Processing abalone shell: cheap but dangerous!
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- Опубликовано: 15 окт 2024
- To save money I've processed raw abalone shell to make some 1mm thick blanks for inlay. I settled on a method that works for me, but it involved some dangerous techniques.
The Fact that your Videos are so Human, and that you are not afraid to be imperfect, makes these videos so rich! And I learn so much.
Thanks for sharing not just the process, but the complications you had to deal with to get to the final product.
I was internet hunting for raw ammonite or abalone to embellish a project and stumbled upon your video. I could not take my eyes away. Your persistence astounds me. Such devotion to your project. Well done.
This is fascinating. I've never done this before; however, I've recently gained an interest in cutting Gemstone rough for jewelry so I've watched tons of tutorials and people always use a steady stream of water for cooling and lubrication. I'm not sure but I think it helps the cutting disc last longer and definitely helps the dust problem. Maybe you could connect a garden hose and let water trickle on the shell as you cut? Anyway, great video. You've inspired me! 😊 I may actually try cutting my own shell to use in my jewelry. Thanks for sharing! Cheers! 🙂
Thank you for the video. I have cut many tons of MOP, Abalone and Freshwater pearl shell. I recommend you buy a cheap small rock saw with a 1/32 inch kerf glade. It should have constant water drip. Use the saw from the back side. It saves a soaking and gives great control.
Coarse diamond disk are available for lapping the shell flat then run through a drum surface grinder. I use white glue to stick the flat pieces down and then soak in warm water, the finished piece just slips right off. I like using hard Formica as the surface to glue to.
I know this is older but I love channels that do guitar stuff.
Yes indeed 😊
Try soaking the shell upside down in a vinegar & salt mix instead,this mild acid will eat away the outside layer,which you can then clean up easily any left over with a hard toothbrush or really stubborn sections with a dremel :)
I'm also a "Thrifty" crafter who loves Abalone, but hates the rediculously high price of it,hehe
What ratios?
That smell you experienced was most likely due to improper filter media size on your dust extractor system.
You would most likely require a HEPPA Style filter as the normal filter elements designed for sawdust/sanding extractor system.
Hi Susan, I watched your video with interest, the shell has come up really well. I have used abalone in New Zealand where it is known as Paua, the Maori us it for eyes in their carvings and treasured sea food. I have just done a couple of round inlays on a dulcimer 4 string that I've just built, the Paua is over 40 years old, very simple rounds, looking forward to the next stage of your inlays.
I absolutely loved how you just figured out a way to get it done. I also have work shop envy. Glad you had the resperator on to. I've subscribed and can't wait to see what other clever inventions you create. Thank you 👍🏼🇳🇿😁👋
I try to save costs wherever I can but this could cost you more than money. I admire your bravery for showing this but it can't be cost effective on a small scale build, love your videos though so thanks for the content
Mount the hand piece, make a splash shield and use a drip feed (Bottle with small diameter hose + screw at the end, adjusted to drip) to drip right on the cutting disk
Great work, well done! Just a thought... Meths or turps to remove adhesive from double sided tape, and linesher or disc sander for sanding with different grits. or buy and use lapidary gem polishing kit. Gemstone stick to hold inlay may avoid finger loss.
Lucky you didn't loose any finger, safety first, my Egyptian expert in shell machining told me that his father died Younger due to heavy dust inhalation for over 15years in this business, good work and thanks again.
Very interesting. I recently bought a box of flat mother of pearl shells, I’m using a fine nozzle on my compressor and a 1mm cut off disk on a dremel. All good so far. I like your style.
You can get diamond blades for the dremel / rotary tool they cut through almost anything
Nest time you try cutting some off can i suggest you invest in a ceramic tile cutter with a water cooled blade, they don't cost much from B&Q.
