Hello,

I turn quite a bit of antler, including various Deer, Moose and Elk to name
a few. As the others have pointed out, wear a good respirator when turning
and sanding antler. It can have a strong smell at times, but some pieces
I've turned have not been that bad. I've had some green wood that smelled
far worse... :-o

If you're making pens, the harder and denser material near the points makes
a nicer pen, IMHO. If you're picking your own material, look for antlers
that have the least amount of curve. This will make your drilling easier and
allow you to have more options when turning it.

I do not use a skew, although it can work very well on antler. I prefer to
use a 1/4" Henry Taylor micro spindle gouge to turn my antler pens, using an
Irish grind on the profile. For fine detail areas, I switch to a 3/16" micro
spindle gouge, also with an Irish grind on the profile. It's a very easy
material to work with and it cuts and finishes well. It can be on the
abrasive side, so you will need to sharpen your tools frequently.

If your turning reveals the centre pithy area in the antler, you will need
to fill it with a thick CA glue, or similar. It may take a few applications
of CA to get every tiny area filled in this pithy area. The larger sections
of the antler near the buttons make nice letter opener and magnifying glass
handles.

Antler can be taken to a very high polish, resulting in a surface that looks
like polished marble, or stone. The only real challenge with using it is
drilling an accurate hole when the blank section is curved excessively. I
solved this challenge by using a laser to assist with positioning the drill
bit for an accurately centred hole. If you have any questions, please do not
hesitate to contact me. Take care and best wishes to you and yours!
--
Better Woodturning and Finishing Through Chemistry...

Steven D. Russell
Eurowood Werks Woodturning Studio, The Woodlands, Texas
Machinery, Tool and Product Testing for the Woodworking and Woodturning
Industries

Website: http://www.woodturningvideosplus.com

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On 7/31/07 6:21 PM, in article
, "alysonsdad"
wrote:

any advice before I start turning pens from antlers would be greatly
appreciated.

Red