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Ch. 7: Working of Ivory

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CHAPTER VII
WORKING OF IVORY
The operation of dividing up the tusk into workable material requires much skill and thought, and also long practical experience. Beginning with the hollow end of the tusk the cutter first removes that part of the base lacking the requisite thickness, and then arranges the sec­tions to be cut, according to the progressive changes in its shape and solidity as he advances in his task. This refers to rectangular work of all kinds. Flat work should be cut on a line with the curve, as otherwise the edges of the rings will show. The only waste in cutting should be along the passage of the very thin blade of the saw, which is commonly from 15 to 30 in. in length, If to 3 in. in width, and but 1-50 in. in thickness; it usually has five or six teeth to the inch.*
To avoid waste of material, blocks should be centred in the lathe as near to the convex side as possible. In rough-turning a block it should be carefully adjusted in the lathe between the prong chuck and the poppet head, its position being gradually changed by light taps on either end. When it is revolving slowly the most prominent points are at­tacked by the tool. As the cutting of large pieces involves very great waste, blocks exceeding from 4 to 6 in. in length are rarely made. In cutting rings from the hollow part of the tusk, the hollow is often plugged with a piece of
♦Holtzapffel, op. cit., Vol. I, pp. 146-148.
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Ch. 6 Sources of Ivory Page of 681 Ch. 7: Working of Ivory
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