Engraving---bone and abalone

[mando andy]

I was planning to engrave bone that I will be inlaying in a design (which also involves abalone--which will not be engraved) and I wondered what type of tool could be used for engraving simple lines in the bone---same type of graver that you would use for pearl??

Has anyone had any luck making their own tool for this???

Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!

Andy Morton
Madison, WI

[Paul Hostetter]

I have made some of my own burins, but the commercial ones aren't too pricey. The tool itself is not the big deal. Learning to sharpen it and, particularly, to use it, is the hard part.

http://www.danielsmith.com/images/p28679b.JPG

Bone is a particularly uncooperative medium, though abalone is not much better. Be sure to practice a lot on samples before you dive into your final piece.

[mando andy]

Thanks---appreciate it a lot--what type of metal would you use for making the graver??

Hardware store variety steel stock??

Andy

[mando andy]

Thanks---appreciate it a lot--what type of metal would you use for making the graver??

Hardware store variety steel stock??

Andy

[Paul Hostetter]

Gravers and burins are usually made from hardened high-carbon tool steel. You can recycle drillbits for this, but the length is important, and most drillbits thin enough for this job are too short. And then you need the right handle. I like making handles, I like making tools, but if I was starting, I'd just go search on eBay (graver and gravers under "watches and jewelry") and get on with it. Check this, for example (http://cgi.ebay.com/set-of-vintage-engraving-tools-gravers-7_W0QQitemZ190030166406).

[mando andy]

Thanks Paul---as always good advice. Had no idea about what was out there. My google search yielded many hits on prehistoric bone engraving---not ready to use flint just yet on the bone...but it made me wonder.

Andy

[Michael Lewis]

Andy, both bone and pearl are soft enough that you don't really need extremely hard tools. The softer the tool the more often you will have to sharpen it. In a pinch you can grind needle files to work, but as Paul says, the real tool is made for the job and not terribly expensive.

[Greenmando]

I have bought some great water hardening steel that I oil harden from McMaster-Carr (http://www.mcmaster.com/) . They sell in small amounts with no problems.

[Bob DeVellis]

The old-time scrimshanders used to use sharpened nails. But there doesn't seem any reason not to use a newer and better alternative now that they're available. I've never watched anyone engrave pearl but I've seen people work bone and walrus ivory. When pors do it, it looks unbelievable easy, just like doodling with a pencil. Of course, reality is something else entirely. I was trying to re-blacken the engraving on some banjo position markers and couldn't figure out what to use. The scrimshander I watched for about an hour showed me what he used: artist's oil paint, right out of the tube. He just rubbed it in and wiped off the excess. I never tried it on the pearl, but I suppose it would work fine on pearl, bone, etc. What do most people use to blacken the etching?

[Mando Medic]

I use black leather dye, but there are other dyes that can be used. Kenc

[mandolinrick]

On pearl, I used William Laskin's Special Blend Engraving Filler, available from Stewmac. Worked pretty good for me. I sharpened a needle file to use as a graver.

Here's the finished mando:
Blue IV Kit (http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=15;t=29906;hl=blue+and+mand olin)

Rick

[Michael Lewis]

Filling engraved lines in pearl: use india ink, burn in lacquer, shoe polish, filling wax(used for furniture repair), etc. Nothing will penetrate the pearl so the excess cleans off easily. Now, the surrounding material might be a different consideration.

I usually use either the filling wax or india ink. The neat thing about the wax is that it fills the engraved lines flush with the surface and lacquer doesn't crawl away from it. That makes it a good candidate for headstock engraving that will be finished over with lacquer.