Antler Repair How To With Pics

[Darrell]

With all the great tutorials people are posting I thought I would do a few.  The first thing that came to mind was antler repair and staining.  This is a european whitetail mount from South Texas that had two points broken from the rut I presume.  Following in the next few posts are "MY" steps and methods for doing this.  I am sure there are many other ways even better ways probably.  Hope some one can use the information.  These first sets are the process through the epoxy curing.  I will ad the staining portion over the weekend.


Here is our project before any repairs.



First step I do is drill a hole into the antler big enough to accept some epoxy and 10 gauge wire.  I try and get atleast 3/4" deep into the antler.




I use two-part epoxy for a lot of things in taxidermy and this is one of them.  The 5 minute works well for this application.  Let the wires cure in-place and then bend to your specs.


The epoxy I use for antler and horn repairs is "All Game" the color is good for staining.

[Darrell]

Nead two equal parts of the epoxy together until uniform and forn and shape your tine.  Slide the epoxy over the wire and get to a similar shape.  I then let that set for about an hour.




After it cures for the hour take some lacquer thinner and a small paint brush and blend the base of the repair into the existing antler.  This is critical to get this blended so it does not show once you are done.  Shape the tine to your liking or specification and ad any abnormalities or character you want.  By that time you are able to score the epoxy to get your texture to match the real antler.


In my opionion this is one of the best tools for antler work.  You can do all types of texturing with it.

The staining pics will be uploaded sometime over the weekend.  Hope some one can use this information.

[Curt]

Darrell, this post is going to help out countless numbers of people. I do many repairs every year and have answered lots of questions on the topic. I am glad to see this thread and it is fun to see that there are others doing things the way we do them ourselves. Great job Thank you and I look forward to seeing the finished set.

[bulldog4949]

Darrell....

Great post.  Ready to see it finished!!

[10inchbeard]

Hey Great information!!!  This type of information really helps those just starting out.  You guys that take the time to do these these are great.  THANKS  Keep them coming.  Can't wait to see the finished product...

[Bobbi Meyer]

Super Darrell.
Kinda fun doing the tutorials isn't it?
This should be great help! Thanks.

Maybe we could get Ken to start a new category...Tutorials with photos!!!

OH KEN!!!!!!!!!!!

[acvtaxi]

Thanks for info.  Nice  work.

[B2L]

Thanks for all the info... I spent way to long fixing my first broken ones... I couldnt get them to taper nicely... The old dremmel fixed that:-)  I havent staind them yet so ill be anxious to see how you do that process... I ordered the 4 pack of stains from vandykes..
Eric

[Wayne D]

Do you wait for the anlers to dry and shrink or repair right away.
thanks,wayne.

[nofiveo]

Bobbi, thats a great idea! there have been so many helpful tutorials done by you, michaelp, old terry, and others that it would be beneficial to start a tutorials category. since a pic can be worth a thousand words, it would make it easier on the newcomers to be able to go right to the tutorials section rather than try and find them in the archives.

[bulldog4949]

I agree Bobbi....that would be great!!

[Darrell]

Do you wait for the anlers to dry and shrink or repair right away.
thanks,wayne.

Generally by the time I get around to repairing them they have already shrunk.

[hollidani]

Darrell, thanks for the post. The timing was perfect cuz I have a rack that needs repair and I was going to ask on this forum. One difference with mine is that the main beam is broken off at the last point. Any special problems with main beam repair or should the same steps work as in your instructions? I have to add 8 to 10 inches and was worried about no support under it.

[bulldog4949]

just make sure you wire goes into the existing beam a ways, for the support.

[Lisa M]

Good job Darrell.  Thank you!

FairyGodFather Ken, as it turns out, has been working on making a Tutorial Category for us!  Coming soon...to a Taxi.net near you!