Working fossil mamoth ivory

Jewelry Discussion
1

I am about to work with fossil mammoth ivory for the first time. I am
going to use it for inlaying with other stones and I’m concerned
about using it on my diamond flat lap and diamond lapidary
wheels.Will it clog the diamond wheels and flat lap? I plan on using
a very fine jewelers saw blade for cutting and zam for polishing
(with a very light touch) but hope that I can use the wheels & laps
for shaping. Any help or advice will be greatly appreciated.

John Barton

2

John,

I am about to work with fossil mammoth ivory for the first time. I
am going to use it for inlaying with other stones and I'm concerned
about using it on my diamond flat lap and diamond lapidary
wheels.Will it clog the diamond wheels and flat lap?

If you have a good flow of water to your flat lap and wheels it will
be fine. As the old rock grinders say, “If you ain’t getting wet
while cutting you ain’t using enough water.” If you do have some
buildup the next piece of agate or jasper you grind will clear it
up.

Rick Copeland
rockymountainwonders.com

3

I’d hand sand it. Compared to most stones, it’s very soft, it works
more like wood. It will polish nicely with almost any compound.

Michael

4

Just one person’s opinion!

I would not use water and diamond tools would not be my first
choice.

I would first put on a really good mask; the kind with two filters
and also use a vacuum.

kpk

5

I have not worked much with fossil ivory but have worked with horn
and, of course, black/red corals. All these materials work similar
to fine hard wood. They can be readily cut with saws, sanded, filed,
scrapped, chopped, etc etc. My preference is to polish with ZAM but
black emery and other compounds work well with varying degrees.

Cheers, from Don in SOFL.

6

How can we be sure it is fossil mamoth ivory?