Some antique parts I machined and aged to match the original.

The museum is the David Warther museum. He and his father before make incredible ivory ship models. Even the rigging is ivory strands drawn through die plates. He sells ivory that is certified and legal.
 
Were you referring to the Warther museum in Ohio ? I had the opportunity to visit that one during the late 70's while traveling for business. The major collection is comprised of very exacting scale railroad locomotives. The major boiler and cab type components were carved from ebony while all other detail parts were made with ivory. One very impressive ivory component is a bell rope less than 1/16 " dia. and over 12" long complete with drape loops between supports. The original carver was identified by the museum guide as "Mooney" Warther who was deceased at that time.

We visitors were shown his carving bench and his tools which were comprised solely of modified pocket knives! We were that told that during WW2 when ivory became unavailable he used other materials. When ivory became available again he replaced the "alien" parts with it. There is a complete scale model of Lincoln's funeral train there. It's a "must see" if anywhere near while traveling (I'm assuming that is still there).
 
OK, so my memory tricked me again ! I searched for "Mooney Warther carved ivory museum" and many sites popped up. One in particular has a good life history of Mooney & his craftsmanship. ( www.craftsmanship.com/warther ). Mooney made his own knives and from a picture of him in his shop he also had saws and other tools. For those of you that want to know of the rest of my memory flaws visit the site !

I will never regret my opportunity to have seen the museum & I would definitely visit again if in the area.
 
Well, I tried using my recommendation of a site regarding the Mooney Warther Museum
and achieved nothing. So just search "MOONEY WARTHER" and you'll have many choices to investigate. Sorry for any aggravation !
 
Hi George,
You are an amazing craftsman. The detail is awesome and very inspiring.
Thanks for sharing,
Jon
 
george wilson said:
The latest law is that mother of pearl cannot be exported!! WHY IS THAT!!!??? These silly laws get way out of hand. I didn't know clam or oyster shells were in the endangered list.
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It is the poaching of abalone, and fresh water mussels that is forcing these laws. back in the 80's when we lived in Oregon, I saw first hand the poaching in effect on the abalone. Taking them to small limits future growth. Here in Tennessee we are the leading exporter of freshwater mussel shells. Nearly 80 percent goes overseas to the cultured pearl industry. The said thing is some are wiping out whole beds illegally and causing a sharp decline in repopulation of beds. I agree that some laws are out of hand, but natural resources are slow to recover, and way too many out there trying to make a fast buck. You should see the ginseng harvesters around here wipe whole hillsides out.
 
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