[pianotech] Cutting ivory into a circular shape (slightly

[Larry Fisher RPT]

Soak them in vinegar for a few minutes then use a punch.  I’d expect it 
would take me about an hour to produce 18 of them.  After you're through 
rinse them off with water and place them between two panes of glass using 
cloth as a buffer so they can breathe better and remain flat as they dry. 
If I had some time to play with this I'd try it myself.

BTW I have a regulation sized one piece slate myself.  Skin colored felt and 
leopard spotted bumpers.  Mmmmm.  Makes me think of a hot day at the beach 
for some reason.

Lar

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You might try soaking them or steaming them. They probably would punch 
without breaking.
Paul McCloud
San Diego

----- Original Message -----
From: paulmulik at yahoo.com
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2013 4:56:22 AM
Subject: [pianotech] Cutting ivory into a circular shape (slightly OT)

Good morning all,

I'm having my pool table refinished, and the diamonds (sights) on my table 
are cheap plastic imitation mother-of-pearl. I thought I'd replace them with 
something that looks nicer, and ivory came to mind. For those not familiar 
with cue sports, the "diamonds" are set into the rails around the table, 
they are little markers (usually 18 of them) which players can use as an aid 
in setting up shots. On many tables, including mine, they are circular, 
however in billiards lingo they are still called diamonds no matter what 
shape they are.

Anyway, like most everyone reading this message, I've got some old used 
ivory keytops laying around, but the problem is, how can I cut it into 
7/16th inch circles? Many old pool tables had real ivory diamonds, and ivory 
almost certainly would have been used to make buttons, but back then I guess 
they would have started with a large piece of ivory, formed it into a 
cylinder with a lathe or some other power tool, and then sliced into discs.

I haven't tried it yet, but I wouldn't think one could stamp out circles of 
ivory from an old keytop the way one would with leather or paper. It seems 
to me the thin ivory would just shatter. Then the thought occurred to me 
that maybe I could take a 1/2 inch wooden dowel rod, glue a square piece of 
ivory to the end of it, and then sand it into a circular shape using a belt 
sander. Then I could slice off the end of the dowel with a band saw, making 
a little wooden button with ivory on one side. The pool table rails could 
easily be drilled slightly deeper (or larger) if necessary.

Can anyone suggest a different method of making circular discs of ivory?

Thanks,
Paul Mulik