A bit of CA glue on a stick helps to thickness them. Great stuff. You’re a wizard
If you go to a lapidary shop you will find they sell a wax substance called DOP that when heated will melt. You put a drop of this on the back side of you shell and stick a small piece of wooden dowel to the part and you now have a handle instead of sanding off your finger tips. The wax is easily removable when you are done. Simply put the piece in ice water or the freezer for a few minutes and it breaks free cleanly. You can also use this same method to sand your parts to a shape should you desire it.
Double sided tape adhesive is normally heat sensitive. If you heat it with a heat gun it will release and then clean off any residue with rubbing alcohol.
Good tips - thanks!
And this is exactly why I use Ablam...a £90 full sheet yields plenty of straight and curved strips. Try using hide glue to stick to a sub-base. Comes off in warm water :)
supper glue (crazy glue ) only trust me hide glue is organic and subject to bacterial degradation and is not 100% clear supper glue was made just for shell gluing 50 years ago it the best make a mistake boil it out in water and try again i worked in the pearl industry 17 years
My suggestion is not for installation. We glue our laminates to mdf while machining with hide glue. Chuck the sacrificial board in a tray of warm water then collect your parts half hour later. Secure them in place with cyanoacrylate...
yes when thought later i realized that you were talking about using it as a temporary bond sorry you are right
I have one hell of a shop with some expensive equipment, but I love my WorkMate.
That aside, think about adding a shim opposite where you are working, then a piece of wood covering the cutter. It would act as a guard to protect your fingers, if you slip.
If you do slip, a nylon stocking or some screen door screen will catch your piece and save you digging it out. Indent the sock or screen so it is more likely to catch the pieces.
A few people have recommended using running water and a handsaw, and that's great advice. Unless you have a fume cupboard handy, the problem with dry cutting is your clothing and hair picks up a fine layer of toxic dust. But your router table made me wince!! Love the channel 🤗
just Marvelous!! as i too am in the mind to cut and shape my own raw abalone shell. and just about evrything you have done and tried. i too have foresaw and planned on.
thus, i will use a water drip, to cut down on the dust. and i will use hot glue my piece to a wooden dowel for sanding and shaping. thus i thank you as you ARE a great help. thank you!! 🎸
Hi Susan, you can buy cheap but good diamond blades from AliExpress.com ..If you decide to try again in the water use a sponge under the shell to press down on with no worry of cutting your bowl & use a diamond blade to cut the shell, I'm a New Zealander living in Australia now & what you are cutting we call Paua, abalone is a white shell, I have several of both but the abalone isn't nearly as pretty as the Paua.
I was a dental technician for ceramic crowns.
At the table, in front of me, was a vacuumer installed for the dust.
sei una artigiana davvero in gamba, mi piace il tuo modo personale di affrontare ogni lavorazione
Absolutely love your innovative,inventive,lets give it a bash approach.Learned quite a bit and got inspired,thinking of silver bound bracelets,pendants,etc.Many thanks for sharing.Now subscribed.
FYI I'm late to this party, but if you can keep the blade wet (cool) you won't break them. I rigged up a small water pump (used in small water pond) to drip water onto the cutting area/blade. You could also use/rent a tile cutter. For thicknessing I would have kept the pieces longer? You can cut them to size after. I also use a drum sander outside. I used blue masking tape on a board but I also put tape on the back side of the abalone. I then used super glue on one side and an accelerator on the board side and stuck the two tape backs together. The tape came off the board with a razor blade slid under it. I then removed the abalone from the tape.
I cut some simple abalone shell pieces for tile job using tile saw. Abalone is significantly harder and more difficult to cut than 3/8” granite. A normal abalone shell probably isn’t even a quarter inch thick on average and it’s strong enough to support the weight of a normal person standing on it. I would like to find a way of doing this because I probably have 10 shells left over from my ab diving days.
This might have already been commented but when you were cutting under water, having a view box (picture a miniature glass bottom boat) would’ve remedied the problem. We used them a lot to view corals from the top of aquariums.
