*** Elk Hunt Story Belt Buckle Underway***

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HeartElk1

Active Member
Mar 30, 2011
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This is very cool and it already looks great! Thanks very much for sharing as the project progresses. It is fun to follow the process.
 
25contender

25contender

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Mar 20, 2013
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Just cleaned it up A little. I will finish the buckle up next week.





 
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pmcgovern

pmcgovern

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Feb 11, 2014
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Oregon
Just spent my morning drinking coffee and reading this from start to finish...... SO COOL!!!!!! Thanks for the step by step updates. It's fascinating to see this all come together!
 
25contender

25contender

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Mar 20, 2013
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Thanks everyone. This is my 30th year doing this type of work in my shop and I enjoy every minute of it. Everything and everyday is different. The only thing better would be being able to be in the mountains chasing and filming animals everyday!! I think I am going to have to make myself a buckle!!
 
25contender

25contender

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Mar 20, 2013
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Ok will be winding this down this week. I bet no one really knew how many steps are involved in producing a buckle!!
I came in a little early today to put a few hours in on the buckle.

First thing I did was to weld the Gold elk to the sterling buckle. Great care has to be taken not to have a Elk Melt Down!! Since the elk is a much lighter weight you really do have to be careful especially since I have to leave two of the antler tines standing up so I can fit and set the teeth under them then bend them over the Ivories. (I think we all have had a elk melt down in the big woods!!)




After the welding was done it was time to start some serious clean up. I did some basic polishing to get a idea how the buckle will look. After the Ivories are put in place and the final polish is done I will apply a darker background patina to make the Elk,trees, grasses, and sage brush stand out.


 
25contender

25contender

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I also polished up the ivories and will cut the base of the teeth to fit in the openings for them. They will be epoxied in mainly because in if for some reason in distant future any repairs need to be made they will be able to be removed so they will not be damaged.

 
genesis27:3

genesis27:3

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Mar 12, 2015
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North Carolina
Mark, when we first started working on the logistics of our elk hunt last year I knew then that you were a very meticulous individual, and gave great attention to detail. Your craftsmanship with this project proves that I was 100% on the money.
Great job, and looking forward to the end result of this beautiful buckle!
 
25contender

25contender

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Mar 20, 2013
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Hey everyone I am winding Justins buckle project down. I put the belt stay on the buckle and installed the ivories yesterday afternoon. Tomorrow I will do the final detail work, apply the patina to the background then install the buckle on the belt blank. Monday the Buckle will be on its way to Justin . Mark

The only part of the buckle that is not Sterling or Gold is the belt stay on the back I Fabricate a brass loop then Rhodium plate it to match. The brass loop is much stronger than Sterling or Gold.


I also added the ivories to the buckle yesterday then formed the two tines of the antlers over the one ivory.
 
libidilatimmy

libidilatimmy

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Oct 22, 2013
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Wyoming
Awesome, awesome job with the buckle Mark! Something to truly be proud of for both you and Justin. Really remarkable, to say the least.
 
25contender

25contender

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Mar 20, 2013
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Here you go here is the finished piece. Hope everyone enjoyed the process and finished piece. As mentioned earlier this will be shipped out to Justin the first of next week I don't like to ship over the weekend. Justin I hope you enjoy the new buckle. Maybe we will meet up in Montana in the future!! Mark





 
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