Processing Raw Bone

[Allen]

I just got a large leg bone from the butcher to attempt to make my own nuts and saddles. What do I need to do to get it ready? I assume I need to cook it to remove the marrow and fat and let it dry. Could be difficult to find a dry place around here since it's rained about 1/2 meter in the last 2 days.

[Kim]

Hey Allen,

Probably not much help to you on this one but I do not recommend just boiling the bone as it has a lot of fat and other impurities that will most likely stain the bone and then require bleaching which IMHO can make the bone chalky.

When I buy my bone from a butcher the first thing I do is to stick it near an ants nest for a while, they will clean it right up in no time. Using a fine tooth blade on the band-saw, I then cut clean slugs or billets of bone, large enough to be processed into nuts or saddles later. Be warned, this process stinks a lot like having your teeth drilled at the dentist and is bad enough to drive some people to just buy their bone ready processed.

You can use the bone just like that if you wish or you can boil these billets in a pot of water with a little dish washing detergent and/or some lemon juice if your after a cleaner more even colour. Once again I don't like to use bleach as I reckon it breaks down the bone a little, if you want it white, time in the sun and lemon juice in the boiling water will work fine.

I personally don't mind some residual fats or oils left in the bone as I reckon this helps to keep the bone from going chalky and also probably lubes the string grooves a little as well. Later when it come time to make the nuts and saddles, I like to polish them out with fine wet and dry, and then move on to micro mesh up to 12000. This, as you are no doubt aware, can be a challenge to get right because you essentially need to leave the components a little over-size and then polish in to a snap fit.

Hope this helps

Cheers

Kim

[Bob Connor]

The last lot we bought we chucked 'em on the roof of the shed for a few months and let the crows pick at them.

Did the job but the first couple of weeks drove as beserk with three or four big currawongs dancing about on the tin roof for most of the day.

I've just chucked them in a bucket of Caustic Soda to clean them up a bit more before we cut them up.

I quite like the unbleached look. Looks a bit more vintage.

Bob

[Allen]

I've got quite a few green ant nests around the house, and every time we get something a little smelly in the bin and the flies are at it, the green ants have a hay day. I reckon that they will love a bone. Thanks for the info guys.

[kiwigeo]

The last lot we bought we chucked 'em on the roof of the shed for a few months and let the crows pick at them.

That would explain why you dont have any neighbours

[Kim]

I've got quite a few green ant nests around the house, and every time we get something a little smelly in the bin and the flies are at it, the green ants have a hay day. I reckon that they will love a bone. Thanks for the info guys.

Just make a cage to cover the bone first Allen or the neighbors dog may have his hay day before the ants get a chance

[Dominic]

Does anyone know if bone dust is bad for you? The few nuts and saddles i have made with bone blanks stink when cut. But I also worried about the dust.
Dom

[Lillian]

It isn't good for you. There was a couple of articles linking bone meal with brain issues.

Please, wear a mask.

[sebastiaan56]

It isn't good for you. There was a couple of articles linking bone meal with brain issues.

Please, wear a mask.

Is that BSE Lillian, or more generally?

Sebastiaan

[Kim]

I would imagine that Lillian may well be referring to BSE. Fortunately the disease must have decided that we Aussie's a mad enough so neither it nor any of it's variants have ever been recorded here in AU.

http://www.health.gov.au/internet/wcms/ ... se-faq.htm

But I would wear a mask anyhow as a matter of course. Same deal with shell, real bad for your lungs as regular exposure to the dust can cause silicosis, not nice the old miner's lung.

Cheers

Kim

[rick_]

its not just a matter of contracting Bovine diseases with cow bones. Like previous post says, its bad for your lungs, and wearing a mask would help stop the stink i expect.

[Lillian]

Its been years now, but I remember that they were finding gardeners that used bone meal, more heavily then most, where dealing with what they thought was an early on set of dementia. Autopsies reveled holes in the grey matter. I don't remember how they made the link, but it was attributed to all the bone meal that they were using.

Even if that was a leap of an over zealous researcher, I cannot see where bone dust can be good for the lungs. Its as natural as wood dust and we all know what that can do.

[rick_]

maybe its some freaky sort of genetic thing like how the body rejects transplant organs or some crazy science stu ff

[kiwigeo]

Does anyone know if bone dust is bad for you? The few nuts and saddles i have made with bone blanks stink when cut. But I also worried about the dust.
Dom

Not cancer causing but like any dust its best kept out of your respiratory system. It also tastes like sh*t if it gets down your throat.

[kiwigeo]

Mad cow disease not documented here in Australia but silly cow disease is not uncommon.

[James Mc]

I asked a friend who’s a respiratory specialist with the doctors abroad program. He said that carving dry bone and shell has been linked to lung disease, mostly emphysema and pneumonia. This is probably people doing a lot of it for the souvenir market, but better safe than sorry, wear a mask and work it wet when you can.

[Allen]

My opinion is that there is far more danger from fine air borne dust than is ever posed by something that may or may not be potentially poisonous. The problem with dust is that its accumulative and usually takes years and even decades for it's effects to be noticed. By then too late.

If you don't feel ill from it immediately, then it can't be bad for you, right .

I've worked in a trade my entire life that is full of dangerous chemicals and dust, and tough guys don't need a dust mask. Quite rare that I hear of someone that has become sensitized to the chemicals, but it does happen. Usually a tough guy that didn't need the safety equipment. It's unbelievably common though to hear that they have developed some lung problem and can't be around dust any more. Coincidentally they are more often than not smokers as well.

You know, I don't see very many tough guys over 40 still in the trade.

[Kim]

Its been years now, but I remember that they were finding gardeners that used bone meal, more heavily then most, where dealing with what they thought was an early on set of dementia. Autopsies reveled holes in the grey matter. I don't remember how they made the link, but it was attributed to all the bone meal that they were using.

From the link in my post above;

BSE belongs to a group of rare, fatal diseases called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). The term ‘spongiform encephalopathy’ literally means ‘holes in the brain’. TSEs have been found in humans, sheep, goats, cows, mink, deer, cats and some zoo animals.

Cheers

Kim

[Lillian]

Sorry about that Kim. My computer time is very limited these days. I should have checked out your link first.

[Kim]

Nothing what so ever to be sorry for Lillian. I was just pointing out the accuracy of you post from which we have all just gained some knowledge and that is always a good thing

Cheers

Kim

[Allen]

A M8 that I work with brought me a good chunk of bone that his dog had stashed out in the back paddock. After looking at it and trying to figure how best to cut it up, I got to thinking, is there a grain pattern in bone that I need to keep in mind when I cut it up?

To get the best yield I would need to cut following the circumference like in the image. It is only thick enough in a couple of places to cut towards the center. If that makes sense.

[Kim]

I've always cut mine length ways Allen but I really don't think it matters, just as long as you get what you need. As mentioned I cut pieces of clean convertable bone and chuck the rest out. Because it's cheap, I do not futz around too much with it. By clean I mean no bubbly stuff or uneven areas which may not file out of the component.

Cheers

Kim