embedded elk tusk
- Thread starter nighttime
- Start date
There are several ways that you could do it. One of the most elagant would be to make a brass or silver bezel large enough to contain the tooth, and then cast the tooth in the bezel with clear acrylic resin. You then inlay the bezel into the stock like an escutcheon.
If you are interested I can provide more detailed instruction.
In response to a PM by nighttime, I'm posting a little "how to" describing what I suggested in the above post.
After some thought, I decided to describe how a jeweler would traditionally go about doing something like this, although I am not going to get into step-by-step detail. It assumes some knowledge of metal and wood working processes, and I leave their precise execution and completion to you.
Bear in mind that this is not the only way that this can be done, and there are other creative solutions.
The first part is fabricating the bezel. Basically, this is a cup to contain the tooth.
It must be wide and deep enough to accommodate the tooth completely, as we will fill it with clear acrylic resin to hold the tooth before we inlay it in the stock. I have depicted it as a circle, but that was for convenience. You may of course make it in whatever shape you like. Traditionally, this is made by taking a strip of sheet material - I suggest silver or brass - and forming it to the shape that you want.
The ends are then soldered together, and the form is soldered onto a flat sheet of stock.
The excess sheet is then sawn off and the edges are filed smooth.
The tooth is then be placed in the bezel, and acrylic resin poured in. Note that how you mix and pour the acrylic influences air bubbles in the finished product. Access to a vacuum can eliminate or at least mitigate this. So can vibrating or tapping the bezel to "settle out" air bubbles before the acrylic sets. Note also that some acrylics can be ground and polished. These are the most desirable for this application if you can get them.
The stock is then laid out to have a pocket cut for the bezel. In general, if you are going to only do one inlay, I don't recommend doing it on a side. Do it in a symmetrical location, like under the fore-end. If you want to do inlays on the side, it is more aesthetically pleasing to do one on each side.
At any rate, apply the layout of the bezel to the stock by putting tape on the location and then tracing the outline of the bezel onto the stock, taking into account things like the curvature of the stock, etc... I have recommended using tape because in my experience, it reduces the severity of splintering around cuts when you are cutting across the grain. Note that some tapes work better than others, and some finishes are easier to do this on than others. Experiment before you put tape on your stock.
The tape is then removed from within the tracing by cutting it away with an exacto-knife. Cut inside the tracing by a generous amount to allow for adjustments later.
The cavity for the bezel is then roughed out with a rotary tool, like a dremel. If you have the right tools, and enough skill, you can do the whole cavity with your rotary tool, but I recommend using knives and chisels to finish the edges and square the corners of your cavity.
The bezel is then epoxied into the cavity, and the job is done.
Some tips:
- A little undercutting or roughening of the bezel/cavity walls will aid in retention.
- If you cut your cavity too large, colored epoxy - say white or black - provides contrast and makes it look intentional. Indeed, you may do this intentionally for that very reason.
- If you are inexperienced in any of the processes described above, seek out advice and try them on things that you don't care about before attempting to apply them to valued items.
- Jeweler's tools and supplies can be found in the yellow pages or ordered on the 'net.
- Stuff like the clear acrylic can be found in hobby stores and similar suppliers.
Good luck and post pics.
After some thought, I decided to describe how a jeweler would traditionally go about doing something like this, although I am not going to get into step-by-step detail. It assumes some knowledge of metal and wood working processes, and I leave their precise execution and completion to you.
Bear in mind that this is not the only way that this can be done, and there are other creative solutions.
The first part is fabricating the bezel. Basically, this is a cup to contain the tooth.
It must be wide and deep enough to accommodate the tooth completely, as we will fill it with clear acrylic resin to hold the tooth before we inlay it in the stock. I have depicted it as a circle, but that was for convenience. You may of course make it in whatever shape you like. Traditionally, this is made by taking a strip of sheet material - I suggest silver or brass - and forming it to the shape that you want.
The ends are then soldered together, and the form is soldered onto a flat sheet of stock.
The excess sheet is then sawn off and the edges are filed smooth.
The tooth is then be placed in the bezel, and acrylic resin poured in. Note that how you mix and pour the acrylic influences air bubbles in the finished product. Access to a vacuum can eliminate or at least mitigate this. So can vibrating or tapping the bezel to "settle out" air bubbles before the acrylic sets. Note also that some acrylics can be ground and polished. These are the most desirable for this application if you can get them.
The stock is then laid out to have a pocket cut for the bezel. In general, if you are going to only do one inlay, I don't recommend doing it on a side. Do it in a symmetrical location, like under the fore-end. If you want to do inlays on the side, it is more aesthetically pleasing to do one on each side.
At any rate, apply the layout of the bezel to the stock by putting tape on the location and then tracing the outline of the bezel onto the stock, taking into account things like the curvature of the stock, etc... I have recommended using tape because in my experience, it reduces the severity of splintering around cuts when you are cutting across the grain. Note that some tapes work better than others, and some finishes are easier to do this on than others. Experiment before you put tape on your stock.
The tape is then removed from within the tracing by cutting it away with an exacto-knife. Cut inside the tracing by a generous amount to allow for adjustments later.
The cavity for the bezel is then roughed out with a rotary tool, like a dremel. If you have the right tools, and enough skill, you can do the whole cavity with your rotary tool, but I recommend using knives and chisels to finish the edges and square the corners of your cavity.
The bezel is then epoxied into the cavity, and the job is done.
Some tips:
- A little undercutting or roughening of the bezel/cavity walls will aid in retention.
- If you cut your cavity too large, colored epoxy - say white or black - provides contrast and makes it look intentional. Indeed, you may do this intentionally for that very reason.
- If you are inexperienced in any of the processes described above, seek out advice and try them on things that you don't care about before attempting to apply them to valued items.
- Jeweler's tools and supplies can be found in the yellow pages or ordered on the 'net.
- Stuff like the clear acrylic can be found in hobby stores and similar suppliers.
Good luck and post pics.
The same material that you made the ring from: brass or silver sheet. When we speak of "stock" we are just referring to raw materials, typically rod or tube or sheet in the jewelry trade.
I used a piece of elk "ivory" to hide a countersunk grip cap screw. Using a cutting disc on a Dremel cut a section off the top of the tooth. The section was 5 minute epoxied to a hard wood dowel. Chuck the dowel in a drill press and turn the ivory to the same diameter as the dowel using a file and sand paper backed by a hard backer. Pry the ivory from the dowel and scrape any residual epoxy from the ivory. In the case mentioned I used a 3/8" Fortser bit to start the grip cap screw hole and ran it deep enough to accept the ivory over top of the screw when it was drilled counter sunk and cinched in. Allign the grain of the ivory with the grain of the stock or the grip cap wood as it may be and epoxy it in.
spi: I built the stock from a myrtle wood blank and the the ivory was installed prior to finishing. The ivory required no polishing but it was over-finished as the stock was being done. The ivory colors matched many of the tones in the myrtle wood, but was set into a coco-bolo grip cap.
The idea of making a bezel to retain the ivory is interesting but a quicker way to obtain one may be to use a lead bullet gas check of appropriate diameter. As long as finish is applied over the inset the copper should not dis-color.
The idea of making a bezel to retain the ivory is interesting but a quicker way to obtain one may be to use a lead bullet gas check of appropriate diameter. As long as finish is applied over the inset the copper should not dis-color.
