[BobD]

Something I've kicked around for a while is to make a set of Ogham runes (Celtic). The Ogham alphabet is based on the trees the Celts found powerful, so my thought is to make each rune out of the tree it represents...

Bob

[AlArchie]

Antlers; at least deer antlers. Some are porus at the core and some are not. It depends on what you find when you cut them. The larger the antler diameter, the more likely it is to be porus, but that is not always the case.....it just depends. I've made letter openers from some large antlers and they were quite solid, while one of the smaller ones I used was like a sponge inside. Odds are you will find some voids, but ya never can tell.

Once the cutting and maching is done, the odor is non existant. It's the dust that smells so bad.

Speaking of which, Bob is right about the possibility of bacteria, especially if you are using discarded antlers from the southwest area. Antlers are devoured by all sorts of rodents from porcupines to squirells to mice, and the feces and urine of mice, in particular, may contain the hanta virus...nasty stuff. So you may be exposing yourself to these pathogens if there were fecal or urine deposits on or around the found antlers. Not a big risk, but something to consider. It sure doesn't hurt to wear a respirator while working any animal material.

Here's some information from the American Lung Association's site;

Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome Fact Sheet


December 2004
Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is the name given to an infectious lung disease that first appeared as a "mystery" illness in the Southwest United States in the spring of 1993. Although federal health officials at the CDC and state health officials have learned a great deal about the disease since the outbreak in 1993, there are still many questions remaining.

• Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is caused by infection with a specific virus from a group of viruses called hantavirus. Hantaviruses have been recognized by experts since 1978. Hantaviruses have been found in South America and in Asia where it causes kidney disorders rather than lung diseases.1
• Four hantaviruses (Sin Nombre, Black Creek Canal, New York and Bayou) cause the hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in the United States. Humans contract the infection by inhaling airborne mice excreta, by contact with rodent saliva during a bite, by direct contact of rodent excreta with broken skin, and possibly through contaminated food or water. The infected animals do not themselves become ill. The infection is not thought to be transmissible from one person to another.2
• As of September 2004, a total of 379 laboratory-confirmed cases of HPS have been reported in the United States, including 32 retrospectively identified cases that occurred before 1993.3 Thirty-six percent of all reported cases have resulted in deaths.4
• Cases have been reported in 30 states; the majority of cases in the Southwest during the spring and summer months. Seventy-five percent of cases are traced to inhabitants of rural areas. Most cases have occurred among males (62 percent); the average age is 37 years.5
• HPS can strike anyone. However, whites and American Indians account for 78 percent and 19 percent of all cases, respectively. About 13 percent of cases are among Hispanics (ethnicity considered separately from race).6
• Hantavirus infection triggers an illness at first similar to a severe cold or influenza, accompanied by fever and muscle aches. It quickly progresses to severe respiratory difficulties and to adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), which is fatal in 30 to 40 percent of cases.7
• ARDS is a condition in which the lungs' ability to transfer oxygen to the blood is severely impaired, compromising the function of all the body's organs. It may be caused by severe trauma or massive infection, as is the case with HPS. Currently, mechanical ventilation (assisted respiration) is the main treatment for ARDS.8
• No therapy is established specifically for treating hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. There has been some experimental use of an antiviral drug, ribavirin, which has been used against related viruses in other parts of the world.9
• CDC has issued guidelines for rodent extermination and avoidance for residents, workers, campers and hikers in affected areas. Surveillance continues, as does a quest for effective treatment.10
• Although hantavirus pulmonary syndrome has been publicized as an emerging infectious disease, it is in fact only a newly identified disease and has been causing illness and death for years.

For


Al