I know there are a few different alternatives for cutting a nut, but back in the day they used "bone". Does anyone know if deer antler would work or maybe has tried it?
Thanks in advance!
Thanks in advance!
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Deer Antlers
- Thread starter cjmatt
- Start date
I have used deer antler for many things and and I can think of no reason why it would not make a superior nut.
I have access to a few antlers and am seriously considering cutting a nut for my p-bass. Are there any safety precautions I should take, like wearing a mask while creating antler dust or anything weird? I have never used antlers for anything.
i have deer antler nuts (haha) on my '74 ric 4000,and well as my 2004 cii. It sounds great,basically like bone nuts,which my luthier buddy insisted on putting on any bass that i seemed inclined to want to keep. i believe it is pretty similar to bone to work with, and it looks pretty kewl,too!
Any respectable non-mass-manufacturer (builder) will use bone for the nut and saddle on an acoustic, unless they use some exotic like fossilized Walrus ivory or ossik. The back in the day reference should be elephant ivory.
Now on basses brass and very hard woods are common, but bone should still be considered a common current material for bass nuts. Probably the best, but Im not getting into a brass vs bone debate. I can't comment on antlers, but they are bone, so I'd assume it would work like other bone as long as you can get a piece that is solid with no soft spots.
Actually deer antlers are not bone. They are a mineral deposit. Bucks drop them off every year. Squirrels and other critters eat them. It's like a mineral lick. So yeah, it is softer than bone and that being the case, I don't know how long they would hold up on a bass. I do know they work just fine for a guitar nut.
Yea, I didn't want to start a debate about brass versus bone versus corian or anything like that.
Are there other types of bone to think about here? I mean, can I use the bone for a t-bone steak? I would think that a bone would have to be pretty solid, to use as a nut. A lot of bone I see in food I eat is very porous so I know that it would not be good.
What else is there?
Are there other types of bone to think about here? I mean, can I use the bone for a t-bone steak? I would think that a bone would have to be pretty solid, to use as a nut. A lot of bone I see in food I eat is very porous so I know that it would not be good.
What else is there?
Great, next time I order a nice juicy t-bone I'll be thinking about this post and wondering!
Hopkins
Commercial User
I have always heard that they were made of hair. I believed it because I cut a deer antler with a chop saw and it made the whole place smell like burned hair.
I'm not saying your wrong, actually I'm sure your right about it considering the source that told me they were made of hair
I have always heard that they were made of hair. I believed it because I cut a deer antler with a chop saw and it made the whole place smell like burned hair.
I'm not saying your wrong, actually I'm sure your right about it considering the source that told me they were made of hair
I promise you I am correct.
Hi.
You can use antlers, even though it's not technically bone as several posters have already said.
Pretty soft compared to bone, so it wouldn't be my first choice though.
When cutting/working with anything related to animal remains, inhaling the dust or other deposits is NOT recommended.
So, using a dust mask is the absolute minimum. I use pressurized mask, but that's another story.
You might want to have a clothes pin nearby as well...
.
Thigh-bones of larger mammals is often used, since the thickness of the usable material is greater.
Regards
Sam
You can use antlers, even though it's not technically bone as several posters have already said.
Pretty soft compared to bone, so it wouldn't be my first choice though.
When cutting/working with anything related to animal remains, inhaling the dust or other deposits is NOT recommended.
So, using a dust mask is the absolute minimum. I use pressurized mask, but that's another story.
You might want to have a clothes pin nearby as well...
.Thigh-bones of larger mammals is often used, since the thickness of the usable material is greater.
Regards
Sam
Hopkins
Commercial User
It's kinda close - hair, nails, horns etc. are all made of keratin - which is what you smell once it starts burning.
As for the T-bone nut, not too sure about it, though I have seen nuts made from a bone someone used in beef soup and it worked superbly.
Sure, they contain minerals, but saying its Keratin would have been the best answer
.It would be harder than Ebony (or at least the antlers I have worked with have been) which is used on occasion, so I think it would be a great nut material. Remember nut material only affects the open notes anyway.
Sure, they contain minerals, but saying its Keratin would have been the best answer
It would be harder than Ebony (or at least the antlers I have worked with have been) which is used on occasion, so I think it would be a great nut material. Remember nut material only affects the open notes anyway.
Horns ( as on animals who do NOT shed their horns) are made of keratin. Deer antlers are NOT made of keratin. Technically speaking, they are made of dead bone, which is, wait for it.......... minerals.
Deer antlers are made of true bone that is fed by the covering of velvet.
And they are not as hard as ebony or regular bone. They are suitable for nut making on electric guitars, but in my opinion, their density makes them unsuitable for nuts on basses and acoustic guitars. Of course, people use Tusq, which wears out rather quickly, so no reason why you couldn't use deer antlers. Just be prepared to replace your nut more often.