I’m planing on doing this but I’m gonna try and see if a drip system will work
You can use some oil or mineral oil when you have difficulties with tape or double sided tape. Pour some oil, wait 10-15 minutes and the glue usually just ... unglue itself.
Fantastic creatures of Sea. Awesome illustration of these shells. Thats a 😍alot of beautiful shells 🐚!!!
I have millions of collections too 😊. That was a wonderful video. I love it.
The part you used the home made mini router table is cool. I would guess if you cut the pieces in long strips then cut the individual pieces down to smaller sizes once you have them down to the thickness you want. They would be easier to hold down, giving you more control. If you have an old can cozy (for beer or soda can covers) and you cut them down in little squares, then split the thickness in two, glue it to the end of a dowel you would have home made hold down tool to sacrifice instead of fingers. (even a small build up of hot glue to a dowel would work for hold down or guild tools for feeding product into bladed or sanding tools) hope the ideas help.
Trying to think of ways to make this safer for you [and us] and I was wondering about the diamond coated plates I have for sharpening. They are inexpensive and about six inches in diameter.
Running these at slow speed with water DRIPPING on them would reduce danger and what is thrown by the wheel. Too, the water would clean the wheel and the diamond would wear really well.
Running the wheels at about one hundred RPM might do the trick.
In a pinch, a person might be able to use an old sewing machine motor and control to vary the speed.
I enjoy your vids. I have a workmate that I purchased way back in 1984. I still use it whenever doing odd jobs around the house. Yours is pristine compared to my old junker!
You might find the Dremel reinforced cutoff wheels a handy investment. They cost more, but though they certainly wear out, they don't shatter like the regular brittle abrasive ones do. I've used both, but now pretty much only buy the reinforced ones. I'm in the US, so not sure if Dremel is readily available where you are at, but surely there is something comparable.
Keep up the good work! And Merry Christmas!
Susan, what about some kind of solvent to get them off that board, like acetone? That might "melt" that tape.
I’m not sure this will help you but…… I soaked a shell in lime scale remover liquid! It cleaned all the outer crust off leaving the iridescence part clean. However you need to keep any eye on it as the iridescence. Part will eventually disintegrate if left too long. Might help 🤔
I wondering if jeweler's saw blades could be adapted to use on a scroll saw? With the small table surface on the scroll saw, I would think it might make it easier to cut out the pieces of the abalone shell. Just an idea.
try using denatured alcohol to disolve the double sided tape while blanks are still on the board.... this should do the trick to round out a terrific job
Since 6 years or so have passed i have a question for you. Air powered dremels require a light machine oil to function. How long did your demel last after submerging in water?
Hi Susan.
I have been following your SG1 build and have subscribed.
If you would like some more abalone at any stage please let me know. I live in New Zealand where we have our own species called Paua. Paua is often more highly coloured and often thicker than abalone.
Have not seen any RUclips video posted for some time, I do hope you are doing well and coping with lock down and other covid restrictions.
Also a huge fan of Ben at Crimson Guitars.... I'm an ex West Countryman of 30 years with now 20+ in NZ and there is still something wonderful in British humour and presentation that I miss, so watching you both is a treat.
Do post again soon and take care.
Kind regards.
Martin
Those inlays are going to look really good I can't wait to see what you have in store.
everyone here has compliments (well-deserved) about you, and some pro tips. I can only give you the first, and I will do it wholeheartedly: you are an amazing human being, and a master craftswoman. Subscribed!
