Abalone Shells to Abalone Inlay?

I have, I think, 3 abalone shells sitting out in the yard atm. Letting the stink die.

Does anyone have an idea how you would go about creating a thin abalone veneer from the shell?

I’ve seen some veneers done by what looks like cutting them vertically leaving crescent shapes of the mother of pearl. However, I have a piece I bought that is clearly a horizontal cut but then pieced together. Very very thin.

What kind of saw would you use to cut the thin pieces? Would there be a lot of loss from kerf?

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I have, I think, 3 abalone shells sitting out in the yard atm. Letting the stink die.

Does anyone have an idea how you would go about creating a thin abalone veneer from the shell?

I’ve seen some veneers done by what looks like cutting them vertically leaving crescent shapes of the mother of pearl. However, I have a piece I bought that is clearly a horizontal cut but then pieced together. Very very thin.

What kind of saw would you use to cut the thin pieces? Would there be a lot of loss from kerf?

I did some web searching, and information about the methods of shell processing is a bit difficult to find. The best practical explanation I found is at the following link. It isn’t a “how-to” but it seems to go into enough detail (with pics) about the finished products, and the ways that production methods affect them, to give you some ideas.

http://tinyurl.com/o476z

Since “Tom Bloke” is a Kiwi and a back to nature kind of guy, and lots of mother of pearl/paua shell is from NZ, you might want to drop him a PM to see if he knows any further details.

I did find an (uncorroborated) allegation on one web site on the subject that the dust from grinding the shells is toxic, so I’d advise exercising caution and wearing at least a dust mask.

-Samiam

DO NOT DO IT abalone dust is HIGHLY toxic. look it up. You can get thin lams from stewmac.com their a guitar parts co.

After seeing Kevin Ancell’s work on those Yaters I’m psyched as well to try this inlay out…

And those fins by Evolution too

For a less toxic option and in larger panels here’s some vendors I’m been thinking of using…

Most of the guitar stuff is pretty small for fine fret and soundhole work…

On ebay there’s a guy from China/Taiwan who’ll provide pretty much any design you want for your guitars…

http://www.aquabluemaui.com/aqabout.html

http://www.inlayusa.com/

http://www.allenguitar.com/inlay.htm

Next to my A/C repair guy

I saw a guy slicing the end off shell to made shell horns to blow…

He had a ton of them imported from asia

no mask.

When I asked him if that wasn’t toxic getting covered in shell dust all day

he just looked at me like I was crazy or something.

I hear the stuff is deadly especially abalone and paua

you might as well smoke asbestos to get high…

Also try www.oceanshellnz.com

They have a nice website and you can order the veneers already made up. Doug

What is it about abalone shells that is so toxic? Bacteria? The shell is calcium carbonate isn’t it? Any fine dust is bad for the lungs, but it sounds like ab is especially bad. Never heard that before.

Hi Kirk -

I tried looking it up and can’t find any convincing cause and effect links. Several references to rumored inhaled ab dust events but nothing by reputable sources. I’m not sure how many references were based on initial unsubstantiated rumors.

Here is a cut/paste response from a guy with doctorate credentials in Bio Sci who addresses some of the specific rumors. Also a link to a musical instrument maker who refers to the toxicity thing as “urban legend.”

http://www.leonardmusicalinstruments.com/turning_mother_of_pearl.htm

Nothing I could find convinced me that ab shell dust is “toxic” - like asbestos or tobacco smoke for instance.

http://www.members.tripod.com/…l/toxicchemicals.htm

I imagine any dust, smoke, foreign body, biological organism (TB, Valley Fever, etc) can mess you up if inhaled. If you grind stuff, wear a mask.


Date: Tue, 22 Nov 2005 14:42:05 -0600 Reply-To: Conchologists List CONCH-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU Sender: Conchologists List CONCH-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU From: “Dr. David Campbell” amblema@BAMA.UA.EDU Subject: Re: abalone dust toxicity In-Reply-To: GAEAKNNANNCIDABJAFCFKEAGDDAA.avrilb@telus.net Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

I recently read a comment on the chat list of the jewellery makers’ > website, ganoskin.com., stating that the abalone shell is a deadly > one to cut or grind, due to the fact that the body absorbs the dust > through the lungs or skin.

Shell dust is calcium carbonate and protein. It’s not absorbed through the skin. Any fine dust is bad to breathe, but there’s nothing worse about shell than average (as opposed to, e.g., asbestos). There is a possibility that some treatment of the shell (polishing, etc.) or something used in the cutting (e.g., the lubricant for the saw blade) adds dangerous chemicals to the mix; such problems could be avoided by getting natural shells and being careful about safety with the chemicals you use. If the new technique generates very high heat as it cuts, there is the chance that powder could be changed from calcium carbonate to calcium oxide. This is a strong base that can irritate the skin and would not be good for the lungs. However, unless you are directly inhaling the dust as the shells are cut (as in a large factory with seriously deficient safety standards), I would not expect there to be enough to cause a problem. Perhaps more likely is the possibility that the factory in question had an outbreak of some serious respiratory disease.

