grinding ivory

[taramonas]

Hello All,

I'm starting this thread, because there is no in the library about it.
A day, I was grinding my Mammoth Ivory, I think about the cracks coming
up while grinding down surface, and grinding, and grinding, don't think
about the heat!
I ever cool down the material on a flat iron of my grinder.
But, guys you guess it, it's well better on a bar of aluminium.
My bar messures about 1" x 3/4", with a length of 10"".
I grind the ivory for a few seconds (under pressure) and it
warms up high, put it on the flat alu, and it cools down in seconds.
So I never have cracks when grinding.

for good working
Axel
http://www.taramonas.de/messer

 

[Bruce Bump]

elephant ivory is the worst for cracks because of heat. Be sure to use new belts to avoid cracks. The funny thing is they show up later if the ivory was over heated.

 

[taramonas]

Yes Bruce, I know, they come later a day or so, I hate that, but I
think, I had hold heat down. Serriously.

Axel

 

[Mike Hull]

Coat the piece with zap ca and spray it with zap kicker accelerant. That will take care of the cracks and voids.

Do most of your shaping with new coarse belts at slow speed(you see the good uses of variable speed now?).

http://www.knifeandgun.com/catalog/adhesive_186655_products.htm

 

[Dan Gray]

elephant ivory is the worst for cracks because of heat. Be sure to use new belts to avoid cracks. The funny thing is they show up later if the ivory was over heated.

also to add..
I think the biggist reason is when you over heat it you dry it out and you cause a suface tention, it shrinks now to fast over the part that has not been over heated inside. crack

 

[mlovett]

I spray my finer belts with water, and or wd-40. when working many handle mat's. Really keeps the heat down. Mike http://www.lovettknives.com/