Ginsburg full set in D
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2504568251&category=308
Starting price of $500 w/ reserve.
The imitation ivory realy looks nice. Very convincing. Anybody know a source for getting some?
Marc
I did a search on imitation ivory and a few gun handle suppliers came up. I refined the search a bit and found some sources for some assorted shapes of cast polyester. Here are a few links I found:
http://ajh-knives.com/bone.html
http://www.barringercues.com/legeliv.html
Thank you. That will be helpful.
Marc
Delrin;
This might also be a sustitue for Ivory.
http://www.interstateplastics.com/meta/fmdel.htm (produt info)
Take a look at it.
McMaster-carr has disk 3" diameter from 1/2" to 6" thick. They have bars, hollow rods, sheets in both White & Balck Delrin.
Generally, when “alternative ivory” is mentioned. It is a form of cast polyester resin. Old alt. ivory was often a type of material called catalan (catalin?? sp??))
The stuff is cheap as chips, looks pretty good and is relatively durable.
(& leaves one HECK of a mess on the lathe!)
DB
Davey, I recall a factoid about catalin (sp? too) in that eventually it takes on an orange color with age -exactly like the cap atop the chanter on my Ginsberg flat-set. If it’s true (the info seemed pretty credible), one might prefer to look into other faux-ivory (or should that be ivoire?) substances. I recall that there is at least one imitation ivory that supposedly ages with coloration similar to the real thing. Wish I had more to give you than that.
Ahhh…do I detect an insinuation of Ginsberg’s pipes into the world of pipering? “Apres moi, le deluge.”
N, just imagine the accent marks please
Hey all,
"Tagua Nuts are the intelligent choice for today’s Artisan in search of a legal and sustainable Ivory substitute. Commonly known as Vegetable Ivory, the Tagua Nut is actually the dried seed pod of the Tagua Palm tree. These seeds are harvested in the rainforests of Ecuador. While it may take many years for them to form, the harvesting does no harm to the trees allowing for many years of productive growth.
Once the nuts are harvested and dried they form a very hard material very similar to Animal ivory in appearance and carvability.
Craftsman have been using the Tagua for many, many years to produce a variety of items from buttons, inlays, jewelry pendants and scrimshaw to extraordinary Netsuke. The uses are limited only by your imagination.
There seem to be few written sources of carving information but many report using small rotary tools, lathes, natural dyes, and paints to create their works of art."
-From http://www.tagua2go.com/
I’ve used Tagua nut for carvings and it’s quite strong but a little fragile; as well, the colour varies quite widely from nut to nut and the nuts themselves may well be too small to make, for example, the round bit on the ends of lots of bass regulators.
Mark
edited for stupidity
[ This Message was edited by: jqpublick on 2003-01-30 19:17 ]
Mark , lol call me stupid , but I really like the tagua nuts as well . The perfect substiute for a m 16 and a charging bull elephant . I anm sure there must be a way to glue two nuts together , to get the diameter for a bass drone , no coments from the peanut gallery , please . 
tok . .
Catalin does indeed age poorly. A terrible orange color is the result. I wasn’t recommending catalin as a subsititute…only stating that it has traditionally been USED as an ivory sub. Crowley used catalin on some of his sets.
Tagua nuts, unfortunately discolor terribly, and are generally not very suitable for mounts on pipes.
With some coaxing, and creative cutting…as well as some pore filling! I’ve successfully used deer and moose antlers. Quite attractive as well..and durable as heck.
Ooooooh…antler fittings! Manly, rugged, sure to get a rise out of PeTA, AND sustainable! Ya gotta love it. Sounds like the next best thing to ivory. How’s it compare to bone?
N, wears leather, too
synthetic sapphire!
Physical Properties:
Crystalline Structure
Rhomboedral Hexagonal Single Crystal
Composition
Al2O3
Purity
99.99%
Main Impurities
Na2O, Si, Ca, Fe, Ga, Mg, Ti, Mn, Pb, Cu, Zn, Ni
Cleavage
Conchoidal
Density
3.99 - 3.98
Dislocation Density
109 - 108/m2
How about this- might be kind of expensive to get them made. Damn near impossible to break though!
http://www.industrialjewels.com
[ This Message was edited by: paul on 2003-01-30 22:52 ]
Customer satisfaction is ok with me . But customer delight , wow ! ! that is a hourse of a different colour . lol.
I’ll order up a set with sapphire mounts .
I can’t wait to delight in a set / stone mounts . ?? can it happen ? Is it possible ?
Jade ?? throwing bricks , hoping for jade ,
[ This Message was edited by: tok on 2003-01-30 23:25 ]
Another substitute is mammoth ivory. It is 50,000 years old but it is real ivory and not on the endangered species list. There is a supplier in Canada I believe which sells blocks of it for around $300 or so.
I do like the way tagua turns on the lathe. It leaves the floor looking like a coconut shavings factory blew up, but the shavings are fun to play with too. I’ve got a piece I turned almost a year ago and it doesn’t seem to have discolored too badly even though it has been handled alot and sits in a niccotine rich environment 
P.S. Tok, if you want jade or other stones as mounts, I am a jeweler and we could make arrangements to tart up your pipes. Let me know what you want and I could send you some sketches.
Marc
[ This Message was edited by: marcpipes on 2003-01-31 02:26 ]
What’s wrong with wooden mounts?
A long looking stock on this set - made for a big man or woman?
…
Tony..NOTHING is wrong with wooden mounts. I’m actually VERY fond of Boxwood or Holly for mount materials. I just finished a lovely set of drones from Nigerian ebony and Boxwood mounts.
Nano..ANTLER is great stuff, but it can be tough to find good enough pieces. No reason for PETA to be upset, it’s a renewable resource…deer, and moose shed their antlers regularly! SO! No dead bambi is necessary!
I’m working on a concert pitch half set in Boxwood with antler mounts…yum! I’m quite enjoying working with the antler..the lines are so CRISP…and it turns quite nicely…a LITTLE stinky, and tough on tools..BUT..overall good stuff.
DB
Hey you kids;
If you use Jeweller’s Rouge on the Tagua Nut they tend not to discolour, and PETA can’t get pissed at you if you only use shedded antler; they drop yearly, you know.
I carve antler and bone (which animals rarely drop seasonally) and in my humble opinion it’s just about the best stuff in the world to carve, although the neighbours don’t like it when I bury bones in the backyard. They complained a lot, so to foil them I’ve started only doing it in the light of the full moon.
There’s two benefits to this; they don’t bother me any more and I’ve got this nifty coat of fur slowly growing all over my body!!! Neat, huh?
Yours not too seriously;
Mark
P.S. Sorry Davery I missed your antler post as I was too busy laughing hysterically at my own cleverness.
[ This Message was edited by: jqpublick on 2003-01-31 12:17 ]