# Casting around antler



## Chris S. (Feb 23, 2019)

I have had a pen request from a family friend for turning a couple of spikes from his soons first deer into a pen. They are to small to turn themselves but thought if i cast them into some resin then could work. I was going to try and suspend them into middle of clear poly resin. Only problem no idea how to hold in place while cures. Any ideas?


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## Chris S. (Feb 23, 2019)

Oh and can I use alumilite resin to cast these without a pressure pot?


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## Eric Rorabaugh (Feb 23, 2019)

@Bean_counter
@The100road
@rocky1


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## Bean_counter (Feb 23, 2019)

Chris I’ve seen where they cut antler “cookies” place them in the mold and pour away. I would think you could do the same with the spikes

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Eric Rorabaugh (Feb 23, 2019)

I had enough tips to fill a mold. It blew apart when I went to drill it. Good luck! I need to try it again. I think I still have enough for another one.


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## The100road (Feb 23, 2019)

So there to small to make the pen but big enough to drill through the middle for the tube? 

You will need a pressure pot if using alumilite. 

I’d probably cut the blank long and secure both ends with hot glue to suspend in the middle of the mold. Then cut to size. 

I think @Schroedc might be the man that knows best.


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## Eric Rorabaugh (Feb 23, 2019)

Michael, did you do anything with the antler I sent you? Hope to see pics when you do .


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## Eric Rorabaugh (Feb 23, 2019)

Michael, did you do anything with the antler I sent you? Hope to see pics when you do .


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## Bean_counter (Feb 23, 2019)

Eric Rorabaugh said:


> Michael, did you do anything with the antler I sent you? Hope to see pics when you do .


Eric I haven’t yet but have 4 bullet pens I have to get made this week and then off to an engraver. I’ll post them when complete. Working on a seam ripper order. I’ve turned so many seam rippers the past 2 years I don’t even use bushings or calipers anymore. I eyeball dead on. Oh and I hate making them

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 1 | +Karma 1


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## Wildthings (Feb 23, 2019)

Hot glue very small dowels like bamboo skewers to both ends. You're going to drill those away

Reactions: Like 1 | Thank You! 1 | Agree 2 | Informative 1


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## Chris S. (Feb 23, 2019)

Barry great idea thanks. Thanks guys for help. Would epoxy be better to cast with to try to prevent things from blowing apart?

Reactions: Like 1


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## The100road (Feb 23, 2019)

Some guys are using silmar 41 with no pressure pot I think


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## Bean_counter (Feb 23, 2019)

I’d choose epoxy over Silmar (polyester resin) since it will bond better. Drill slow and don’t built up a lot of heat and you should be good.

Reactions: Like 1 | Thank You! 1


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## Chris S. (Feb 23, 2019)

I got two pieces to work with. I will try the epoxy first and see what I get since seems to me be best choice to for fragile stuff.


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## rocky1 (Feb 23, 2019)

Drill a small hole in the end of your mold, apply hot glue to the end of the antler to seal, and pin them with a nail or something to keep them dead center Chris. Hot glue isn't always perfect, I have had cases where my resin dissolved the glue. If you use a small diameter common nail, (_glue coat would probably work best, something smooth anyhow, don't want to use galvanized or ring shank_), it should pull easily, and a bit of hot glue around it on the end of the antler should seal it from the resin. When the hot melt glue does dissolve, it kinda leaves a gooey mess, it doesn't go away, so nothing is going to set around the nail if it does dissolve. Without pinning it however, if the glue dissolves the antler may slide or drop to the bottom of the mold. 

If you're able to drill the horn, I'd maybe contemplate drilling it, gluing tubes in, and plugging the ends to pour. Plugs are available on Amazon, or let me know what size tube you're using and I'll mail you some. I've got an assortment of plugs to fit most popular size pen tubes. That would save the torque on the resin while trying to drill the blanks anyhow, in case you hit something in the horn and bind your bit. If not, pop your casting out of the mold once set, and let it cure a week - 10 days before drilling it to allow the resin to more fully cure. Antler isn't very porous, bond is going to iffy in any respect, and if it's that close to not being able to turn it I'm going to guess you're likely to catch an edge and peel it off, if it is at all soft. 

