Whale bone.

[Johnny65]

Hi Guys,

Has anyone tried turning whale bone ?
Where I go on holiday in Scotland I usually find whale bone washed up on the beach, last year I found a left side of a jaw about 14ft long, I've also found shoulder blade, vertebrae etc.
Is it any good for turning, it does appear to be quite porous. The other thing is I don't want to fall foul of any CITES laws.
It might not apply for washed up whale bone. Beached whales belong to the Receiver of Wrecks, believe it or not.
A whale washed up dead locally a few weeks ago, somebody chainsawed the bottom jaw off and was prosecuted under CITES laws.

 

[Cabinetman]

Sorry can’t help you with that, but I was given a whale tooth when I was a boy, and tried to cut it up to use a slice through it as a pendant, it was so hard and stank so badly of burning hair and also I ruined my Dad’s tenon saw in the process that I gave up. People weren’t so worried about whales half a century ago. Ian

 

[Ttrees]

It doesn't sound like the person who chainsawed the jaw off the carcass transported the ivory teeth, so I wouldn't have thought it would be a CITES thing?
From the little I've read, it seems they make changes as necessary.
Are you sure it was under CITES legislation?

Regarding the bone, not saying its a good idea if you have to transport it to ask the police
or council, but regarding the jawbone it may be.
When this CITES legislation was brought in, a few folks in the USA were
getting documentation from the police for their Brazilian rosewood guitars, so they could travel with them before a deadline.

Regarding working with the bone, I have made a few batches of nuts and saddles
before, from cow bone shins and legs, there is a lot of porous areas to be cut away first.
Not much solid stuff thick enough for anything but saddles.
The dust sticks to you when you use a hacksaw, and it smells quite strong.
I'd use an apron of some sorts and some wellies or something.
Degreasing takes a lot of boiling, if you want to keep the material as hard as possible.
i.e not using bleach

If I'm not mistaken, this is a snippet from the article, which seems to have disappeared.
It might be somewhere else if you look hard enough, or at least be a good start for reference
Cleaning Bone for Use in Lutherie

 

[JohnPW]

I thought CITIES is mainly to do with cross border movement.

 

[Sandyn]

Long time ago,I made a pen holder from cow bone. It had been used to make soup first . It's a nice material to work with. I'm sure I bleached it to try whiten it, then dried it. It sanded very well and polished up nicely. I would imagine whale bone would turn nicely.

 

[TRITON]

Im not 100% sure of this but I think you can get anthrax from working on old bones or skin. I have heard of a single case of a drum maker contracting it form working on a drum skin(He died). So maybe before working such things it would be an idea to do a bit of reading.

 

[Cabinetman]

Long time ago,I made a pen holder from cow bone. It had been used to make soup first . It's a nice material to work with. I'm sure I bleached it to try whiten it, then dried it. It sanded very well and polished up nicely. I would imagine whale bone would turn nicely.

Now if you want an interesting material to work with cowhorn is wonderful stuff, I knew a lad at college who did allsorts with it, if I remember rightly it’s malleable when heated, and translucent when thin enough.

 

[Sandyn]

Ahhhh The nights I have spent helping work sheep and cow horn on the live animal. When you prepare a beast for a show, they get the full make over, shampooed, their horns and feet manicured, As you say, you can heat them and bend them. It's important for the two horns to match and have the correct twist on them, They were filed with a rasp. It makes a really satisfying noise. It stinks when it burns. Happy memories!!

 

[Inspector]

There is a pen turner here that has turned a few pens of whalebone. The bone was old and not much different than turning antler apparently except more porous than the inside of large dear or elk antler. Wear a good respirator as the dust isn't good for the lungs.

Pete

 

[LJM]

Whale carcasses actually belong to the Crown, and as such are reportable to the Receiver of Wreck. A small but important difference!

 

[Phil Pascoe]

As he said in the first post.

Hydrogen peroxide is used for bleaching antler, it might be be the best way to go for whalebone.

 

[Adam Pinson]

Sorry can’t help you with that, but I was given a whale tooth when I was a boy, and tried to cut it up to use a slice through it as a pendant, it was so hard and stank so badly of burning hair and also I ruined my Dad’s tenon saw in the process that I gave up. People weren’t so worried about whales half a century ago. Ian

I hate it when that happens LOL

 

[MARK.B.]

The carcases may belong to the crown but they sure as hell want nothing to do with removing the rotting remains from the beach. Just an old law(Never repealed) from back in the day when a whale carcass was worth a few bob and the crown wanted that few bob all to itself.

 

[TheTiddles]

The carcases may belong to the crown but they sure as hell want nothing to do with removing the rotting remains from the beach. Just an old law(Never repealed) from back in the day when a whale carcass was worth a few bob and the crown wanted that few bob all to itself.

I believe the Queen gets the tongue, I’m not sure what she does with it, maybe a slide from one floor to another in the palace?

Aidan

 

[MARK.B.]

Aidan i really really wanted to answer your comment above but i believe i may be banned forever if i do
y

 

[Democritus]

Mark,
I can’t imagine what you’re thinking....!!!
D

 

[MARK.B.]

 

[Cooper]

Now if you want an interesting material to work with cowhorn is wonderful stuff

The Worshipful Company of Horners, a City livery company, is the body that is now affiliated to the plastics industry. Presumably, as you say that when it is heated it is a natural plastic.

 

[TheTiddles]

“Plastic” is a funny name for a material, it only really applies when the material is hot. It’d be like calling glass “squidgy”, at room temperature most plastics are not very plastic at all, but I suppose “brittle” was already taken...

One of the first modern plastics was made from milk, it doesn’t burn easily so they made airmen’s buttons out of it, you can make it at home if you fancy a try

Aidan

 

[SVB]

I finished a Max Brosi demo piece to make a whale vertebrae !

S