working with Mammoth tooth?

L

LSCG

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Dec 27, 2012
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I recently got some Stabilized Mammoth tooth and having never worked with it before now I had a question i'm hoping y'all can answer for me.

can you wet sand stabilized Mammoth tooth? or use water as a coolant while sanding?


I've heard some people say never get it wet and others say it's ok. thought it would be best to ask before I did anything.

thanks!
 
You can grind it under water and it won't hurt it. I have found the best belts for grinding mammoth tooth are silicon carbide cork belts. With some mammoth tooth ceramic belts will do very little to change it's shape. For me doing a good job drilling the scale holes, are the most challenging. If I had a consistently good way to do these I would pass it on. I'm still trying different drill bits at different speeds to get the results I want.
Frank
 
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We discuss this pretty often. Use the BF search engine and you can find many threads on "working with mammoth tooth". Lots of info in them:
https://cse.google.com/cse/publicurl?cx=012217165931761871935:iqyc7cbzhci


Tips:
"Stabilized" is a relative term when using mammoth tooth. In this case it really means "slightly more stable than a three foot Jenga stack".
Expect cracks and breaks to happen...especially when cutting or drilling ... use a good, slow, metal cutting band saw and sharp drill bits turning slow.
Epoxy it to a backing of thin G-10 before doing any work...this is mandatory...use good grade epoxy like Accra-glass or T-88, and let it cure for a day or two.
Sharp and fresh abrasives ( avoid very coarse belts).
Don't get it hot.
Go slow....go very slow.
Have thin CA handy to close up cracks and breaks as they happen....and they will happen!
When finished with 400 grit, flood with thin CA and let cure for a day or two, then sand again with 400 grit. Flood again and re-sand if needed to seal every pore.
Hand sand above 400 grit. Take to 2500 or higher grit final finish. Buff very carefully or even better...don't buff at all.
Don't have small children, people with tender ears, or preachers around when working with mammoth tooth.

Most people try it once and swear to never make another mammoth handled knife again :)

A couple other tricks:
If splitting into scales, glue the G-10 to both sides and then split down the center. Some people use a diamond wet saw for tile to cut mammoth. Just make sure the blade is straight and runs smooth. Vibration will destroy most mammoth tooth.
Wet sanding is usually OK, but allow to dry for a day or two before using CA or going to hand sanding. If the tooth seems soft-ish, it is probably a sea fossil, and may be a bit punky. These don't grind wet as well, as they will absorb water. If hard and ston-ish, they work wet very well.
 
I have a huge advantage over the other guys. I have been a lapidarist for 45 years and have diamond equipment. Drilling holes? I cut jade grips, Tigereye grips, petrified wood grips, ruby in zoisite, etc, etc. The secret to drilling holes without problems are DIAMOND CORE BITS and of course, use under water. I do mainly 1911 grips which use a larger hole (1/4") so bigger drills are used. But you can use 3/16 and use geometric pins.

As for cutting, diamond trim saw blades done wet. The slices often have cracks open up so wither surround with maple slabs, wire tight, and send off the treat, OR, do what I do. Use 10 second epoxy after drying...the very thin stuff which will penetrate well. Then after it drys (and shrinks) do it agin until it is up to the surface. You then can use either diamond grinders or silicon paper to sand to shape (wet or dry). I definately use G10 on the back, expecially since 1911 grips are taken on and off. It gives more strength. Might not be necessary with knife handle material, but not a bad idea. Remember that G10 is VERY toxic to sand. Use protection. I sand to 220 then buff. However, after 220 on my belt sander, I go to 220 on a finish sander which gets the scratches out.

Pete
 
thank you Frank, Stacy and Peter for the info! it will definitely come in handy down the road.

Stacy, I actually did use the search function before posting this thread. the reason I posted it is because I saw a thread where Mark Knapp said never get it wet once it's dry and in another thread you said something like use water and lots of it. I was confused lol:D



I didn't use the tooth on a Knife. though it can still be used on a M1911 knife.




 
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PeterB said:
I have a huge advantage over the other guys. I have been a lapidarist for 45 years and have diamond equipment. Drilling holes? I cut jade grips, Tigereye grips, petrified wood grips, ruby in zoisite, etc, etc. The secret to drilling holes without problems are DIAMOND CORE BITS and of course, use under water. I do mainly 1911 grips which use a larger hole (1/4") so bigger drills are used. But you can use 3/16 and use geometric pins.

As for cutting, diamond trim saw blades done wet. The slices often have cracks open up so wither surround with maple slabs, wire tight, and send off the treat, OR, do what I do. Use 10 second epoxy after drying...the very thin stuff which will penetrate well. Then after it drys (and shrinks) do it agin until it is up to the surface. You then can use either diamond grinders or silicon paper to sand to shape (wet or dry). I definately use G10 on the back, expecially since 1911 grips are taken on and off. It gives more strength. Might not be necessary with knife handle material, but not a bad idea. Remember that G10 is VERY toxic to sand. Use protection. I sand to 220 then buff. However, after 220 on my belt sander, I go to 220 on a finish sander which gets the scratches out.

Pete
Click to expand...
pete.....do you also wet sand mammoth ivory?
 
stacy..i saw that..i figured pete would see it and comment..i tried to send him a pm but couldn't
 
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