Bone implements, take one
First experiment with recycling Bery'ls bones (the ones we buy to chew, not her skeleton) into implements was a bust.
I started with a small bone and cut up into 5cm lengths with a hacksaw, then into blanks for needles approximately 3mmx3mm.
Tried to use a file to shape with an 8" half-round file but the bone was just a little to springy to work well so I switched over to 180 grit sandpaper in 1" roll glued back-to-back, this worked well and within 45-60 minutes had a close approximation of a modern darning needle about 1-1.5mm in diameter and approximately 4.5cm long.
Was testing to see how flexible the needle was and snap, checked the rest of the blanks with a little bit of pressure and they all snapped as well. It took about the same pressure as snapping a piece of dried spaghetti
The smoking process appears to make the bone brittle.
Next project - test the left-over bone bits to see if it is satisfactory for metal-work "scratch-pads"
M
She don't eat meat, but she sure likes the bone...
I started with a small bone and cut up into 5cm lengths with a hacksaw, then into blanks for needles approximately 3mmx3mm.
Tried to use a file to shape with an 8" half-round file but the bone was just a little to springy to work well so I switched over to 180 grit sandpaper in 1" roll glued back-to-back, this worked well and within 45-60 minutes had a close approximation of a modern darning needle about 1-1.5mm in diameter and approximately 4.5cm long.
Was testing to see how flexible the needle was and snap, checked the rest of the blanks with a little bit of pressure and they all snapped as well. It took about the same pressure as snapping a piece of dried spaghetti
The smoking process appears to make the bone brittle.
Next project - test the left-over bone bits to see if it is satisfactory for metal-work "scratch-pads"
M
She don't eat meat, but she sure likes the bone...