Anybody have a source for bone large enough for the central sham?
Was also sort of playing with the idea of using mircata (looks OK, but might be a pain to cut), or a super thin plywood laminated with some decorative
wood.Jameel - 8-30-2007 at 04:41 PM
My most recent source (I used these for Mike's oud) is
You'll have to use 5 pieces edge glued, then glued to a backer piece.
You won't find a single piece of bone that large. If you do, let me know where you got it! I can't imagine a piece that large without the spongy
areas. Maybe a whale bone?
If you use micarta, go thin, it's easier to cut. And use linen micarta (I use Ivory Linen micarta from Sheffield knife supply in Florida, but many
places have it), the paper micarta turns to a powdery dust and clogs blades. The linen is "crisper" and doesn't do this. It's still harder to cut than
bone though.
Gluing up the bone isn't that tricky. I use white glue or CA glue for the edges, then carefully epoxy the whole slab to a plywood backing. Your joints
don't have to be "perfect" because by the time you cut the design out, you won't see the joints much. Especially with a finer design. But that's not
an excuse to be sloppy. I usually just use a double cut file to joint the bone edges before gluing them.abc123xyz - 8-30-2007 at 06:27 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Jameel
You won't find a single piece of bone that large. If you do, let me know where you got it! I can't imagine a piece that large without the spongy
areas. Maybe a whale bone?
How about cattle horn; is that ever used for ouds?
Horn is boiled and peeled into thin layers which are then pressed flat and dried, yielding fairly wide sheets from which even large roses could be
cut.
I haven't actually checked, but I imagine that pre-pressed sheets of horn must be commercially available somewhere.
DavidLintfree - 8-30-2007 at 08:46 PM
I saw a Manol rosette that was four quarter sections of mother of pearl glued to a thin sheet of some kind of dark wood and the shams was then cut
from the square. It was amazing and looked fabulous. It's on the cover of Bilezekjian's oud method book. There is also some Japanese fake pearl that
comes in sheets that looks exactly like the real thing. I would go with thin ivory-colored micarta. Good luck. D.L.Jonathan - 8-31-2007 at 04:54 AM
Thanks, guys. Jameel, are you using the 1/16 inch mircata?
