Cutting Tusks???

Hey IG,

Do you think one of the water cooled tiles saws would be over-kill? Whatcha gonna do? slabs or just cut it lengthwise. A bandsaw with a piece of something epoxied to the tusk to keep it parallel with the blade would work also. Or just send it to me;) I promise you'll get the whole 5" back. I mean 10".

Mark
 
Hi... If you are going to cut a length of it cross wise to get two pieces say for hidden tangs or for a number of spacer pieces there is a neat little device I swiped from my wife that is perfect for the job.
It is a six inch long X two inch wide aluminum mitre box used to cut pieces when building doll houses. It comes in a kit with a 1 1/4" wide but very thin saw for less than $10.00 Cdn.
This device lets you make very accurate cuts at a slow rate so there is no risk of burning or scorching the ivory. I use it on Stag as well as you don't have to change blades on your bandsaw.
Another great bonus is there is no dental office smell of enamel. This used to drive my Rhodesian Ridgebacks crazy.

You should be able to pick it up at any craft store. sorry I can not post a picture I have not got my membership upgraded yet but will soon.

Jim Ziegler
 
George, I gave a lot of thought to cutting a section of walrus tusk that I have and the only way that I would even consider doing it is on a good band saw with at least a 1/2" wide blade. I'd build a jig to hold the tusk at the angle I wanted to cut it. A simple L shaped jig would be all you'd need. Then hot glue the tusk to the inside corner of the jig. Sit the jig on the saw table and adjust the fence till it lines up the way you want to cut. If the tusk isn't dead straight you might have to use a wedge to get the proper angle of cut or even go real slow free hand if you can. To get the tusk lined up with the blade vertically, cut some thin strips of wood or use something you have like spacer material, cut into 1/4" strips. Glue strips of it to the bottom right edge of the jig till the tusk is lined up properly. Be sure to make the jig 3 or 4 inches longer than the tusk so when you cut the tusk the jig will still be solid. Hope this gibberish helps!
 
Thin kerf bandsaw blade , or just send it over ill cut it for you . just let me know how you need it cut , length , width .:)
 
IG at 4" from the left cut it at that point in half then
send that part to me
you can keep the rest:D :D
 
Thanks Dan, I knew I could count on you in a pinch.:barf: :barf: :barf: :p
PS, What side is left??????:confused: :confused: :confused:
 
no problem IG Glad to help..:D you'd just have to make something with that part anyway...
left is left that's not a rotating picture you know..:rolleyes: :D :D :D hehehehe :D
 
George, I believe that is a walrus penis bone (oosic) You havent been handling that thing have you?
 
A good blade on a variable speed bandsaw should work really well.
No Bruce that is a tusk,the Oosic has bulb ends on it and are darker in color.
Bruce
 
I have cut up well over 150 lbs of elephant tusks and many more Siberian ones. A good sharp bandsaw blade in a wood cutting bandsaw is all you need. I always laid them out first, and cut them in approx 5" lengths starting from the tip as long as it was substantial. If not you might want to start at the hollow end, slowly cutting off the thin stuff until you get to where its thick enough to use. Then lay out the 5 inch lengths (or 4..5 or 5.5 as you see fit) and try to cut it square across. Once you have the sections you can flattten one end and lay out the handle sections and/or solid pieces as you see fit and cut them with the flat end on the bandsaw base to start and once you have cut a couple of the outside curves off you can flatten one and start using that for a base. Hope that is all clear.

oops.........just looked at the picture. One bad thing about walrus is that wierd center stuff. If you want solid, I would cut it in half at the five inch point, if you want scales, cut it in half and then cut the outside off..........the middle stuff is not much good for scales as it will crack FOR SURE.
 
The tusk have a 1/4" thick of bark ivory on it. The dude (Whale) who gave it to me said he had it carbon dated and it is 3000 to 6000 years old. I had it for 15 years. It was dragged up off the floor off the ocean. The bark got the blues and browns in it.
Thanks for the feedback
 
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