CHAPTER VII 

 WORKING OF IVORY 



The operation of dividing up the tusk into workable 

 material requires much skill and thought, and also long 

 practical experience. Beginning with the hollow end of 

 the tusk the cutter first removes that part of the base 

 lacking the requisite thickness, and then arranges the sec- 

 tions to be cut, according to the progressive changes in 

 its shape and solidity as he advances in his task. This 

 refers to rectangular work of all kinds. Flat work should 

 be cut on a line with the curve, as otherwise the edges 

 of the rings will show. The only waste in cutting should 

 be along the passage of the very thin blade of the saw, 

 which is commonly from 15 to 30 in. in length, Ij to 3 in. 

 in width, and but 1-50 in. in thickness; it usually has five 

 or six teeth to the inch.* 



To avoid waste of material, blocks should be centred in 

 the lathe as near to the convex side as possible. In rough- 

 turning a block it should be carefully adjusted in the lathe 

 between the prong chuck and the poppet head, its position 

 being gradually changed by light taps on either end. When 

 it is revolving slowly the most prominent points are at- 

 tacked by the tool. As the cutting of large pieces involves 

 very great waste, blocks exceeding from 4 to 6 in. in 

 length are rarely made. In cutting rings from the hollow 

 part of the tusk, the hollow is often plugged with a piece of 



*Holtzapffel, op. cit., Vol. I, pp. 146-148. 



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