Laser etching a cross into the porous bone. The first run produced a delicate brown appearance. The etching was repeated on the top half of the bone which produced a black, charred appearance.
It was not possible to find a suitable coring tool. Instead a section was cut by hand, and turned to a cylinder on the lathe. It was decided at this stage to make the capsule thicker than originally intended, due to the proportions of the corks. The corks for the models were kindly supplied by Rankin Brothers & Sons (www.rankincork.co.uk), free of charge.
The section of bone was then machined further within a custom made holster, in order to prevent damage to the piece. It was then soaked in white spirit and heated gently to remove any grease.
Copyright Andrew Ross 2008