# My first attempt working with Paua Shell



## Hrawk (Oct 25, 2010)

With duck season kicking off next month in New Zealand, last night my uncle phoned me up to see if I was coming over again this year. Sadly due to study commitments I will have to pass this time. I prefer dear season anyway.

Anyhow, during the phone call he asked me if I could make him a slingshot for him to mess around with while he sits and waits for hours on end for ducks to show up. "Of course" was my reply, "I'll get one made up and sent over immediately".

Instead of just knocking up a quick board cut and mailing it off, I thought I'd try my hand at something a bit more special.

Paua Shell is traditionally used by Maori people in forms of artwork, jewellery and other forms of decoration, usually as eyes in carvings and sculptures, as well as traditional weapons.

So I thought I'd give it a go, having plenty of the shells laying around from my many visits 'back home'. I decided to start with something pretty simple, a few circular inserts I can embed into the front and back of the slingshot.

My first impression of working with the shells was Oh Gawd, the SMELL! I know understand what people are talking about when they work with bone and horn. It's putrid. Even the respirator couldn't keep all of it out!

I discovered it's pretty easy to cut using a rotary tool at high speed with a fiber cutting wheel, and equally as easy to shape using a disc sander at max speed with a 400 grit surface. The dust was horrific though and I'd hate to think what a lung full of this stuff would do.

Anyhow, here's the end result of about an hours work. Two 20mm discs that I can embed into the frame.

I snapped a few pics, as it's hard to capture the beauty of this stuff with a still photo as the colours and depth continually change with the angle of the light. You can see there are a few scratches in the surface still, no now I'm off to start lapping them with 600,800, 1200, 2000 wet and dry, then a good polish on the buffer.





































Here's a pic of a Paua shell in it's native form:










And here's some finished products from the Pro's:


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## FWV2 (Mar 10, 2013)

very beautiful stuff and craftsmanship!!

Fwv2.


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## Imperial (Feb 9, 2011)

they also make great inlays for the frets on guitars . nice teaser, cant wait to see the slingshot .


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## Hrawk (Oct 25, 2010)

Cheers guys, I'm now deciding on what wood would set them off best.

I'm leaning towards a deep redgum or some spotted gum, dyed a mahogany colour.


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## Beanflip (Sep 11, 2010)

Wow. Cool stuff. Can't wait to see the sling!


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## quarterinmynose (Jan 21, 2012)

A very cool material and no doubt. Absolutely beautiful. Can't wait to see what you come up with.


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## Hrawk (Oct 25, 2010)

Well I lapped them all the way up to 2000 grit and gave them a good polish.

Its really helped bring out the detail, colour and shine.


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## AZ Stinger (Aug 30, 2012)

They look beautiful dude...


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

Looks good, Hrawk. I am sure your uncle will be impressed.

Cheers ..... Charles


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## PorkChopSling (Jan 17, 2013)

Wow, nice.


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## All Buns Glazing (Apr 22, 2012)

Wow, I love the colours. Gorgeous, looking forward to what you come up with.


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## Blue Danube (Sep 24, 2011)

You are truly blessed to have such easy access to paua shells. It is one of natures most beautiful creations. Lying around somewhere here I have a Whammo Chalice hybred with two Paua inlays....


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## Saderath (Jan 1, 2013)

Those are amazing!


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## Dayhiker (Mar 13, 2010)

They were shells and now they are jewels. Real pretty!


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## mr. green (Nov 3, 2012)

Beautiful. You have a creative mind. Can't wait to see the end product.


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## bigron (Nov 29, 2012)

very nice as usual


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## AnTrAxX (Jul 18, 2012)

Good looking Material.

I wanted to use those circles too...had something dark in mind, like ebony...unfortunately i had no time yet...and no idea what finish to use on those parts.

I´m really surprised how the result will look like!


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## Quercusuber (Nov 10, 2011)

Impressive beauty on that material!!!!

Can't wait the shooter 

Cheers ...Q


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## ash (Apr 23, 2013)

Very wise to wear a respirator when working with Paua, or any shell product. A lungful of that stuff has some risk of silicosis - similar to the badness brought on by things like asbestos and coal dust. Don't worry, I'm not saying it's a case of certain doom, just another thing to take care with, like safety glasses etc.

Also be aware that exporting items inlaid with paua, abalone or mother of pearl can sometimes be trouble in the Customs department at the other end. I've heard of guitars being stopped at Customs because of the pearl dots inlaid into the fretboard!! It seems to be rare, but Customs people can be dicks about it if they're having a bad hair day.


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## Hrawk (Oct 25, 2010)

Cheers Ash for taking an interest in my thread.

I know all too well what customs can be like but seriously, knocked back for fretboard inlays ? Ouch. Someone was having a bad day indeed.

Got a question for you as you've probably done it, how do you go about cutting / shaping these fretboard inlays ? I've seen it done with dowel plugs etc, but for the more exotic ones like Paua. Are you just Really good and hand sanding to shape or would you use a diamond hole saw or similar ?


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## ash (Apr 23, 2013)

Depends on the material and shape. The standard size/material is 1/4" round mother of pearl, which I buy pre-cut from MOP Supplies in Australia. They also do paua and lots of other shell types. Different size discs, squares, veneers, etc.

If I have to custom cut a shape it is done with a pearl saw, which is a very fine-toothed coping saw, hand held. Cut edges are trued up by sanding. Dremel or CNC cutting with small diameter carbide burrs is also good if you have the gear. Laser cutting is possible if you have enormous power on tap. Pearl and paua will just turn into a stubborn powdery mess with ordinary laser cutters. Possibly to do with the thousands of super thin reflective mineral layers dissipating the laser energy.


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## Blue Danube (Sep 24, 2011)

What blade are you using in your fret/jewelers saw?? 3/0 4/0??

A rotary tool with plunge cut bits is the way to go other than dots, face cutting end mill for those works well for me.


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## ash (Apr 23, 2013)

Blue Danube said:


> What blade are you using in your fret/jewelers saw?? 3/0 4/0??


I was using 3/0 but it's a bit slow cutting for most applications and the blades are super fragile. I'll get some coarser/tougher ones next time.


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## Blue Danube (Sep 24, 2011)

Are you beeswaxing the blades? Makes a bit of difference and cleans off easy too


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## ash (Apr 23, 2013)

Ah, that's a good idea. I've got loads of bees wax, too.

Thanks for the tip!


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