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I purchased a new bone nut for my 52 Telecaster project, and I broke it installing it( Photo One). Turns out it's not real bone it's powdered some kinda crap with resin.
Anyhow I didn't want to wait for another week to finish the neck, so I recalled that I had a Deer antler in my workshop.
I took it to my Band saw, and the next two photos are the results. A VERY hard nut to crack.....

Much harder then the Bone one I paid $8.00 for and it took aboiut 45 minutes start to finish, subsequent nuts would take much less time. Deer shed antlers every year routinely, so no animals were harmed in the production of the nut.
Dan

Fantastic! That turned out really nice. How would you compare it to other materials?

Very nice job...just hope the vigilante Fish and Game types don't confiscate your guitar for endangering the one species that is second only to Briar Rabbit for reproductive prowess...

I've used the same material, but chose a shed that was much less weathered, and only the outer shell, as it appears you did. Doesn't it smell lovely as you cut, file and polish it?

olrnr

Sarah;
Extremely hard ! I haven't tried all of the popular nut materials out there, but this is the hardest nut material I've come across. Much harder then the $8.00 Fender nut that I bought, and it has the vintage Ivory color.

OLRNR;
I just about had to puke while cutting it, and the smell stayed in the shop for 2 days. The set wasn't too bad when i moved into my house, I found them in the shop, and put them in a semi outdoor location for the past 12 years, I really had no other choice, but I have enough material to never have to buy another nut or material.

Dan

I lost the photo of the original finished nut.
Dan

Great idea! I used to have a pile of antlers and finally gave them to my old buckskinning rendezvous buddies about five years ago. Recently I ordered a fist full of real bone blanks off eBay that should last as long as I do. Now I wish I would have kept those antlers as the color is already aged perfectly. Gotta love that smell!

Dub;
I about spewed chuncks man all the time I was cutting and filing.
It was just like rotting flesh..
Dan

cool idea. if the original nut was micarta, this stuff actually is really good. its similar to bone but is easier to carve, and less prone to chipping and breaking. its what gibson and fender uses on the higher end guitars these days.