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  1. #1
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    Default Turned Knobs with Bone inserts

    I did these Walnut knobs for a table I'm building this week and the client wanted Bone inserts .

    Ive been doing Bone stuff using My own selected and prepared bone since I came across this great website about ten years back when I got into building an acoustic guitar . That whole episode started here with a few questions in the Musical Instrument section and was a fantastic adventure . The fine detail on woodwork and decoration that the Lutherie guys do was amazing to see .

    The link to Bone prep.

    Cleaning Bone for Use in Lutherie

    The bone insert was 12.7mm or 1/2 inch flat 2.5mm disks .

    The bone came from that box and was already sanded into two flat 2 or 2.5mm thick sheets for some escutcheons I was doing months ago . I was in a hurry so used them instead of cutting and sanding more stuff from my box down .

    I use the bandsaw to break down sizes and have two linisher sanders to work it from there. A Bench mounted unit with 50mm wide belts and a larger horizontal one with 80 grit . It could all be done on the small one or even a disc sander in an angle grinder would do .

    I cut out 15 x 15 mm squares and poly glued them onto the ends of that 1/2" dowel . Then I took that to the belt sander and made them roughly close to the 1/2" size , after that I fitted the dowel into a Jacobs type chuck that fits my wood lathe and turned then to 12.7 mm with a slight taper to the front .

    Then as each Walnut knob was turned, a recess for the bone was made in its end, as soon as it fitted I glued each bone in and started the on the next .

    The final turning down of the bone in the face of the knob was done with a nice sharp cabinet scraper on the tool rest up close . It gave a perfect transition from center to slight curve and some fine paper after that finished it .


    The Bone I use is the Femur . I Just looked it up . I started with ones from the butcher when I was in the city but now I get to select from whole Skeletons occasionally. The poor things sometimes die and Ive had to drag them by chain up the far end of the farm . They get eaten up pretty fast , Two weeks and their gone and parts get spread out after that for some time .

    The bone prep from the link is very important . Using it without doing that is a waste of time on instruments or furniture.
    I do wonder how well prepared the sun bleached old stuff I come across lying around could be though . It seems pretty dry and could be ok for certain things not glued in or polished over . Ive made a tool for the bench from such pieces and thought of doing letters for the key chain .

    Bone is lovely stuff to work and polish . Very hard tough stuff dense like a tough plastic and waxy smooth to cut and polish . Unlike plastics it doesn't burn or smoke or melt when worked . Its got a smell like burning hair mixed with a cow smell . Not that nice so a cross breeze and a mask for particles is handy.

    Here is some pictures with the knobs dry fitted in the almost complete Walnut Side Table .

    Rob.
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  3. #2
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    Feb 2007
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    Default

    Those look very smart.
    I know the bone smell from working on guitar nuts. I now hand sand it to avoid being driven from the shed.
    I did give some thought to processing my own but guitar nut blanks are only a few dollars. For your kind of work however it makes sense. For what its worth horn smells equally bad.
    Regards
    John

  4. #3
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    Default

    Interesting article what did you use as "white Gas"

  5. #4
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by China View Post
    Interesting article what did you use as "white Gas"

    Diggers Shellite .

    When I run out of the 4 litres of that thought I’d just try Regular unleaded Petrol .
    Don’t know if there would be a problem with using that . It would be in a sealed jar . And it seems to have no problems at thinning down oils .
    Maybe finish off with a good soak in metho .
    Or just stick with the Shellite and get more next time I do the 80 K trip for something else .

  6. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by orraloon View Post
    Those look very smart.
    I know the bone smell from working on guitar nuts. I now hand sand it to avoid being driven from the shed.
    I did give some thought to processing my own but guitar nut blanks are only a few dollars. For your kind of work however it makes sense. For what its worth horn smells equally bad.
    Regards
    John

    Ive seen flat sheets of Camel bone available from UK eBay . It Looked pretty good . It may have been a bit thinner though , I forget how thick it was .

  7. #6
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    Very interesting read. I have been turning bone boxes and hand chasing threaded lids, for about five years now. Instead of using volatile liquids, I use plain water, bring it to the boil with the bone in it then allow the bone to cool. This is done as often as required, until there is no fat on the water when it cools, usually about six times. Boiling the bone too long makes it a bit brittle. The bone is often left for a few months to dry but before I turn it, it will get soaked in plain water for twenty four hours.

    Hope you don't mind me butting in...

    Jim

    DSCN2732S.jpg
    Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important...

  8. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by powderpost View Post
    Very interesting read. I have been turning bone boxes and hand chasing threaded lids, for about five years now. Instead of using volatile liquids, I use plain water, bring it to the boil with the bone in it then allow the bone to cool. This is done as often as required, until there is no fat on the water when it cools, usually about six times. Boiling the bone too long makes it a bit brittle. The bone is often left for a few months to dry but before I turn it, it will get soaked in plain water for twenty four hours.
    Nice Jim ! What dimensions are they ?
    Your turning the round bone from the cylinder it naturally comes like and then making a lid and bottom for them ? is that right ?


    Quote Originally Posted by powderpost View Post
    Hope you don't mind me butting in...

    Jim
    Not at all . I like seeing different things coming into threads and being discussed. Makes it more interesting .

  9. #8
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    Ahh! Shellite just bought a new 20lt drum, gonna have try this "nice job by the way"

  10. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by auscab View Post
    Nice Jim ! What dimensions are they ?
    Your turning the round bone from the cylinder it naturally comes like and then making a lid and bottom for them ? is that right ?
    Those boxes are about 55mm x 40mm diameter, and yes the top and bottom is another piece of bone turned to fit into a rebate in the body. Finding pieces big enough and flat enough is always a problem.

    Jim
    Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important...

  11. #10
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    Default Some Vinegar in the Boiling Water?

    In cooking, a small amount of vinegar is added to the water used in the preparation of beef broth.
    It is supposed to help extracting the goodies out of the bones, including fat.

    I am wondering if the same "method" could be used when cleaning & preparing bones?

    Cheers Yvan

  12. #11
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    Nice job Rob

    I use Bonnie Klein's method of treatment of bone as I spent a lot of time with her when she was the expert down for Turnfest many moons ago
    Bonnie Klein Turning Bone - OTI Symposium Seattle Washington - YouTube
    Neil
    ____________________________________________
    Every day presents an opportunity to learn something new

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