Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Small middle ivory shotgun bead

I've checked out most of the familiar shooting accessories places. Can't seem to find a tiny MIDDLE IVORY bead for my shotgun rib. Any, out of the normal places, to look? Thanks
WhipseY

None at Brownell's ?

All to big. They are used for the front site.

Looking at the Brownell's site just now
under " mid rib bead " , they're showing
several choices. Second one down is
an ivory colored Marbles small mid bead.
If those ain't it I don't know

Thank you, I just found one on Midway. Had to read ALL the print. Darn,I hate to do that!!
WhipseY

At least you found what you wanted.
I hate not being able to find something
I know for sure I've seen before or
bought before

Holler if that does not work out... easy to make from ivory.

Hey there Mr Sitka,
I also spent 13 years as a school principal in Bush Alaska. (Fort Yukon,Nenana,Russian Misson). I was planning on trying to make an ivory bed from a broken ivory ring that I had a native friend make for me. I even have a set of jeweler files in the mail as we speak. I'm very interested in hearing your thoughts on making a bead for my new Benelli 828u 20 g.
WhipseY

Walrus, Hippo, and Wart Hog are all less likely to yellow. Depends on how brittle the piece you are working is and what tools it can tolerate. Use a magnifying glass to see if there are any more cracks in the Ivory. If it is sound then an oversized piece can be chucked in a drill and sanded down. Might put plastic tape on where the drill chuck will be. But not too hard to hand file and then sand down, this would be less likely to damage the ivory. Wear a mask as some ivory can be an irritant. No finish is needed but clear walnut oil or tung oil will not yellow up, same for the poly varnishes. NECG and the Double Gun shop I believe carry the traditional style if the DYI doesn't work out.

Ivory works easily as you probably know... turn an ivory dowel and thread it with a standard tap of the desired size and thread pitch. Then thread a piece of Corian or similar and mount the tap in the three jaw. Then while the Corian is on the tap in the lathe true it up.

Then mount the Corian in a three jaw chuck and screw in the threaded ivory dowel. Now the bead can be turned to the desired size. I made a dozen for a shotgun gunsmith some time back and it was not very time-consuming or difficult.

I would be happy to send some ivory scraps with proper grain orientation if you want to run at it yourself. Lots of options on the specifics.

Zero need for finishes other than wax on the beads. The mentioned oils will absolutely yellow.

Hippo and warthog are far harder and more brittle than mammoth or elephant. Walrus is somewhere between.

It is far easier to keep the bead true if it is mounted and cut, not sanded.

Thanks for the offer but I'd like to use my own piece of ivory. Very sentimental value.

One more thing!! Has anyone drilled on a carbon fiber rib? Just wanted to check before I start.
Thanks, WhipseY

Carbon is HARD... thinking that may be a serious issue.

I understand, but ivory is very grainy and cross grain will likely fail before you really get started.

Brownells tech reps are very helpful, theyknow just about everything.

I learned that lesson about ivory grain the hard way. A buddy, who worked for a widely known ivory carver in Ohio, gave me a small piece from which I wanted to make a couple shotgun beads. My approach was to mount a piece of ivory onto a tiny threaded brass post which ran through the bead and is visible when viewed from above. Two failed attempts wherein the ivory came apart during the turning stage after it was epoxied onto the shaft elicited the advice from my friend to pay heed to grain direction. Problem solved.

As an aside, I routinely removed the middle bead from all my competition and bird guns as soon as I acquired them. I (and a lot of serious gunners I know) consider them to be superfluous. In fact a few guys I knew removed their front beads also. Anything that distracts one's eye from tracking the target/bird is usually a hindrance.