Antler Powder Measure

[rancher]

How long do you have to boil an antler before getting the insides out and what is the best way to hollow it out. Thanks.

 

[smo]

I've never boiled one .I just drill em' :thumbsup:

 

[rabjr]

Yeah, never heard of boiling them. Just drilled em.

 

[rancher]

Oh, ok. What size drill bit?

 

[rabjr]

The size of the piece of antler really determines that and how much powder you want to measure.

 

[LRB]

What Swampy said is about the size of it. Err on the conservative side. You can enlarge the hole with a Dremel tool, and be aware, if you drill out the side, you are not the first to do so. Stuff happens, even when you do the best you think you can.

 

[rancher]

What Swampy said is about the size of it. Err on the conservative side. You can enlarge the hole with a Dremel tool, and be aware, if you drill out the side, you are not the first to do so. Stuff happens, even when you do the best you think you can.

Sure enough drilled through the side. Gonna look for a bigger piece of antler.

 

[goody]

Use low speed on the drill if it has this option.

 

[Tumblernotch]

What Swampy said is about the size of it. Err on the conservative side. You can enlarge the hole with a Dremel tool, and be aware, if you drill out the side, you are not the first to do so. Stuff happens, even when you do the best you think you can.

Sure enough drilled through the side. Gonna look for a bigger piece of antler.

It's going to be hard for me to explain how I've drilled antler tips but here goes:

You've probably got a way to hold the tip already so I'll skip that. I measure about how far I will be able to drill with the largest bit I need. Then I measure that length on a pilot bit (about 1/8" dia.) and drill a pilot hole following the center of the antler. Then I change out bits, going to a larger one until I get the hole diameter that I want. I then fill the hole with powder and then pour that powder into an adjustable measure and see how much the tip holds. If I need to drill more, I go back to a small bit and drill some more following the center of the tip the best I can. The big hole I already drilled allows me to cant the bit to one side so I can follow the antler. I then will go a few sizes bigger with the bit if need be, drilling just a little at a time and checking how much powder it will hold often. Using this method, I've stopped drilling through the side. When it's all done, I carefully drill a cross hole near the tip of the measure for a leather thong to use as a lanyard.

I hope this all makes sense. It's sometimes hard for me to explain things especially if I haven't done it in a while.
:thumbsup:

 

[David W.]

What Swampy said is about the size of it. Err on the conservative side. You can enlarge the hole with a Dremel tool, and be aware, if you drill out the side, you are not the first to do so. Stuff happens, even when you do the best you think you can.

Sure enough drilled through the side. Gonna look for a bigger piece of antler.

It's going to be hard for me to explain how I've drilled antler tips but here goes:

You've probably got a way to hold the tip already so I'll skip that. I measure about how far I will be able to drill with the largest bit I need. Then I measure that length on a pilot bit (about 1/8" dia.) and drill a pilot hole following the center of the antler. Then I change out bits, going to a larger one until I get the hole diameter that I want. I then fill the hole with powder and then pour that powder into an adjustable measure and see how much the tip holds. If I need to drill more, I go back to a small bit and drill some more following the center of the tip the best I can. The big hole I already drilled allows me to cant the bit to one side so I can follow the antler. I then will go a few sizes bigger with the bit if need be, drilling just a little at a time and checking how much powder it will hold often. Using this method, I've stopped drilling through the side. When it's all done, I carefully drill a cross hole near the tip of the measure for a leather thong to use as a lanyard.

I hope this all makes sense. It's sometimes hard for me to explain things especially if I haven't done it in a while.
:thumbsup:

I've done all what you said, and still have managed to drill holes through the side! :rotf:

 

[goody]

Remember, Thomas Edison didn't fail 100 times in making the light bulb, he just found 100 ways how not to make a light bulb.

 

[Tumblernotch]

To be perfectly honest, I remembered after I posted this that I did the same thing at least once. :redface: But it was the fact that I drilled past where I should've stopped and not the procedure. That's what always gets me into trouble! :grin: