Elk antler powder measure

[salkehatchie]

I was just playing around. Had an old piece of elk antler the best fork in the rack and made a powder measure out of it in the form of a fish. Looks great, just like a bass, big maw on it. Should work great for 50 grains of 3F.

Looked really neat. So...in order to "improve" on things - I decided to scrim eyes, fins on it. That was the plan!

Tried to test scrim on it and it has zillions of micro cracks in it. Looks terrible under ink.

What to do!? :surrender: :idunno:

 

[hoochiepapa]

Can you just ink the scratches?

This was made for me by Hawkthrower, it's a brow tine from an elk I killed with only one antler. There's a ball inside that cage that rattles around.

 

[salkehatchie]

Mike:

Tried on a very small piece. My main problem is I am trying to preserve the 100 year+ patina without sanding.

Don't think I can do it.

However...I will try that. Just inking the scratch itself. With a very fine artist's brush maybe?

I have also see where someone uses a xtra fine perm blk magic marker! I may try that too :nono:

I just cringe when I think of that. Am trying to give the measure a stylistic Native American look to it, but...I won't tell anyone about the marker if I have to use it.

 

[Black Hand]

Try cleaning the ink with hot water and soap, alcohol or acetone. One will likely remove the ink and you won't need to sand.

 

[garra]

A method we used to remove ink was vanilla extract.

 

[Black Hand]

Vanilla extract is mostly alcohol.

 

[Stringbean]

Vanilla extract is mostly alcohol.

And some say beaver castor as well....

 

[garra]

That's interesting. We had denatured alcohol plus a lot of other chemicals. Vanilla extract worked the best to remove ball point pen marks from cabinetry from the units found at retail check stands. Had to be a combination found in the extract.

 

[salkehatchie]

Try cleaning the ink with hot water and soap, alcohol or acetone. One will likely remove the ink and you won't need to sand.

Thank you. I knew that I could find a workable answer.

Will try that.

 

[salkehatchie]

A method we used to remove ink was vanilla extract.

Thank you. Another excellent idea!

Will add to my tool kit of tricks.

 

[Black Hand]

Denatured alcohol is usually ethanol with some methanol to make it unfit to drink.

Alcohols don't all work equally well for all things.
For example, the adhesive that holds labels to bottles. Some is soluble in isopropyl alcohol, some in acetone and some in plain hot water. Sharpie marker on glass is hardly touched by ethanol, comes off better with methanol and great with acetone.

You just need to adjust your solvent to address the material you are trying to remove.

 

[hawkthrower]

I have found that you can spray the antler with a cheap hair spray , let it dry real good and then do your scratching. The spray will keep the ink from going anywhere except the scratches.

Mike, I can't believe you still have that thing. Gives me a good feeling that you have kept it this long.

Ron

 

[tenngun]

Hanson shows an old antler measure stained to look like birds eye maple. I dont know if you could work your scratchs in to look like a wood or not :idunno:

 

[Rifleman1776]

I have found that you can spray the antler with a cheap hair spray , let it dry real good and then do your scratching. The spray will keep the ink from going anywhere except the scratches.

Mike, I can't believe you still have that thing. Gives me a good feeling that you have kept it this long.

Ron

That is a super tip. :applause: Mayhaps even a rank clutz like me could scrim something half-way passable with that tekneek. :grin: