Fixin broken off tines ?

huntercameron · Dec 17, 2004

I have a buck that had about 6 inch piece of tine break off. I was wondering what would be the best thing to fix it . Maybe what glue would be the best ? If anyone wants to tell me what they have done , or what works . I would appreciate it . Thanks.

later , hunter cameron

Hornseeker · Dec 17, 2004

Hey Cameron, my dad does that sort of stuff professionally, so I'll get the names of the products. He'd basically find a tine (or do you have the broke tine?), use epoxy to get them together then stain the epoxy to look just like antler, but I"ll get more specifics in a few days. Going over for Christmas and bowhunting for deer for a few days. WoooHooo!

huntercameron · Dec 17, 2004

I Dont have the same tine I lost it . So I got a tine that would work of one of my sheds and sanded them to fit. What stain would work the best ? Thanks for the info hornseeker.

later , hunter cameron

polarbear · Dec 18, 2004

There is a product called Epoxy Sculpt. You can get it at any taxidermy supply. If you dont have the broken piece, you can make a new one. Just drill a hole in the end of the tine to be fixed and epoxy in a chunk of coat hanger that is just a little bit shorter than the length that you want to replace. Take the epoxy sculpt (there are 2 parts that you have to mix) and mold it around the wire until you get the length and configuration that you want. Blend it in a little with the original antler and stain to match. This stuff will dry hard as a rock, not shrink and will accept stain just like the natural antler. The stuff is awesome!

Eric

huntercameron · Dec 18, 2004

Hey whats the cost of the epoxy sculpt polarbear ? Thanks for the info.

later , hunter cameron

rost495 · Dec 18, 2004

Small container maybe 10-15 bucks IIRC. Polar is dead on. In fact I'd epoxy the broken piece onto the wire and then epoxy back onto the rack. Then let that sit till hard and then put on the epoxy scuplt. You can smooth that stuff so you can't see the transition, and can put back texture and grooves in it with a wetted sculpting tool.

It will stain like antlers. Most use water base stain. It will not take much at a time though so you have to slowly build it up if its very dark antlers you are trying to match.

I've rebuilt lots of points with the epoxy only. Put a wire in and build up around it as mentioned. I"d put on a little and let it dry first, then build the outer finish layer.

There was Potassium Permanganate(purple crystals from your chem lab days) that worked well on antlers as stain also. Better than real stain to me. But for the life of me I don't recall if it worked on the epoxy too??? Polarbear??

Good luck, Jeff

huntercameron · Dec 18, 2004

Hey I sent you a pm rost495.

later , hunter cameron

Hornseeker · Dec 18, 2004

Yep, Rost and Polarbear use the same stuff as my dad. Those purple crystals are wild, I dont know how that works, but you put it on a white horn and it looks sorta red, then in a few minutes it changes and the horn looks like a fresh brown...almost.