Preparation of cow bone for carving

Jewelry Discussion
1

Hi everyone

I have a customer who wants a piece with a polished cow bone cabochon
in it. Can anyone tell me, what which bone I need to ask the butcher
for, and how I need to prepare it for carving (I think boiling with
some chemicals is required)?

Thanks,
Anna Williams

2

Hi Anna,

I have a customer who wants a piece with a polished cow bone
cabochon in it. Can anyone tell me, what which bone I need to ask
the butcher for, and how I need to prepare it for carving (I think
boiling with some chemicals is required)?

Get a shin or leg bone, and ask the butcher to slice it in half
vertically.

Don’t boil the bone you’ll weaken it.

Scrape as much meat off as possible, then leave the bone in a 50-50
mixture of bleach and water for 3-5 days.

This makes the bone white, and clean.

The other suggestion would be to put the bone on an ant hill,
however it will take longer (depending on the ants of course), and
the last time I did this some animal scarpered with the bone :smiley:

Regards Charles A.

3 
I have a customer who wants a piece with a polished cow bone
cabochon in it. Can anyone tell me, what which bone I need to ask
the butcher for

My Dad used to make replacement chessmen in bone and ivory. He said
you want something old, bull or racehorse. Here in the UK everything
is slaughtered young because of BSE. The older it is the more solid
you get, bone has little pinholes in it which show up when you
polish. Leg bones are probably the best.

regards Tim.

4 
Leg bones are probably the best.

Apparently rear shin bone on a large cow is best. Bones that have
borne the most weight are usually more dense for carving.

5

For one cabochon, I wouldn’t bother boiling fresh bones in
chemicals. (It’s a stinky process…) Just go to one of the larger
pet emporia, either in person or online, and get a sterile beef bone.
Here’s an example (I haven’t bought these particular ones, but this
is the sort of thing you want):

http://www.petmarket.com/sterilized-natural-beef-dog-bone-xlge-p-22.html

When shopping, get the thickest ones you can find. They’re good for
carving, and make a reasonable substitute for ivory. A hacksaw with
a coarse blade is good for chopping them up. When polishing, use a
white compound on a new buff, and go easy so as not to heat up too
much.

Andrew Werby

6

peroxide for your local cvs is all you need do not use bleach it
will mess it up you need to clean it scrap it and soak it or you can
go the fast cheap way and buy it from a very good and honest dealer
i know p_varshnei@yahoo.co.in

there is also a store here in USA Moscow hide and fur but your better
off with the first his product is always good and i cant say the
same of the second.

best wishes
Jen

7 
Apparently rear shin bone on a large cow is best. Bones that have
borne the most weight are usually more dense for carving.

Something that’s nicer than bone (imo) is antler, and there is less
preparation. I traded Australian burl wood for antler from a friend
in the states, lovely to work with.

Regards Charles A.

8 
peroxide for your local cvs is all you need do not use bleach it
will mess it up you need to clean it scrap it and soak it or you
can go the fast cheap way and buy it

Well the 50-50 bleach water mixture worked well for me, but it was
really messy, stinky, and I had to get rid of the the mixture… it
wasn’t pleasant.

Buying a bone is the best way to go, the pet store suggestion was
also a good one.

Regards Charles A