mussle shell

[butch]

does anyone know how to remove the dark outer part from the pearl inner side of a large freshwater mussle. i tried torch,boiling,sanding,grinding,prying,powerbrush. i dont want to damage the inner part.  perhaps an acid or akali. thanks..

[Hillbilly]

I've made a couple pendants from big freshwater mussel shells. I've usually used the very non-paleo dremel tool with a sanding drum method, but I did mostly grind one out on sandstone. When you get through the dark part, it's almost translucent. You won't get the pearly effect on the back of the piece, but it's still on the front.

[butch]

thanks hillbilly, trying to keep the pearl and allthe little ridges. think ill try murriatic on a cloth to thin it and then alternate boiling and freezing. it pops off naturally on the creek beds but it takes time.

[DanaM]

Illegal to harvest or posses them in Michigan

[Dingleberry]

Like Hillbilly said.  Those layers can be used to age a mussel, or any bivalve, just as you would for an otolith from a fish.

[TRACY]

In Indiana, we haven't been allowed to harvest them for several years due to over harvesting in the past. We always boiled them sacked them and then sold them. I would think a metal sanding drum on a drill would work? Anyone use them for strike plates? I know that General Motors bought them to decorate the interiors of Cadilacs; door lock knobs, gear shift lever knob and dashboard inlays.

[Dingleberry]

Back in the day, they were used for buttons (harvested in huge quantities) before synthetics were invented.

[Postman]

y'all might be able to find some introduced nuisance stuff like zebra mussels to use

[DanaM]

Who wants zebra muscle shells, how many tons ya want???
They aren't big enough for anything except maybe as a gravel replacement. Lake Michigan shorelines are 6 feet deep with them in some areas

[michbowguy]

hey dana, i went channel cat'n out on the lake "huron" and with all those dammned shells it sounded like thousands of tiny wind chimes blowin in the wind every time a wave came in!

almost spooky.but hurts the bare paws!

mbg

[recurve shooter]

ooh, dana, i feel ya. watched a special on em a while back. looks like yall are gonna have to nuke the hole lake and start over to get rid of em!

[Justin Snyder]

Yea we can't harvest any muscles in the SW either. 

[gene roberts]

I'm guessing a dremmel tool. But I don't know.

[welch2]

I use them for inlays .I am repeatedly reminded to only grind on them under water ,Because the dust is very very bad for your lungs . 

Ralph