1. respirator/dust extraction a must.. .2. watch locally; you can often find raw shells, and/or finished (but convertible) products (eg. shell-constructed "tiki" masks) for less than buying raw shell from faraway.. 3. bigger shells allow for larger shell plates; beware of smaller shells (say, less than 6" X 5") and./or those with heavy corrugation/thin material which reduces viability somewhat... 4. re less viable material, use for "dots", easily obtained, via metal tubing of desired diameter, w/teeth notched into bottom edge, mounted in dremel/drill press... 5. you need a trained eye, to gauge how successfully you can generate larger plates; bear in mind, the smaller you decide to make your plates, the more work involved; however, more you need to remove, to flatten (on bigger plates), the more chance of removing desirable material and/or sanding into the outer shell layer,,,, 6. the abalone "heart", is the (usually) coulourful section in the middle of the inner shell, where the muscle attaches to the shell; it is considered the most valuable/desirable part of the shell; re the abalone heart, be careful; though the heart is often relatively "flat" (as compared to the rest of the shell), the heart layer is a layer on top of the underlying layer, and can be quite thin; if you try to "push it", by trying to generate too large of a plate, you can sand away some/most of the heart; again, gauge a) how thick the actual heart layer is, and b) how flat the un-sanded plates are, and then sand VERY carefully (finer grit), to see how things are going...you might need/want to re-cut into smaller pieces, if you start losing the colourful material... 7. to extract the most shell-plate material, a few different tools can help reduce waste and increase safety: a wet-diamond tile saw (4.5" "thin-kerf" blade) works super, and is not expensive, "used"; the dremel discs can also be helpful, but they tend to wear out prematurely; use them, in "tight" spots, where the tile saw isn't feasible....even fine-tooth hand-saws (eg. hack/coping/jeweler's-saw) can be used in certain applications, and generates a very thin kerf... 8. with most of the plates, they will not be thick enough to "double", via re-sawing; but where possible, this can be done with a scroll saw w/fine blade + fence, or the "mini-router" technique, as illustrated in this video.... 9. re sanding/thickness-ing, remember, most of the material will be later "final sanded" to a degree, so it is not overly critical to get the material to a 0.000000 +/- thickness accuracy....if you are careful (watch your fingers!), you can "free-hand" them on a belt sander; a) do your "good side" first, then b) the back-side; with carefully thickness-ed wood veneers, you can make a notched "depth-gauge"(s), for desired thickness, and just check as you go; when the sanded piece fits into the slot, you are good-to-go (with a finer grit on the sander, you can control removal of material fairly well...)....or, one can use the thickness sander if they have one (or access).... 10 remember in all this, "time-is-money", unless you are strictly "hobby" oriented, where time/$$ is not the deciding factor....those places that produce/sell shell-plate material, are set up, for maximum material/cost equation; thus it is not easy to beat their prices, when seeking to generate your own material....
For your mini router table set up I would try gluing the blanks to the end of some wood scrap with water soluble glue. Then cut them and drop the sticks in water over night. Same with the drum sander. Or try some heat or solvent (test on a small piece of abalone first!) to remove the tape and adhesive.
boil it 5 minutes
I think that soaking in white spirit would help to release the pieces without risking breaking them. It might take a while. I wondered too whether having the pieces in contact edge to edge would help to support them and make them less likely to break free while sanding. I hated the router but thought the pieces flying off were quite amusing!
I can't remember what you're using for dust extraction, but unless the filter is designed to capture really fine particles it can be more of a dust distributor than extractor! That might be part of the reason that you could detect that"distinctive" smell...
Wayfarer-Sailing dear god, the smell!!!!!! Burning hair and an unwashed bait bucket from 6 months ago. The smell of a fart would have been a blessing. Never again! I get bucket loads of the stuff washed up practically on my door step but no. Just no 🤢
YES! I have three dust collectors in my woodshop and had to change out the stock bags, otherwise, they were nothing more than chip collecting DUST PUMPS.
It is do-able, however, and it would be well worth while to have an eye to acquiring a dust collector [rather than a vacuum] to dedicate to this purpose.
Do really need to thickness the pieces? Can you not level one side, then sand them flush once inlaid?If you do can you not make a router jig to thickness the pieces? It's a Simple jig to do surfacing.
Yes you do inn order to get the grain orientation right for reflecting the light and colour matching...
