Antler Repair

[Jim B]

I don't usually remember to take photographs of antler repairs till they are finished.I've got this one to do and will try to post probably one picture a day as it progresses.I epoxied a 3/8" square rod in the antler.The rod was roughed up and notched on the grinder.Glue is Magic Smooth.I'm going to glue it into the skull today.I'll try to rough fill in the gap tomorrow,if I don't get any major interruptions.When I drilled the holes in the antler and pedicel,the core material was moist and greasy so I boiled and cleaned it well, after drilling.

[Curt]

Thanks for the post. I look forward to seeing this progression.

[Whitetail Finder]

That make two of us! Thanks for posting this project

[Josh K]

Yea I love these kind of posts. Josh

[Jim B]

I epoxied the rod into the pedicel.I used the dremel to notch the inside of the hole in the pedicel to help the glue grab even better.I braced the rack because it will be several hours before the epoxy gets hard.In general,the slower setting epoxies are stronger and this is the strength part of the repair.Inevitably,someone is going to pick the mount up by the rack.I'm going to let it set up overnight to get a good bond.I also used the dremel to bevel all sharp edges of the break and get rid of any splinters.This makes it easier to feather my epoxy putty(later) and blend it into the existing surface texture.

[plugitmc]

I can't to see how it turns out thank for showing us.

Steve

[rnviper3]

i have only half the picture.  i will be looking forward to seeing it finished.

[RoyalOaksTaxidermy]

Cant wait to see how it comes along What epoxie putty are you using for the filler? Any particular type? And do you plan on painting or staining it?

[Jim B]

I decided to mix some chopped fiberglass into the Magic Smooth and rough in the bulk of the antler and pedicel with that,instead of epoxy putty.Just trying to add to the strength.I'm going to surface texture over that with epoxy putty,maybe tomorrow.I'll let that epoxy putty harden before I sculpt in the bumps and burr as another step.

[boarhunter67]

Wow.  I can't wait to see how it turns out.  Thanks for the pics.

[Jim B]

I mixed up some 2 part silicone putty and made a quick mold of the other burr.

[Jim B]

I usually keep several different kinds of epoxy putty on hand and try to use the one that matches the lightest,base color of the rack.Sometimes I mix 2 different putties to get what I want.I used Sculp Epox for this one.I applied a base texture layer to the rack and textured it with modeling tools and brushes.This is just the base texture.I want this to get solid before I sculpt the bumps and apply the burr.At the same time,I pressed some of the Sculp Epox into the silicone burr molds.When the epoxy in the molds gets firm enough that I can pull it out without disturbing the detail,but still has some slight flex to it,I'll remove it from the mold and epoxy it to the rack.Notice I saved a small roll of the Sculp Epox as a reference sample so I can monitor it's hardness and flex so I know when to take my epoxy from the molds.

[Uncle Harley]

Awsome thread cant't wait to see the finished product!

[Jim B]

I got the silicone from a place called Micro Mark tools.It takes some getting used to as it sets very fast and is only good for small projects.McKenzie sells a silicone putty and I'm going to try that soon as mine is running out.I let the Sculp Epox sit in the silicone molds for 1 1/2 hours.When I removed it,it was firm enough to keep the detail but still quite flexible and a little tacky.It was tacky enough,as was the base layer,that all I had to do was press it in place and go around the edge with a modeling tool,pressing it down.No glueing.There was about 1/2" of real burr there,the rest was rebuilt.To make the mold,fill with epoxy and apply the burr to the rack,took not much more than 5 minutes.

[300savage]

Very nice thanks for sharing