The raw material:.. This one is Jenna Woginrich's long traveled antler. Best antlers for these sticks are smallish ones. "Jackalope" antlers if you will.
I soak them in a diluted bleach solution to bring out the white of the antler and also get rid of the dirt and grime. In the end, the antler gleems.
Here are my raw materials for making spacers. Spacers will go between the antler and the actual stick (shank). In this case, I have a black colred rams horn from Black welsh Mountain sheep and a Scottish Blackface horn scrap. I hope to make a nice transition from the antler, to blak and back to white again them mathing up with the reddish colored stick. Makes for a nice presentation!
Here I am on the bandsaw cutting a semi-flat piece out of the Black Welsh horn. I still have ten fingers after all the work!
Here we are in order. Antler, Black Rams horn and Cream rams horn.
I flatten each piece out on my belt sander so theat they will match up fairly seamless. That is Gwen's head, mostly nose, in the picture. The dogs have gotten used to the odd piece of scrap tossed to them while I make sticks!
I make a flat spot on the bottom of the antler on which to adhere the antler pieces.
Ready to be glued!
Here is a clamp holding together a sandwich of antler and spacers. Plenty of Epoxy is used here. The rough edges of the horn and antler make for a good bond with the epoxy.
While the horn assembly dries, it is time to choose a stick on which to mount it. I try to find a stick tailored to the customer's personality or there purpose. In this case, Jenna is a serious advocate of local and hand made goods therefore I chose a stick I had handcut myself, as opposed to those I import from England. This stick is from the Hazel hedgerow of Edgeworth farm.. home to Tommy and Florence Wilson. There is a lot of Karma in this stick! Note the bent stick. It has been drying (curing) for over a year.There is rarely such a thing as a straight stick so it must be ironed out.
I put a pot of water on my simple hot plate out in my workshop. Once the water starts boiling, I place the crooked parts of the stick over the steam and cover with a towel or other scrap material.
As the stick is steamed, I put it between two cushioned jaws of a vice and slooooowwwwwly bend it. As I bend I continually eye it for straightness and appearance. It usually takes two or three times up and down a stick to get it right.
End result of the stick.. Pretty darn straight! Never absolutely perfect, as the odd slight twist or turn adds carachter to the stick.
I file down any rough knots or points on the bark. The smoother the finish, the nicer it turns out after lacquer is applied.
Back to our antler a day or so later. I rough cut the spacers to prepare for putting on the stick.
Here I am drilling out a hole in the antler assembly. Eventually I will epoxy an oak dowel here with a few inches sticking out that will go in to the stick.
The stick being drilled. I skipped a step here picture wise in my zeal of getting the job done. One of the toughest jobs of building a crook is matching up the horn to the stick where the ends match up evenly. The more perfect a match, the better it will bond when epoxyed.
After the stick has been epoxyed, I grind down the "marriage" of the crook until all edges blend smoothly and transition seamlessly from antler to wood. Harder than it sounds!
Minwax Helmsman Spar Urethane is my friend! At least three coats on the stick, rubbing it down between each coat with steel wool. End product should be a smooth stick with no burrs or rough spots.
Voila! An Antler Stick for Cold Antler farm.