Arr! That makes sense now. I'm not a guitar maker, just a woodworker.Normally with wooden inlays, as long as the back on the inlay is relatively flat, enough for a good glue surface the top can be quite proud and just sanded flush afterwards. Do you have to inlay these parts already at the same thickness as the surround then? how much of a tolerance is there for final sanding?
Susan, Just a suggestion,...try sitting with a garden hose just playing water over the surface of shell and have a thin film of water carrying awaydust with the water...
I was freaking out a little there on the makeshift router cutter setup!
Would a tile saw work, or smash it with a hammer then take it to a bench grinder an grind it round an small ?
Saving money is always a good thing! Very nice work!
I think I will just pay someone with steadier hands to do that for me. Far too close for my comfort. Props to you for bravery!
A trick I learned from several IV nurses for dealing with that tape not wanting to let go is to take an alcohol pad and wipe it along the point where the tape is sticking to the surface. It protects the delicate shell pieces or, as in my case: arm hair.
Schector has The Omen Extreme 7 and OE6
With aboloni for around 4 hundred brand
Hi Sue. Haven't seen one of your vids in awhile. Seems you're still having fun. For cutting out the rough pieces, perhaps it could be done with a water jet. Getting off the planed pieces, I might try a heat gun to weaken the tape.
I use a straight rounded barrel diamond coated shank under water to cut through long sections of thinner abalone
Good skills! Live the method experimentation.
I find a Dremel Hand drill and diamond sand paper hand polishing or breaking them up in a bag and putting them in a rock tumbler works well enough..
Looking forward to your shaping these to size.. Very creative and resolute approach so far.... as usual Congrats
I retract the comment re: not using a dusk mask as you mentioned you were indeed wearing a respirator which was great to hear. But holy cow, I hope you still have all of your fingers to play your guitar if you're still using this method to make abalone blanks!
Get 3 diamond blades, gen trim saw and invest in a belt grinder attachment for a grinder wheel that you can pick up for cheap make sure you get on with the largest area were its backed by a flat steel side so when you grind you have a great flat side to grind against......and to take it further you can get a magnetic chuck and glue them down with dob wax or hot pitch or expoxy them on but you have to sand away the epoxy with is alot soft that you would think that is the cheapest and fastest and least dangerous way into getting them down to a small enough size without breaking them.
That's a lot of work. How many hours did it take? What is your hourly "wage"? Did you save money or lose money compared with purchasing prepared shell?
That aside, Happy Christmas!
Holding the shell under water while cutting it - right idea but wrong approach. Drip water onto the shell while cutting it as it will cool the cutting edge; it'll turn into a slurry. Your rpm's need to be a lot slower too.
Did you save any of the dust ,I wonder how it would work as a filler mixed with super glue (c.a.) then sand and polish?
Dude, no! It’s not going to retain the visual properties you want from the shell!
How did you make the drum sander that's what I'd love to know
you don't want to get this stuff in your lungs, happy to hear you used a proper mask, it's needed with this kind of work, I look forward to seeing the next part
Wouldn’t it have been easier to leave them at different thicknesses and create different sized holes? Then you could fill the difference in with resin! She did a great job but I’m clumsy and the processing to make them a uniform size makes me nervous.
A Heat gun will let the DS tape release much easier. Also vet wrap works well as a finger protector.
use a pipette and acetone to wet and release the shell from tape. It will float right off.
if you wear a mask and run a steady stream of water over the area you are cutting it will keep dust down. (the first part with the dremal) There are metal diamond sanding disks that would probably work real good, it would cut down on the amount of you were going through. They dont brake apart, how ever they are just laminated disks.
Hello what type of cutter are u using to cut the abalone ? On your dremal thank u
Should have watched this first before I started working on it.
I love watching how to get things done but in this case I would have spent the money on pre-processed material, lol
So much work! But beautiful.
