Making composite ivory

tryppyr

tryppyr

Joined
Feb 5, 2010
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After processing a bag of scrap ivory to create some shapes that might be used, I have about an ounce of ivory dust. I've been pondering what to do with it, all the while thinking I should mix it with epoxy to create a sort of composite ivory that I could mold or shape for handles. Last night I had yet another dumb idea... mix in some glow in the dark powder.

Anyway, the root of the question is what proportion of ivory dust should be used in conjunction with the epoxy to make an attractive and stable handle material?

Then it occurred to me that there are other resins that might actually be better suited to the task. I've used one such resin in the past to make paperweights with coins "floating" inside. Anyone know which resin might be best for this sort of thing?

- Greg
 
I would guess you'd want to use something like casting resin. What percentage, I have no idea.
 
Casting resin is usually polyester resin which would not be very good. It is not waterproof and UV will degrade it. Possibly the best resin would be vinylester resin which is 100% waterproof. UV will degrade it but not as fast as polyester. Polyester will shrink as much as 5-8% while vinylester will shrink more like 2-3%. Epoxy resin would also be good but it's UV resistence is not as good as vinylester.

I'm not sure what the best proportions are so I would make a slurry as thick as possible and do a hammer test (once it is fully cured, hit it with a hammer). Vary the proportions until you get the toughest mix.

It will generate quite a bit of exothermic heat so don't try to cast it more than 3/8" thick. Good luck.
 
Vinylester would be a good choice, but cost and learning to use a new type of resin will be prohibitive. I would use either Acraglass or I would use use West Systems 105/207. I have done some heavily loaded epoxy mixes with 105/207 in the past and found that 50/50 by weight is about as far as you can take it. A side note, I did this with aluminum powder and was actually able to machine it! I used it to replicate parts that weren't being produced anymore. But be very carefull when using epoxy and large concentrations of any powder, being exothermic is could get ugly, quick!

-Xander
 
I got some casting epoxy today and mixed up a 2:1 ration of epoxy to dust. The resulting slurry looks like brownie mix to me. When I first mixed them together it looked more like pie crust dough. I added some GID powder, but doubt that it will have any effect on such an opaque looking slurry. Now to let it cure for at least 24 hours.

DSCN7706.JPG
 
I would use a mold like you did, and mix the resin with the powder to a thick paste. Let it settle in the mold, perhaps with a few minutes of vibration to help the settling. The ivory particles will settle, and the bottom of the mold will have the higher density of ivory.

As you discovered, not all powders look the same wet as they do dry. Let it dry, and sand it down to see the final color.
Many things are a completely different color when powdered than they are as a solid,too.
 
I'm thinking now of adding a second layer using dust from walrus ivory sanding. I think the second layer of contrasting material (assuming it is contrasting) would give it an even more ivory-like appearance. Worth a try, and I'm not nothing significant for the effort.
 
I would make the slurry beyond a thick paste and go all the way to a peanut butter consistancy, some of the casting resins are rather soft and gummy when sanding, so the more hard media in the slurry the better I would think.


-Xander
 
This is what came out of the mold today.

DSCN7711.JPG

DSCN7712.JPG


Not sure how useful this will be, but I'll keep it around a while.
 
That came out pretty cool! I have a Schrade Sharpfinger with some scales that look a bit like that, same colors as stag horn. I like the combo.
 
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