Replies

1. 
   JohnWW | Sep 22, 2004 05:05pm | #1

   Could you describe the pulls, also your heading says ivory but your text says they're real pearl.  Usually it is up to the hardware maker to create a way for attaching the hardware.

   John W. 

1. 
   vern | Sep 22, 2004 08:22pm | #3

   sorry about that - it 's real ivory-- this source will carve them any way we want them but hasn't a clue how to attach them -- all he does mostly are pistol grips and knive handles--things that don't get pulled and tugged on--we discussed a curved piece about 5 1/2" long with a recessed area to act as something to grip-- I told him it should protrude at least 11/16 at the thickest part of the curve but that wouldn't give much thickness back at the 3 1/2 distance to anchor a screw into-- the ivory would have to be drilled and tapped and I wonder how strong that would be-- I wonder if super glue could be part of the picture- maybe incorporating an exotic as part of the handle and then anchoring the wood-- just thinking out loud-- give me your thoughts==making sawdust

1. 
   Jamie_Buxton | Sep 22, 2004 08:44pm | #4

   Like you, I don't know if your ivory will stand the pulling forces.    You might consider a design I've used for wooden handles.   Use a flat-head metal stud which is inserted from the front.  The head of the stud holds the wood or ivory, and you can yank on it without fear of splitting anything.   The rear of the stud can be threaded, so a nut on the inside of the drawer secures it.  Alternatively, the rear of the thread can be drilled and tapped, so a machine screw secures it -- just like most handles.

   If you have access to a metal lathe, you can make your own studs.   Without a metal lathe, you can make your own from a round-head machine screw by grinding off the screwdriver slot; brass works nicely.  You can also buy studs which would work: binder posts (from an office supply place).   

   One more approach is to use ordinary screws or bolts from the front, countersunk a little way into the handle, and then plug the hole.  I like a contrasting material for the plug. 

1. 
   vern | Sep 22, 2004 09:12pm | #5

   sounds like you have been down this road before-- I like your idea about using a stud-- or a square headed bolt-- through the ivory and then a piece of walnut or padock encasing that joint and still having enough ivory as the main handle to make a statment--or inlay a longish piece of ivory in cherry(actually glue it in ) then anchor the cherry-- got to work on that --it's not as easy as that --there are 32 handles and the over all "look" is important thanksmaking sawdust

2. 
   JohnWW | Sep 22, 2004 09:50pm | #6

   Vern,

   My impression is that ivory is relatively strong, the equivalent of a hardwood, provided that it doesn't have cracks or other flaws, but it is brittle, so trying to tap threads into it would be dicey and the threads wouldn't be very strong.

   The standard work around for this type of a problem is to drill a hole into the brittle material and then epoxy in a threaded insert that will take the mounting bolts, this is commonly done with ceramic pulls and knobs.

   Lee Valley makes a small threaded brass inserts for shelf supports, part #63Z02.04 that would be perfect for this application.  They are meant to be a press fit into wood but the inserts would drop into a 9/32 inch diameter hole.  I don't know what the thread size is but it is almost sure to be a standard size in either metric or inch.  The hole in the ivory would have to be around 3/8 inch deep. 

   If you are going to go this route, get the uncarved, preferably squared up, ivory blocks and install the brass inserts first, before the carving is done, this will save you much trouble compared to trying to install the inserts in the carved, hard to clamp, and much more valuable, finished pulls. 

   Make several small jigs to hold the inserts at their proper spacing while the epoxy sets.  The jig would just be a piece of wood with two bolt holes at the proper spacing, bolt the inserts to the jig, butter the inside of the holes in the ivory with the epoxy, and set the block over the inserts on the jig.  The surface of the jig and the bolts should be heavily waxed to prevent the epoxy from bonding to them. 

   Use a white or clear slow set epoxy which is stronger than a fast set.  I don't think there would be a problem with bonding epoxy to ivory but you might want to research this.

   Final note: It seems to me that I read somewhere that some people are sensitive to the dust from ivory, good dust control and a mask are probably a wise precaution when drilling.

   Hope this helps, sounds like an interesting job.

   John W. 

    

1. 
   vern | Sep 22, 2004 10:23pm | #8

   thanks-- good points and well made--I think I need to find out about epoxy and ivory and it has been an interesting job I have to run right now but I will be getting back to you thanksmaking sawdust

2. 
   BarryR | Sep 22, 2004 08:21pm | #2

   Assuming the design of the pulls allow for it, holes on 3-1/2" centers should be drilled & tapped for 8-32 or 10-32 machine screws.

3. 
   SawdustSteve | Sep 22, 2004 09:51pm | #7

   Vern... I played around with ivory many, many years ago. I was using a broken half of a cue-ball. If memory serves me correctly, you can drill and tap it just like plastic. Use soapy water as the lubricant. Use a coarse thread for best gripping power. Ask whoever is making the handles if they have a scrap piece that you can experiment with. Polished brass stand-offs will look nice, especially as the ivory ages. If you are drilling through the ivory and installing nuts on the inside of the draw, bright polished steel (looking like silver) will be appropriate. There used to be a source of slotless head screws. They were used in the luggage repair industry. SawdustSteve