How to work with crosscut mammoth tusk without it falling apart so easily

[Jeff Whitaker 1987]

Should I glue crosscut mammoth tusk to an acrylic backing so that it won't fall apart on me? I make small 1/8" thick inlays for protech godson knives and tried crosscut mammoth for the first time and it just fell apart on me so it occurred to me maybe I can glue it to a thin 1mm thick piece of acrylic and then sand it from the top face only? Or could I just use 3m adhesive paper? It crumbles so easily when it's crosscut I would appreciate any tips if not I will figure it out myself I'm sure, not many people are willing to help these days in my experience, I just started inlay making 5 months ago

 

[Bill DeShivs]

Do you mean you are working with the end grain?

 

[WValtakis]

It definitely needs a backer, something stiff like thin G-10 or micarta would probably be best.

 

[Jeff Whitaker 1987]

It definitely needs a backer, something stiff like thin G-10 or micarta would probably be best.

OK I've worked with micarta before but haven't tried g10 yet I will have to find something very thin because my inlays are only 3.1mm thick so the backing would have to be thin like 1.5mm at most thanks

 

[Jeff Whitaker 1987]

Do you mean you are working with the end grain?

Yeah it's crosscut so it's very brittle and cracks and falls apart so I need to know what would be good to use as a backing to keep it from falling apart and what glue to use

 

[Jeff Whitaker 1987]

It definitely needs a backer, something stiff like thin G-10 or micarta would probably be best.

What kind of glue would you suggest using?

 

[Jeff Whitaker 1987]

It definitely needs a backer, something stiff like thin G-10 or micarta would probably be best.

Thanks

 

[Bill DeShivs]

Super glue. The fact that the material is disintegrating suggests it is porous. Applying super glue to the open ends could help with it coming apart.

 

[Hengelo_77]

You can get very thin G10.
It is also called GFK (platte )

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I use a lot of mammoth tusk. Not all cross-cut slices are falling apart. Some is as solid as modern elephant tusk

Putting a backing on it is wise. I use medium thickness CA (cyanoacrylic, aka super glue). Once the piece is glued on the backing sand down the top to a couple mm thicker than the final thickness needed. Flood the surface with thin CA, let dry overnight, sand off, flood again, sand to final thickness. It will be stabilized and very durable.

 

[REK Knives]

Maybe Fixall will have some tips

 

[Jeff Whitaker 1987]

You can get very thin G10.
It is also called GFK (platte )

Thanks! I'm looking at some very thin G-10 liner that comes in all colors and is 1mm or 1.5mm thick which is perfect now I need to figure out what glue would be best I might just do 5minute epoxy but not sure what glue to use

 

[Jeff Whitaker 1987]

I use a lot of mammoth tusk. Not all cross-cut slices are falling apart. Some is as solid as modern elephant tusk

Putting a backing on it is wise. I use medium thickness CA (cyanoacrylic, aka super glue). Once the piece is glued on the backing sand down the top to a couple mm thicker than the final thickness needed. Flood the surface with thin CA, let dry overnight, sand off, flood again, sand to final thickness. It will be stabilized and very durable.

Thanks you also use CA glue to bond the liner on as well? Does CA glue need an activater spray to harden it?

 

[Jeff Whitaker 1987]

Thanks ill look into CA glue I thought it needed a spray to make it harden? Like an activator spray? Or is there CA glue without activated spray? Thanks I'm going to use a thin g10 liner my inlays are only 3.1 mm thick so the liner will have to be very thin like 1mm or 1.5mm

 

[weo]

Or is there CA glue without activated spray?

Yes. Some glues use activator spray simply to speed up the curing process

 

[Jeff Whitaker 1987]

Yes. Some glues use activator spray simply to speed up the curing process

OK so I can use it without an activation to bond my backing onto the mammoth or I'll use Krazy glue I think

 

[WValtakis]

If you have a local hobby shop they will have a good assortment of various viscosity (speed and gap filling properties) as well as activator.

 

[Hengelo_77]

You can get G10 in 0.1mm thin, 0.5 is readily available.
Sometimes activator makes super glue turn white

 

[Jeff Whitaker 1987]

If you have a local hobby shop they will have a good assortment of various viscosity (speed and gap filling properties) as well as activator.

OK I don't really have a local hobby shop I'm in a small town I order everything online but I'll just do a medium CA glue to fill cracks and maybe Krazy glue to glue the g10 backing onto the mammoth unless I can just use CA glue to glue the backing on as well? Thanks

 

[WValtakis]

OK I don't really have a local hobby shop I'm in a small town I order everything online but I'll just do a medium CA glue to fill cracks and maybe Krazy glue to glue the g10 backing onto the mammoth unless I can just use CA glue to glue the backing on as well? Thanks

Medium should work for both, with the large surface area of the liner I'd probably use activator for that bond to ensure it cures in the center.