Hello All,

I'm still new to the turning community but I'm loving it.

I'm attending a workshop this weekend and have become the owner of a nice antler but have no experience turning anything but wood.

Is there anything I should keep in mind (besides the smell, I hear it's like burning hair)?

Thanks.

I have turned a lot of antler and can attest that no 2 pieces are a like.
Those who complain of the smell are just telling the world they do not have adequate dust collection at the lathe.
Biggest concern is if the piece is larger and you drill center there will no doubt be a pith area that is rather soft compared to other parts of the antler.
Sand the antler and use the dust in a slurry to"wet sand" the porous area and fill with the mixture.
This needs to be done quickly the ca will set up.
The other concern is dragging the color from the bushings onto the blank while you sand.
I consider antler"poor mans ivory" Though contrary to popular misconception it is not bone.

Thanks very much for the info, Eagle. The antler I have is about one and a half inches in diameter so I'm guessing it won't give me too much trouble.

Chance is are it will be mostly pith

I'm with Eagle on this. A piece that big will not be good at all for a pen barrel. You will turn away all the hard bone material and be into nothing by pith. Ideally, you want a piece only slightly larger than the final size. That way, you expose very little pith, which needs to be stablized with CA to do anything with it.

Hmm, so would it be worthwhile to use a piece from up closer to the tips? The measurement I gave was at the base near the head.

I have made pens using nothing but the core or pith.
It is an entirely different look
If you are after something that looks like bone or ivory a smaller diameter is better.
JUst make sure you can "see" the busing around the hole when you drill/
The best way to do this is to mark center on each end and turn round to a uniform cylinder and then drill.
String and CA can be used to build up a low section, just make sure it is proud of the bushing..

I was making an assumption that I should not have made. Eagle is right. You can make a pen from nothing but pith. You just need to keep it flooded with CA to keep in intact. It would be an interesting look, I think. I've done many with some pith showing, but never one completely of pith. If you try it, please post pics.

Mule Deer pith, the "core" was dyed and drilled square.
The blank measured one inch square

I haven't turned anything yet, let alone antler, but I'm inclined to think that the most pressing problem will be fitting the stag into the lathe and persuading him to stay still, to say nothing of calculating the right dose of Gravol for him.

Seriously, however, I'm impressed with everyone's expertise, as usual.

best wishes,
Italicist (running quickly to dodge flying vegetables)