October 18, 2019 Nicely done, how big is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Twilbeck Posted October 18, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2019 Most of my Dragonflies are 2 -1/2 to 3 inches, I make them with what wood I have or have found. The one shone is right in the middle of that. If pictures are wanted I will be glad to post later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew V Posted October 21, 2019 Report Share Posted October 21, 2019 sweet; might try something like that in antler....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Twilbeck Posted October 21, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2019 That sounds interesting, never worked with antler, but would like to see it and then maybe try it. Tell me what you do to work with antler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew V Posted October 22, 2019 Report Share Posted October 22, 2019 Depends on which part of the antler I am working. The disk at the end where it joins the skull is good for netsuke but is very hard and responds well to scrapers, the stem of the antler, all the antler really has a useless soft core (pith) which you must remove - it is so soft that you can flood it with warm water and scrape it out with a spoon, This leaves the wall of the antler which is a dream to carve, and which you can carve with standard wood-carving tools as well as scrapers - I have a pin-board of carved antler and bone items, mostly bone items, and none of them by me, but it does show what is possible. https://www.pinterest.co.uk/avenuew/carved-antler-and-bone/ The stems cannot be heat-formed and so lend themselves to tubular forms - traditionally, needle cases, salt cellars, powder horns. If you use a palmate antler - moose or fallow deer for instance, the palms are great for relief carvings - I split the palm and make carved inlays which are only about 1.5 mm thick, many medieval 'ivory' carvings are in fact antler. The palms can be heat-formed, up to a point, are flexible, up to a point, but can snap without warning if you get clumsy with them or they dry out too much. Biggest down-side is it can be difficult to colour, it resists many stains and is translucent. This translucency can make for an interesting carving experience if your eyes are tired or your lighting is wrong. Biggest upside - it accepts the very finest of detail in a way even box-wood doesn't; it is astonishing how fine you can carve it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Twilbeck Posted October 22, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2019 Thanks for sharing your time and information. If I get some antler I will have to try carving it. Your Pinterest pictures are inspirational and your site is very interesting. Thanks for sharing your time and information. Got something to think about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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