Deer antler

Frank, do you mean “gag” like playing a gag on someone, or “gag” like in eating brussels sprouts?

I know the smell from burning a hole in the tip of powder horn. Yaacht (gag)!

I googled Johnson’s cartridge pen kits but couldn’t find anything. Could you send me in the right direction?

First off, I like brussel sprouts... even tried to grow some in the garden last year... they take forever to grow. :(

Everyone has given you great advise... turning antler is not all that difficult, and the end results can be spectacular... This is the last pen I did with antler... it had a lot of marrow as well as good bone... it's finished with CA. The barrel is York Gum Burl blank.

I've started drilling my antler on the lathe... I use a CMG3 chuck from PSI and line up the blank with the end of the blank against the drill bit and then eyeball the run through the blank, then tighten down the jaws of the chuck... I seem to get a higher rate of success... not quite high school sex level :D, but probably a little better than 50/50.

Here is pictures of my chuck and the last pen.
 

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Drill a shallow hole in the end where you want the hole to start and one where you want the hole to come out in the other end. Put the drill chuck in the head stock with the appropriate bit and the live center in the tail stock lined up in the other hole. Hold the antler with a water pump pliars, start the lathe on its slowest speed and feed the antler into the bit with the tailstock. This way the drill has no choice but follow from one starting hole to the other. After you have gone over half way, you can quit using the tail stock and just feed with the pliars. Do not try to hold the antler in your hand.


There is a Youtube video on doing this, but I am too computer challanged to find it again.

Frank, sunshine and no jacket needed this afternoon.

Dale
 
Hey good to hear from you Dale, looked for you over at SFT and haven't run across you so was hoping you were doing okay. This is one neat sounding idea! I am going to give it a go this Saturday! Thanks for the hint!!
 
Drill a shallow hole in the end where you want the hole to start and one where you want the hole to come out in the other end. Put the drill chuck in the head stock with the appropriate bit and the live center in the tail stock lined up in the other hole. Hold the antler with a water pump pliars, start the lathe on its slowest speed and feed the antler into the bit with the tailstock. This way the drill has no choice but follow from one starting hole to the other. After you have gone over half way, you can quit using the tail stock and just feed with the pliars. Do not try to hold the antler in your hand.


There is a Youtube video on doing this, but I am too computer challanged to find it again.

Frank, sunshine and no jacket needed this afternoon.

Dale

I've tried that, but don't get as good results as holding the antler in the chuck and using the DB in the tailstock... I suppose we all develop our own methods..
I concur not to try and hold the antler in the hand... even using the pen mill... I've rapped my knuckles a few times thinking I could just hold it and do a quick mill on the ends....:eek::eek:
 
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