Working with Cow Bone

[RP3543]

Hello All!
I'm new to horn/flask making so bear with me...
Several years ago I started working on a powder flask that was to made out of a section of cow femur the dog was kind enough to loan me. I cut it to length, boiled it for about 30 min's, and did some sanding and fitting of end plugs. I had to stop so I packed it away, intending to pick it up again when I had some time. Well, three years later, I have some time so I dug it out and guess what? The bone section was nicely aged but was very greasy! Does anyone out there have any idea what the proper technique would be to De-Grease cow bone prior to building something? I plan on sealing it after I do some carving, is this going to be adequate or will it continue to weep grease forever and ever?
Any suggestions or insight you can offer will be appreciated.
TX
Bob

 

[crockett]

Just a thought- try boiling in water.

 

[Norskie]

Add a bit of soap to that water.

 

[rich pierce]

leave it on an anthill in the sun.

 

[Birdman]

RP try letting it soak in HydrogenPeroxide for a couple of days. It should bleach out any oils or impurities in the bone. Then let it sit in the sun for a couple more days to dry n cure. If ya get more grease I would try going to a pet store n buying a pre sanitized/bleached bone to work on. Be careful working with bone and use a mask if grinding or sanding on it, the calcium can get to yer lungs n do damage after awhile simaler to coal miners black lung type stuff.YMHS Birdman

 

[RP3543]

All,
Thanks for the replies! I re-boiled it this evening and scrubbed it with Dawn dishwashing soap. All the grease is gone (for now). Won't see the sun till May (hard to find anthills this time of year too!) so I'll stash it next to the furnace for a while to see if it continues to "ooze".
Another Question: Is the Peroxide used to De-grease bone or does just sterilize?
Thanks again everyone!
Bob

 

[Birdman]

RP as far as I know the HydroPerox does both. It sort of eats into the calcium and leachs out the oils so in a sense it is also sterilizing the bone at the same time. In the past I have also used Naptha to soak bones but it is highly flamable so I usually don't suggest it to most folks for use around the house. To many ways to ignite the stuff without even trying. You can use bleach to achive the same effect on bone as the HP but it is much more caustic so to speak n ya got to be real careful or it will eat the bone up completely(left some turkey wing bones in a bleach solution for about a week to experiment n they more or less turned into mush by then). With the HP you can leave something as heavy as cow bone in it for quite awhile(days) before the HP will really affect it much except for degreasing it.Also if ya can soak the bone in the HP in a clear glass jar out in the sun it will really whiten the bone and you can antique it later. hope this helps some YMHS Birdman