Yesterday, I discovered a perfect piece of bone 6" long x 1/8" thick and completely flat for $4.99 at Jo Anne Fabrics. It is called a folding and scoring tool and is used for creasing paper and other things. You might can find one at other craft or art stores. The one I found is sold by Darico Company, but they are also all over the web on art supply web sites at different sizes and brands, all of which are cheap. They are perfect for fashioning nuts and saddles since they are flat and even have tapered, rounded edges.
Randy I am so glad to hear you take steps so as not to breath in all the dust you make. When I was working at ALCOA, the first week we were there the new boss had one of the new guys take a sander to some copper bars to shine them up but never told him to wear a mask. After eight hours it messed this guy up so bad that he never came back to work because all the copper dust got in his lungs.
Randy S. Bretz said:
It`s not so bad when I cut pieces with my bandsaw, but when I profile them on my bench top belt sander it tends to have a slight smell. But I have my 5 gal. shop vac hooked up to it so there`s no large amounts of dust. The finishing part when using the dremel is the big dust maker, I wear a mask for that. Using bone to make nuts, bridges and bridge tips [ wood bridge with a bone tip ] and peghead details plus all the other creations that I use bone for is very easy mostly because the bone has no grain like carving a piece of wood would have. Also making my bone slides which is how I really got started doing bone work at all has brought me an added income plus sharing my bone creations with so many people. Foer all the slides that I have made so far, and there`s alot! I have not gotten one bad comment about the sound they produce or the craftsmanship of them.
Jerryrig240 said:
I love this picture. One thing I must know? How bad does it smell and how bad is the dust? My step dad does wood working and he would use bone for some stuff and he said it stunk to high heaven when you cut it. I love the idea of using bone, and I bet if I asked around I could get some good peices from the local butcher shop. Maybe when I get a deer this season I will ask for some of the bones.......that would be a cool cbg build, use parts of a deer you hunted yourself.
Leanna King said:
Looks like my living room...I own a lab and she has a million bones..I thought about doing that too, is it hard to do and what do you cut it with? If it's a way to save a buck, heck I'm willing..and the dog won't know....???
I love this picture. One thing I must know? How bad does it smell and how bad is the dust? My step dad does wood working and he would use bone for some stuff and he said it stunk to high heaven when you cut it. I love the idea of using bone, and I bet if I asked around I could get some good peices from the local butcher shop. Maybe when I get a deer this season I will ask for some of the bones.......that would be a cool cbg build, use parts of a deer you hunted yourself.
Leanna King said:
Looks like my living room...I own a lab and she has a million bones..I thought about doing that too, is it hard to do and what do you cut it with? If it's a way to save a buck, heck I'm willing..and the dog won't know....???
Leanna wrote:
> ...I own a lab and she has a million bones..I thought about doing that too, is it hard to do and what do you cut it with? If it's a way to save a buck, heck I'm willing...
So, maybe it's been a long day. But I read this and I thought, "Here's a person who owns some kind of a lab. Maybe a forensics lab with a lot of human body parts. And she's going to make CBGs out of them in order to save money. Holy crap."
> If you take a look at my 2 pages on the nation [ Randy S. Bretz and MojoBone Works ] you can see some of the bone creations that I have made.
Yep, your well-earned reputation precedes you.
So, bone is harder than horn, huh? Maybe I was thinking that tusks are harder than bone. Does that sound right? Are they made of something different, like tooth enamel?
And no heat-treating for bone then. Fine, makes it easier. :-)
Ha, yeah I saw that as well. I'd guess that horn was harder than bone. And the black could look good, but 1/8th inch is thinner than I'd want for the nut. But I suppose it would work at least as well as the steel bolts I've been using.
That particular package is actually plastic. Though if it's a hard plastic it's still probably very convenient for some people. Here's an actual bone version: http://www.paperinkarts.com/en-us/dept_37.html
I was getting ready to use my band saw to cut rectangular pieces about 3" wide, 5/8" tall and 1/8th" thick - but I might try this. A single $6 folder could easily make four saddles. Though they'd have far less charm than a fully hand made one :-)
Here's a question about bone - is it best to use a normal dried bone, or to try to harden it with heat? Aren't bone nuts and saddles typically hardened somehow?
Replies
Randy S. Bretz said:
Leanna King said:
> ...I own a lab and she has a million bones..I thought about doing that too, is it hard to do and what do you cut it with? If it's a way to save a buck, heck I'm willing...
So, maybe it's been a long day. But I read this and I thought, "Here's a person who owns some kind of a lab. Maybe a forensics lab with a lot of human body parts. And she's going to make CBGs out of them in order to save money. Holy crap."
:-)
Yep, your well-earned reputation precedes you.
So, bone is harder than horn, huh? Maybe I was thinking that tusks are harder than bone. Does that sound right? Are they made of something different, like tooth enamel?
And no heat-treating for bone then. Fine, makes it easier. :-)
Thanks
I was getting ready to use my band saw to cut rectangular pieces about 3" wide, 5/8" tall and 1/8th" thick - but I might try this. A single $6 folder could easily make four saddles. Though they'd have far less charm than a fully hand made one :-)
Here's a question about bone - is it best to use a normal dried bone, or to try to harden it with heat? Aren't bone nuts and saddles typically hardened somehow?
Ken
Randy S. Bretz said: