Any of you fine folks got some clue to spare? I bought a few recently and
sawed them into slabs. Carving them with gouges is very different than wood
or jewelers wax. It seems easy to break off things I really rather I
didn't.  I've read that soaking in water makes them soft, but I'm not sure
that's a good thing. Are there useful tips, or is this one of those
"practice makes it possible" situations?

On Mon, 14 Jan 2019 curt seeliger wrote:
>Any of you fine folks got some clue to spare? I bought a few recently and
sawed them into slabs. Carving them with gouges is very different than wood
or jewelers wax. It seems easy to break off things I really rather I
didn't.  I've read that soaking in water makes them soft, but I'm not sure
that's a good thing. Are there useful tips, or is this one of those
"practice makes it possible" situations?<

Hi Curt

I haven't carved them but I once used thin sawed slabs for scrimshaw jewellery
projects.

I used a stout sewing needle mounted in the end of a wood dowel as the
instrument to scratch a design which was then shaded with India ink for black,
and sometimes coloured inks, to bring out incised details.

The oval slab had the attractive brown skin left around the rim. A jewellery
fitting was attached to a hole at the top to suspend it as a pendant, or a
broach pin could be glued to the back.

Steve in Thunder Bay

I wonder if you could use a graver to cut fine detail into tagua.

Gary Katsanis
Albion New York, USA

---- S or J  wrote: 

=============
On Mon, 14 Jan 2019 curt seeliger wrote:
>Any of you fine folks got some clue to spare? I bought a few recently and
sawed them into slabs. Carving them with gouges is very different than wood
or jewelers wax. It seems easy to break off things I really rather I
didn't.  I've read that soaking in water makes them soft, but I'm not sure
that's a good thing. Are there useful tips, or is this one of those
"practice makes it possible" situations?<

Hi Curt

I haven't carved them but I once used thin sawed slabs for scrimshaw jewellery
projects.

I used a stout sewing needle mounted in the end of a wood dowel as the
instrument to scratch a design which was then shaded with India ink for black,
and sometimes coloured inks, to bring out incised details.

The oval slab had the attractive brown skin left around the rim. A jewellery
fitting was attached to a hole at the top to suspend it as a pendant, or a
broach pin could be glued to the back.

Steve in Thunder Bay

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