Mending ivory

[Mrs C]

We have a walking stick with a (broken) ivory top. It’s broken into about half a dozen fiddly bits.

Any suggestions re what glue to use, I don’t think super glue will give enough open time?

Thanks

 

[Lons]

Clear epoxy, standard or 5 minute type if you think that's enough time, it should be. You can tint it with acrylic paint while mixing if you want to fill gaps though may take some matching. In the old days you could use an old scrap piece of ivory and scrape, powder it to mix in but even that's frowned on these days though fake stuff is an option.

http://www.acrylikey.co.uk/repairing_ivory.html

 

[Tris]

https://www.lakesidepottery.com/Pages/where-to-purchase-ceramic-restoration-supplies.html

 

[profchris]

Bone glues well with hide glue, so I'd expect ivory to also.

Household gelatin is highly refined protein glue and could give an invisible glue line. It gels in seconds though, so you'd want to add salt and also warm the parts to give you working time. It reactivates with heat, so I'd get the parts glued fairly close, then warm and make adjustments. Clean up is just a warm, damp cloth or cotton bud.

Worst case is this is too tricky, in which case you just warm and dampen to separate (within 12 hours or so) and wash the glue off.

 

[Mrs C]

Thank you - will get the glue pot going

 

[profchris]

Thank you - will get the glue pot going

If you know a violin maker or guitar maker, they might have refined HHG which would give you more open time, though heating and added salt might still be helpful. You'd need a couple of teaspoonsful.

The ordinary HHG I buy from eBay is a pale brown when hydrated and heated - I suspect it might leave a visible glue line in ivory, though I can get invisible joints in wood with it.