Hi Gaeckle,
I am working on a 17th century piece that has extensive and elaborate bone and mother-of-pearl inlay. First, if working with bone, wear a dust mask because the bone dust is extremely fine and should not be inhaled. That is particularly true of mother-of-pearl, which is actually toxic. You want to make sure that the bone or antler is dense, avoid areas near the marrow or core because they will be porous. Bone must be degreased or it will rot the wood around it. The best way is to clean and scrape cow femur bone, slice it into slabs, and then soak it in white gas for a week or so. Let it air dry and it will be thoroughly degreased. Some people boil and bleach it to clean it up. That is fine if your inlays are simple without fragile edges or complicated shapes but bleaching or boiling will make bone too brittle for complicated shapes. Unfortunately, most bone slabs that you buy for knife scales have been processed in such a way that they are brittle. Again, that is fine for simple shapes. Bone and antler cut easily with a jewler's saw and can be filed to shape very quickly. When inletting however, you must cut the inlet very clean so the bone presses in with just finger pressure. If you tap it with a hammer like you might with metal inlays, it may crack, especially if the bone material is brittle. Wood glue will hold it in place well. Another thing to remember is that bone inlays will stain so you need to plan for that if you stain your stock with the inlays in place. I have a very steady hand so I simply use a small brush to paint stain around the inlays. You can also glue inlays in after staining but that is difficult if you want the inlay flush with the wood surface. Bone and antler are very beautiful materials that can produce rich and stunning effects if done well.
dave
