Deer Antler Pens

[John Tidwell]

I am new at turning pens and have turned serveral from deer antlers.After 2-3 weeks the antlers have cracked on two pens (both barrels). Can anyone tell me why this happens? I would appreciate any help.

[michael gallagher]

Did you fill the pores with CA glue after you turned it?

[Jeff Nicol]

Are they old horns? How hot did you get them while finishing them? What did you use for a finish, some could break down the horn? Did you use gorilla glue or CA or epoxy? Gorilla glue may expand to much and crack them. THe inside of the horn is very porous and if you turn it to thin the pores are weak and will crack, as Mike said make sure you fill all the pores and cracks with CA before you finish.

Hope this all helps,

Jeff

[John Tidwell]

The antlers I used was about two weeks old and used PSI Mid-Cure Epoxy.
I used friction polish to polish them. I did not use CA. How do you apply the CA glue? What kind oh CA should I use, thin (crack filling) or thick (gap filling)? I appreciate your interest.

[Dustin Cranford]

When you say they are 2 weeks old does that mean they were removed or found 2 weeks ago? I would venture to say if they are fresh then that is the problem. Antlers go through a drying phase and will tend to shrink some. Being how they are turned so thin if they are not completely dry they tend to crack. All the antler I use usually have dried for atleast 6 months to a year and I have never had one crack. I use antler on bullet cartridge pens.

[Allen Neighbors]

John, I apply a CA finish like this: I fold a Viva paper towel three or four times, to get a strip about 1 1/2" wide, several thicknesses. I turn the lathe speed down to about 500 or 600 rpm.
I use thin CA from Wallyworld... Loctite Precision Max... and cut about 1/4" off the point of the bottle top.
I hold the end of the paper towel against the bottom of the spinning pen, while squirting the CA along the pen. Apply a heavy coat, and move the paper back and forth against the pen, just a few times, spreading the CA. If it gets sticky, you've held it there too long. Just two or three swipes back and forth will do it. I cut off the end of the paper towel to expose a fresh end each time.
Now. I don't use Accelerator, because the kind I bought from PSI says not to use it with thin CA. Instead of the Accelerator, I move a 100watt bulb on a floor stand up close and leave the pen spinning. It takes about 5 minutes to set up well.
I apply 6 or 8 coats this way. While I'm waiting the 5 minute intervals, I cut more blanks, drill more blanks, glue more blanks, take a leak or something...(can I say that?) I live in a small town, and have to use what I've got. But the CA is the hardest finish I've found for pens.
BTW. Thanks for this post. I made a blank out of deer antler today. My first. Will turn it tomorrow.

[Billy Tallant]

John,

I have not had that problem. I've made about 10 antler pens in the last 2 months with no problem. Of course most of the antlers that I have been using are older antlers. They have been sitting up at least 1-3 years. So age may be a factor. I'm using multiple coats of acrylic sealer on the pens. Seems to work ok. Durability may be an issue down the road compared to using CA finish.

[Travis Teichmann]

I've made about 6 cartridge/antler pens with no splitting problems either. The antlers I useder were all well dried (a year or more) so that probably helps keep them stabilized. I have used CA (thick and thin), and I have also just wet sanded to 600 and polished. All three finishes look identical to me. I had one with some marrow showing that I filled with CA, and when polished it almost looked like marlbe. So far, no complaints about splits/cracks, etc.