Official Luthiers Forum!

I ran across 10 large beautiful abalone shells at a stoop sale and couldn't pass them up. Has anyone here processed abalone for their own inlays here?

I'v done just enough of it to know I'd rather not. It's a dusty messy job. If you can set up a wet grinder that would help a lot.

I bought a couple at a shell shop on the beach, years ago.
I waited until my band saw blade was about used up, and cut them into random pieces, and used them when needed.

_________________
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008907949110

Try contacting Chuck Erikson through http://www.dukeofpearl.com You won't get him directly, but they can forward your email to you. Chuck should be able to answer any questions.

used a BS to cut up shell , dusty messy, gotta flatten them next , I have a sanding machine , but will do it outside garage driveway. The dust is toxic

According to Chuck, shell dust is no more (or less) toxic than other similar sorts of dust. There is a persistent rumor that shell dust has something like arsenic in it, but that's not true, he says.

Judging from the photo, those shells are actually pretty small and you might not get much out of them. Might just want to keep them for their beauty. As Alan said, there are lots of stories out there. When I first started using shell about 40 years ago, the rumor was that there were factories that women worked in processing shell and that the women had all kinds of weird cancerous ailments due to the work. As Alan notes, Chuck Erickson refutes the dust/cancer/arsenic/mercury/ whatever rumor. Dust is dust mostly, and not all that healthy. The shell dust probably is a little harder to get out of your lungs because it might not desolve very easily. When I grew up in Calif., shells were mostly used for ashtrays. You could take up smoking! Then at least you'd be dealing with a known health hazard. Nice shells!

_________________
“ The meaning of life is to find your gift and the purpose of life is to give it away” Pablo Picasso

It's pretty easy to make slabs with a wet saw of the variety used to cut tile. They can be cut into pieces and flattened with the side of the blade. It't pretty easy and quick. Tthere are thousands of shells all over the place where I live but you can get a very hefty fine like thousands of dollars, if you use them in any product you sell. Its ok to give the product away. But if you find them on the beach you can do what ever you want with them. It's only if they were taken with a fishing license that you can be charged with a misdemeanor and fined big here in CA. What a strange law.

_________________
Michael F Smith
Goat Rock Ukulele
http://goatrockukulele.com