Looking for some bone carving advice/pointers! - Other Crafts

P Paipo Member Aotearoa / NZ Joined: Jun 22, 2006 Posts: 1886	P Paipo Posted posted on Thu, Aug 24, 2006 3:34 PM Hi BrahPailei Welcome to TC! Can you post some pictures of what you've made so we can see where you're at? I don't carve bone much these days, but did for a few years before switching to stone. If you want a really good book that covers everything from technques and tools to cords and bindings, this is considered the "bible" by New Zealand carvers: http://reed.co.nz/products.cfm?view=293&catID=12 I've seen copies pop up on ebay from time to time. The key to getting good surface decoration is using gravers, which are just tiny chisels. The book above tells you which types to use and how to make them, but jeweller's gravers can be bought from any jewellery supplier. There is also a guy here in NZ who sells a basic set (scroll down a little): http://www.carving.co.nz/howto.html Fine tungsten carbide burrs are still pretty good though, but always buy the best quality you can get. What sort of dremel are you using? I find the quality of the handpiece certainly makes a difference, so if you want to get into it more seriously you might want to consider an upgrade. As for cord, don't use anything natural unless the piece is for display only, they just won't last long enough. You'd be amazed how much wear and tear a piece will get if someone really loves it, and flax and hemp irritate some people's skin too. Use a waxed nylon or polyester cord and braid a 3 or 4 plait cord from it, they last for years and look good. Let me know if there's anything else I can help with. [ Edited by: Paipo 2006-08-24 15:35 ]

Hi BrahPailei
Welcome to TC! Can you post some pictures of what you've made so we can see where you're at?
I don't carve bone much these days, but did for a few years before switching to stone. If you want a really good book that covers everything from technques and tools to cords and bindings, this is considered the "bible" by New Zealand carvers:
http://reed.co.nz/products.cfm?view=293&catID=12
I've seen copies pop up on ebay from time to time.
The key to getting good surface decoration is using gravers, which are just tiny chisels. The book above tells you which types to use and how to make them, but jeweller's gravers can be bought from any jewellery supplier. There is also a guy here in NZ who sells a basic set (scroll down a little):
http://www.carving.co.nz/howto.html
Fine tungsten carbide burrs are still pretty good though, but always buy the best quality you can get. What sort of dremel are you using? I find the quality of the handpiece certainly makes a difference, so if you want to get into it more seriously you might want to consider an upgrade.
As for cord, don't use anything natural unless the piece is for display only, they just won't last long enough. You'd be amazed how much wear and tear a piece will get if someone really loves it, and flax and hemp irritate some people's skin too. Use a waxed nylon or polyester cord and braid a 3 or 4 plait cord from it, they last for years and look good.
Let me know if there's anything else I can help with.

[ Edited by: Paipo 2006-08-24 15:35 ]

Post #250561 by Paipo on Thu, Aug 24, 2006 3:34 PM