No on the Alumilite without pot. Alumilite is a urethane resin and it generates bubbles in the curing process from what I understand. If there is any moisture in the horn, which there probably is, Alumilite will bubble worse, and leave a cloudy appearance around the surface. Polyester resins, yeah you can pour without a pot, and they are a little more forgiving on moisture. And, I haven't played with any epoxy casts to give advice there. 


Personally, were it me... I'd find a piece of horn big enough to turn the pen out of, and not say a word to anyone else. I understand the sentiment involved here, but it would be much less apt to fail over the long haul. And, as long as no one but you knows the difference, he's going to love it the same, and love you for turning it for him.


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## Chris S. (Feb 23, 2019)

Thanks for feedback @rocky1 and offers. Love idea about bigger piece of antler but these are so small and narrow no way they will they been come close to being blank size. I may end up putting both pieces around a barrel and casting clear around them and be able to just turn the resin and these basically floating in resin. Thanks for info on waiting, that great idea for time to cure.

Reactions: Like 1


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## rocky1 (Feb 24, 2019)

Got a die grinder and good carbide bit? You could maybe hollow one side of the horns out, so they wrapped around the tube tighter and cast them with the tube in the blank. Don't remember who it was, someone around here plugged the ends of their tubes with modeling clay, Playdough, Silly Putty or something. Once cast, you push it through the tube with a dowel. 

One of the downfalls to turning any resin cast like this Chris, is going to be cutting to a thin edge on the resin and catching that edge. I poured a couple of honeycomb blanks for @Spinartist; told him about problems I'd had with cells in those casts popping out. Lee said he turned those blanks with his parting tool, and had very little trouble with them. Might be something to consider when you start getting down to the thin edges point. 

-- The cutting edge of the parting tool isn't a lot to snag a resin edge; it reduces drag, and your potential for error. 
-- Running from antler to resin with your tool is going to be REALLY interesting; inconsistency in blank density is gonna be ugly on this combo. 
-- Take a less aggressive scraper to negative rake stance with the parting tool, it should reduce if not virtually eliminate potential for snagging it altogether. It'll be slow going, but if it stays together, worth the extra effort. 
-- Typically with resins you want to work with sharp tools, and cutting antler they just aren't apt to stay that way long. Parting tool is about the simplest of the lot to sharpen repeatedly in my book.


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## Lou Currier (Feb 24, 2019)

A friend just did these with antler and PR resin.

Reactions: Like 4 | Thank You! 1


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## Chris S. (Feb 24, 2019)

@rocky1 as i was thinking about it last night i probably going to do something exactly like you described for fitting antler tight to tubes then cast around them. I going to try to get things so that I can hopefully turn mostly resin and just a small bit of antler. See lots of sharpening on this on in my future. I have a small rounded scraper that may work perfect for this. If I can find a kit in my stash that has a 7mm tube but large end be very helpful for this. I have a large assortment of kits that I purchased from someone getting out of pens so odds good I have something already. Wish was home so could get started on this now. Ideas running around in my head need to get to work.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Bean_counter (Feb 26, 2019)

@Chris S. 


Found this on the YouTube’s

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Wildthings (Feb 26, 2019)

Good video but I personally don't like them when they are turned fat like that

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Bean_counter (Feb 26, 2019)

Wildthings said:


> Good video but I personally don't like them when they are turned fat like that


I honestly didn’t watch it lol

Reactions: Like 1


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## Chris S. (Feb 27, 2019)

Bean_counter said:


> @Chris S.
> 
> 
> Found this on the YouTube’s



I will have to watch it tonight.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Chris S. (Feb 28, 2019)

Not a horrible look thanks for the video. I'm hoping I'll be lucky enough to somehow keep the natural appearance of the antler the clear resin truly being the outside portion of the pen. I take a lot of grinding of the antler to fit it around the pen tubes and then casting resin around that will be my likely way I'm going to do this. Resin and carbide carving tools have been ordered just waiting for everything to arrive to get to work.


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