My graduate advisor has been cutting lots of shells for a few decades. The only health problem he had was cirrhosis due to the acetone he used in processing the samples. He’s been careful with the acetone since then and hasn’t had a problem.

The body then interprets this substance as a sugar > and sends it to all the organs.

Not likely. The body can recognize proteins, calcium ions, and carbonate ions just fine.

There followed an anecdote about a group of > people dying just a few months after beginning a new efficient > process of cutting abalone shell. Pustules in the lungs, death due > to pneumonia.

Large quantities of fine particles (dust) in the lungs is not good for you, though I suspect you would need closer to a few decades to have significant problems with shell dust.

It was also stated that the dust can be absorbed > when suspended in a solution.

If you drink it.

I’m going to have to cut some of these shells in my work, and I must > find a safe way to do it.

To avoid inhaling lots of dust, assuming that your cutting methods generate lots of dust, you could get a basic air filter mask from a hardware store.

For more information, you might look into safety information for construction work using marble or limestone (also calcium carbonate).

– Dr. David Campbell 425 Scientific Collections Building Department of Biological Sciences Biodiversity and Systematics University of Alabama, Box 870345 Tuscaloosa AL 35487-0345 USA

ah it makes poly resin seem safe

after say about three months of working with it you start bleeding through the nose a fair bit

it a neuro toxin

i can tell you from first hand experience

ive had a friend who has done a fair bit of research on it and used to work with it all the time

hes dead now(not the reason,but he believed it accelerated his health deteriation)

his daughter still works in shell but its all done with wet gear

its up to you

an easy setup is by a syphon

what i do is a get a plastic bottle and thin fish tank type tube

and a flat face plate diamond disk that fits in the front of a 6 inch bench grinder

sit the grinder on a stand in large plastic tray

and siphon water on to the flat face plate as im cutting(clean the outer shit off the shell)

then i just either use a wet diamond disk cutter(same way with a siphon)

to cut out rough shapes and regrind them on the grinder or with diamond burs

you can get away with a jeweller saw if you wear a mask

but i would recomend you clean the shell up when its wet

at the end of the day after a coule of year s regularly working with it i did feel it was making me sick

even with taking precautions

all the shell ive worked with

they give off different odours

paua is a different smell to a conch shell

as is mother of pearl

could be just the dust though!

its an addictive smell btw

i guess like resin

i wouldnt take that doctors statement as fact though

unless he has done a chemical analysis of a shell

its industry standard over here to work the shell wet

Also try Stewart MacDonald luthier’s supplies - http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Inlay,_pearl/Blanks.html

Abalone dust is toxic, and you should use caution not to breathe the dust. The best way is to keep it wet when you cut it. Wet saws for making big cuts - you can rent a diamond bladed tile cutter from an equipment rental place, tile supply places, or home depot. Otherwise just keep the peice your working on wet. The dust is only bad for you if you breathe it.

use a jewelry saw or coping saw. Fiber glass hawaii has real and fake abalone shell.




keep the shinny stuff on your deck!



aloha and have fun....post your pictures

John,

The pretty part of the shell is made of aragonite which is calcite (CaCO3) with a different crystal structure. The pretty colors however, are made of traces of iron, strontium, copper, lead, zinc. None of those things is very good for you if you breath them. It is also possible that the fiberous quality of the crystaline structure comes out when it is ground up. It is the shape of the particles, fiberous being the worst, that causes some lung cancers.

John,

Interesting note in the paste from the Bio Science guy,

“The only health problem he had was cirrhosis due to the acetone…”

Can anyone say,“RESPIRATOR!”

Funny note - Went into Home Decrap and asked where the respirators were and he showed me the dust masks.

I said,“No, these are dust masks. I said respirators.”

“These will work just as well.” he says.

Home Decrap - where the experts answer your home project questions…

Pete

G’day Kai,

I got my inlays made from a company here in Aus, they sell 1mm sheets of laser cut abalone, they come in about 5" by 8", you can cut them with scissors or a sharp utility knife, or they laser cut my custom design.


The paua was cursed by the spirit of Hoturapa after he was murdered by Kupe, making the shell deadly poisononous forevermore. So that definitely explains it, never mind any reasoned opinions by actual experts in the subject matter at hand…

-Samiam

Jeesh Lee -

What are you, some kind of geologist or something?!

Well I am glad we have settled that. So much for the chop saw!

I bought some abalone inlay material on ebay from a guy/store named kiwialan. goog product and a good price.

theres a few ways

sheet form whick looks kinda crap/cheap

or get some shells of the beach when you grind the shit off the back they end up pretty thin

but are okay for inlays

for jewellery or really great colour with pinks and golds you need to buy decent shell

good shell if you buy pershell cost about 20$nz per shell

if you buy in bulk from a diver it works out heaps cheaper

ive worked in shell for a long time

and for a period i was using it 3 or 4 hours a day

and yeah its not good for you

trust me

one shell wont hurt you

but if you work in it a lot it it will affect your health

remember when they told us ddt and asbestos was okay

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theres a few ways

sheet form whick looks kinda crap/cheap

                                                                                      ^ 

silly, have you seen the pics of my sheet inlay? look a few posts above, certainly doesn’t look crap or cheap in my opinion, i’m stoked with the result.