Fallow antler mount - Warning, DIY content

I tipped over a wee Fallow buck earlier this year and thought "That would look nice on the lounge wall."

How hard can it be to do this as cheap as possible...

Step one: Find a nice shield image online to make a template from.
I printed on a few sheets of A4 and made a template on some 10mm MDF I got for free.

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Step two:
I made the shield from a used pallet with a nice grain and pattern. No idea what kind of hardwood it is, the rest of it made really good kindling for the fireplace.

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Step three: After a lot of head scratching and some muttering I bought a router to true up the edges to laminate the planks together without any gaps. Test fitting the skull cap and it looked good on the bench!

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Step four: I didn't take a picture of this bit but put a M8 bolt into the skull cap and poured some epoxy resin in. Thread end sticking out with the plan to just bolt that onto the shield. At this point I realised I'd cocked up when cutting the skull down. I made the cut on the wrong angle the antlers where sticking straight out from the wall and it just looked stupid.

Step five: (Leave the project alone for 2 months after child #2 is born and stuff gets busy.) Got back to it and decided to make a wedge of MDF to sit under the skull cap. Hold the wedge on with a nut to the bolt that's in the skull cap. So far so good, the only downside is it looks really ugly with a block under it. Hmm.

Step six: Time to get out the bog. Fantastic stuff is bog. I built up around the wedge so it didn't look too silly. With a bit of hand sanding to smooth the curves out it did the job. I suspect I will not win any awards with this approach
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Step seven: 2 screws from the back of the shield into the MDF wedge and job done. Hang on the wall with a custom system involving string line and staples from the staple gun. (Yes I did trial a few different versions on test scraps and it will hold +22kg before failing. I don't fancy having a head fall onto my head)

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Looks bloody good mate.

Ripper buck too!

great head and good effort on the mounting system.

Looks awesome. Currently in the middle of doing something similar with this one..

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Ugly 9 point Red but another for the cave wall no less.

Thanks guys.
Now that I've done one any other mounts will be quite a bit easier. Having a bolt stuck into the head does make mounting quite a bit easier, something I learnt while reading over this forum. Just takes a while for the resin to cure in Central Otago winters.

As daft as it sounds sit it in a box suspended a bit, and pack hot water bottles around it with an old blanket over the lot.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Preacher

As daft as it sounds sit it in a box suspended a bit, and pack hot water bottles around it with an old blanket over the lot.

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Good to know, will keep that in mind for the next project...
What effect does curing speed have on the final strength of an epoxy do you know? Just wondering for an application like bedding for a rifle.

I know for the Terminal Ballistics matchgrade bedding it is something like around 40c for 48 hours. Hence the hot water bottle trick. As far as I know the best way to use any epoxy is to use it/cure it at as close to manufacturer direction. Too cold or too hot can leave it brittle for most products.

Although it should generate a reasonable amount of heat by itself as it catalysis.