You could try making a holding rig with a 1mm insert in it so you can pass it through your sander with out sticking them down. Nice video.
What's the difference between Abalone and the Mother of Pearl?
Please.
Oso- Psycho Thanks man.
No electric shock?
Try using Acetone to get you Abalone off your double sticky tape when you are removing them from the tape, after running them through you sander. Then acetone will break down the tape for easier removal. Let the acetone pool on the tape for a while before trying to remove the ablone pieces!
use reinforced disks they wont break down as fast. The metal cutting disks are great for grunt work
Mexican luthiers just use a paddle wheel disc on a grinder and sand all the back of the abalone shell until its thin enough to cut shapes out with jewelers saw. they also just go down to the tourist areas and buy those abalone mask and just pop the little abalone squares off and use them for inlay
thats how we did it in New York also i did 100 and hour with a 3/4 hp motor time is money but paracho luthiers are too much in a rush they are going to suffer from the Chinese luthiers if they dont pay attention
they used the wrong cutting disc, there suppose to use a diamond coated cutting wheel, and they should never stick a flex shaft underwater
really love your videos
wonder if it helps to put a bucket with glass bottom intoo the water and watch through that , it should stop the change of angle
+watahyahknow easier just to wear protection
oh i agree and the sandingdrum option works even better then the "fingers near the cuttingdisk", i was talking from the dust perspective
Nice. The drumsander seem to work very well . Do you realy have that control 0.1 millimeter.that is realy good. I think i might build one.
you built your own planer? how? thanks!
Can the abalone pieces be squared with a file instead of the router?
real easy
The diamond bits you're using you should keep wet when cutting from burning the diamond off of them so fast. Also if you can slow your speed down a little bit would be better.
rather than double sided tape you can use masking tape back to back and super glue, the tip was in a video from Crimson guitars. Shell and bone are pretty bad to process..... but Horn is worse.....
You actually need a ton less water, and a drip system would be perfect, so you can see & cut too.
I wouldn't sand the shiny side; just make sure the back is smooth, you will sand & polish the top after you inlay them. I would of smoothed the back of the shell before cutting them out
Just to help with stickiness, why not have some solvent handy ( methylated Spirits or mineral turps in little dish or spray bottle) that's what I do,it has many uses,outdoor is best because of solvent ( ' take a tripp, never leave the house ') 😅😅
Did you try using Polarized Sunglasses to cut down on the reflections?
Fishermen use these glasses with great success.
Thanks for the video, great work Susan.
Very nicely done!
dont hold.use pencil with small eraser on the end as a push stick
Given your 'chargeable' time involved (not to be overlooked!), your electricity, the discomfort of wearing a respirator, _and_ all the replacement bits/attachments, I think it might have been cheaper, and less stressful to buy a €70 sheet of processed abalone! I also wonder why you didn't just head to a tile shop and pick up a single 30cm square mosaic tile of 2cm abalone squares for £12! All uniform size, perfectly finished etc. 😂 Fair play to you for keeping going though. 🏆
Are you all serious? Never in my life have I seen such a bunch of safety nazi's. Have you never used a power tool in your life? This was about as safe as you can get. That cutting disk is a grinding wheel not a blade. It would at worst give you a small burn from the friction. I've used discs like that for ages and taken hits on my fingers with very little injury. Grow a pair like the entrepreneur who made this kick ass video.
diamond wheels // make a box to put your shell in you can make it out of glass and wood make it so you can put your arms in with that area closed off With rubber gloves so that dust can't get out would be like a sandblasting box Attach vacuum
I would use a more shallow bowl and put something beneath just the area you are working on, like wood or a sponge. Even surf board wax.
hot glue and lolly stick. diamond grit saw blades might work better than the abrasive discs too.
Even Poundland double sided tape sticks like that when it's burnished by milling. Meths loosens it.
Naptha (or lighter fluid) on the double stick tape will quickly release the adhesive....