To do a really secure and elegant attachment, I first cut a piece of
sheet metal into a pleasing shape that fits the bottom of the
finding. I solder the finding to it. I then carefully trace the
outline of the sheet onto the ivory where the finding will go. I
solder a post to the underside or leave room for rivets. At this
point, if using a post, drill it out. Then comes the tedious part. To
this point I have sanded down to 320 grit. I carve out a cavity and
fit the sheet into to it. I then sand again (starting with 220 around
the excavation) down to final polish. At this point, any good epoxy
will do. If using rivets, drill the holes and epoxy in the rivets.
To see some example of my ivory work go to www.sumnersilverman.com
szs