Cutting buckhorn

[DaveK]

The other day I tried to cut up some deer antler on my mill, and would like to ask about your experience in cutting the stuff. I cut a 2" chunk off an antler, center drilled both ends, put it into a jury-rigged centers/4th-axis-spinner, and cut with a 4-flute HSS end mill (1/2" running at 1100 or 1400rpm iirc). The objective was to make the piece round, like a ferrule. Anyway, it worked pretty well, but I found that stuff is tough as nails to cut. The cutting forces seemed quite high, wanting to push the thing out of the jig. So my question : is deer antler really tough to cut or am I using the wrong cutter ? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Dave

 

[JoeyInCali]

They are that tough.
I use a 6-flute thin kerf carbide tipped cutter and am very CAREFUL.
They are harder than ebony.

 

[BLACKHEARTCUES]

The other day I tried to cut up some deer antler on my mill, and would like to ask about your experience in cutting the stuff. I cut a 2" chunk off an antler, center drilled both ends, put it into a jury-rigged centers/4th-axis-spinner, and cut with a 4-flute HSS end mill (1/2" running at 1100 or 1400rpm iirc). The objective was to make the piece round, like a ferrule. Anyway, it worked pretty well, but I found that stuff is tough as nails to cut. The cutting forces seemed quite high, wanting to push the thing out of the jig. So my question : is deer antler really tough to cut or am I using the wrong cutter ? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Dave

As you probably know, only the solid parts are usefull. The PITHY centers are not solid enough, so you really need a large rack & only the tips are solid. I cut them, til I find the usefull size. Then I sand then on a belt sander til they are nearly round. Only then do I center drill them. I cut them with a rounded lathe tool, taking small cuts until it's round. Also I only use antler that have been shed. They are the most white. Antlers from killed deer, tend to be pink or rose colored, because they are full of blood...JER

 

[Mase]

The other day I tried to cut up some deer antler on my mill, and would like to ask about your experience in cutting the stuff. I cut a 2" chunk off an antler, center drilled both ends, put it into a jury-rigged centers/4th-axis-spinner, and cut with a 4-flute HSS end mill (1/2" running at 1100 or 1400rpm iirc). The objective was to make the piece round, like a ferrule. Anyway, it worked pretty well, but I found that stuff is tough as nails to cut. The cutting forces seemed quite high, wanting to push the thing out of the jig. So my question : is deer antler really tough to cut or am I using the wrong cutter ? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Dave

I cut them on the band saw until they are close to round and then just chuck them up in the 3 jaw chuck and cut them with a carbide cutter. I works just fine and the only problem is the smell.

 

[pdcue]

The other day I tried to cut up some deer antler on my mill, and would like to ask about your experience in cutting the stuff. I cut a 2" chunk off an antler, center drilled both ends, put it into a jury-rigged centers/4th-axis-spinner, and cut with a 4-flute HSS end mill (1/2" running at 1100 or 1400rpm iirc). The objective was to make the piece round, like a ferrule. Anyway, it worked pretty well, but I found that stuff is tough as nails to cut. The cutting forces seemed quite high, wanting to push the thing out of the jig. So my question : is deer antler really tough to cut or am I using the wrong cutter ? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Dave

Buckhorn works much like bone.
I have had best results using a VERY sharp HSS lathe cutter

an endmill in a lam trimmer generates a fine dust that I don't want to
deal with

HTH
Dale

 

[cueman]

Pretty much any 1/4" or larger router bit spinning 30,000 will cut it. Center drill it just like you did but use a router to get the speed of the cut that you need. Like one sadi above the dust is pretty nasty. Use good ventilation and a respirator when cutting.
Chris
cueman@cuesmith.com
www.internationalcuemakers.com