Bone Inlay / Wheellock

[helwood]

Bone Inlay- Inspired by c.late 1580s Augsburg Wheellock Pistols.
   The best book I've found so far is - Landeszeughause Graz, Austria byBrook.  And it's in English.
    The Bone I used was Camel leg Bone from Worldwide Wildlife Products in St Augustine FL
You will be using the Cortical Bone.  That is the Outside compact hard Bone.         When I first started my research it just said Vinegar so I got a gallon, this was 5%.  I put my cut pieces for the Pommel in a container and covered it with the vinegar.     I then checked it daily.  After x2weeks the Bone was still ferm.   After 19days I was told that there was a 30% Vinegar sold at Lowes and Home Depot, sold for cleaning.  I switched to the 30% and checking daily again.   As it turned out it was another 19 days when the Bone became flexible.      I washed off the Bone in water and sat it on paper towel to dry.Note, when it was dry it was no longer flexible.     The Inlays need to be worked Wet/dampafter rinsingwith water and and wiped off with paper towel.     Note,  when you workbook it has a Grain/direction and  when you scrape it watch the direction.   My stocks are Claro Walnut.  I used Quick Set Epoxy.  I was thinking about trying Hide Glue but I already had alot going.  If you are using a scraping technique to shape the Inlays it reminds me of Sinew (tendon or ligament).   For the long thin Inlays they were in the 30% for 24days.   This was a fun experiment,  lots to learn.   Thanks Hank

[Daryl]

What a wonderful brace of pistols.

[Pukka Bundook]

Lovely work Hank, and something hardly ever seen these days.

But you know Hank, what went through my mind is By Gum!  those old timers really made life difficult for themselves!
Makes you wonder who thought of bending bone for a living!

Thank you for showing us how it was done!
I used bone straight, not bent, just shaped.

[PhDBrewer]

Beautiful job Hank!
Thanks for writing this up.
William

[Curtis]

Hank!!  It's great seeing those beautiful pistols finally posted here!  One heck of a lot of excellent craftsmanship and hard work represented there.  It's also fantastic that you are sharing your "unlocked mysteries" of bone inlay, it will save a lot of folks interested in the subject from hard times and heartbreak.  Most excellent! 


Curtis

[smart dog]

Hi Hank,
Beautiful work and they look so authentic!  I tried the vinegar and bone method years ago and discovered you had to work the bone wet.  After the vinegar treatment they were really brittle when dry. It got me wondering if the really fine curls you see on so many of the best wheellocks are actually bone or shaved curls from horn.

dave

[alacran]

Hello Hank, those are really stunning. I admire the bone inlays and appreciate the labor and persistence it entails. However, your metal work is superb, that is what really draws my eye.

[helwood]

Greetings,
I want to thank you all for your kind words.  I hope my R&D will save time and frustration.    It's a fun addition to our art form.     Thanks, Hank

[Craig Wilcox]

Carpal bones, if interested, connect our wrists to our fingers.  In animals like camels or horses, they connect the fetlock to the hoof.  Good smooth bones.

Really thank you for your precise description of how to prepare and use the bone; my usage had to do with biology/surgery.  But now "I know how to use as a decoration!

[helwood]

Greetings Graig,
You're absolutely correct.  I love details  these are specifically  the 3rd Metacarpal bones the thing that I haven't been able to find is why they are also known as, the Cannon Bone.  Any ideas?        Hank

[Craig Wilcox]

That portion of a horse's leg is sometimes called the "cannon".  Have no idea why.

I have a problem with one of my carpals, due to Agent Orange.  The AO sometimes attacks the cartilage in joints, such as with my spine.  They've attached nifty Titanium plates in my spine, which really helps a lot.

But the #1 Carpal, right hand, connects the thumb to the wrist - and the wrist end of that carpal is really messed up - constant pain.  The last orthopedic Doc at the VA merely gave me a nasty little plastic and Velcro brace - which hurts more than the dang bone end does!  It went out with the trash.

I'm limited to typing with my right index finger and use the thumb on the space bar - sucks to be me sometimes.

[wogden]

Hi Hank,

Just, wow!  Those look terrific.