This little tutorial will show you how to create a ring that will surely have the does chasing you down.

Above you can see the finished ring, it shines like ivory, perfectly matching my pasty pale self!

If you like my tutorial, please click the vote in the top right to help me in the Jewelry Contest!

Step 1: Tools and Materials

Before beginning this project, you must realize that bone dust is very fine and has the potential to be poisonous. Do your best not to breath it, and if you don't have a mask, DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS.

That said, the requirements for this project are as follows.

Tools:
Vise
Drill
Selection of spade bits
Fine tooth saw (many options here)
Dremel (optional)
Belt sander (optional, but significantly reduces time consumed)
Hydrogen peroxide (for whitening)
Polishing compound

Materials:
Bone (I chose a deer antler)
Dowel rod matched to your finger size (optional)

Step 2: Creating a Blank

The final check, put on your safety glasses and mask!
Now we can begin.

Put your bone of choice into your vise, make sure its secure. You do not want to get hit in the face with your drill if it stalls.
Chuck a spade bit roughly the size of your finger (go smaller rather the bigger if you have to, you can always make the hole bigger with the dremel later), and drill a hole a little deeper than the desired width of your ring. I went about 1/4 of an inch to give me a little extra material to work with.

Step 3: Slicing Away the Ring

You'll need your saw for this step, and it's going to get dustier from here out, so make sure you have your mask on. Another tip is to spritz your bone with water as you cut to keep the dust down.

This is fairly simple, use your saw to cut perpendicular to the hole we just bored and you'll get your finished blank.
If you wanted to created numerous rings of the same size you could have drilled much deeper and made several slices.

Starting to look like a ring isn't it? Don't fawn over it just yet, we aren't quite finished!

Step 4: The Final Stretch

This is by far the most arduous and time consuming task in this process, and there isn't a lot a guidance I can provide you. I don't think there is a single dominant method for smoothing the ring, just start out removing your largest bits of material, and end with your fine sanding.

For example, this was my process:
1. Grinding away the burrs with the dremel
2. Hitting the ring with the roughest belt I had
3. Dropping the grit until I was satisfied with the shape
4. Using the fine wheel in the dremel to smooth the ring to a satiny kind of finish

Bone tends to crack and brown under high heat, so try not to let it get hot, keep a cup of water to dip it in between sandings.

Step 5: I Wish Crest White Strips Worked for This Step

Whitening the bone will take several days, or you could just be satisfied with what you have and move onto the polishing step.

First, soak the bone in hydrogen peroxide for several hours, this will kill a lot of the bacteria that grown on bone.

Next, use fishing line or dental floss and hang your ring outside where it will get a lot of sunlight. You'll want to leave it hanging and move it around so it's always in the light for the next several days. When it is white enough for your liking, move on to the polishing.

Step 6: Polishing

You probably don't have bone polish, I don't even know if that exists. But a tube of simichrome metal polish really works for about anything.

Before I polished my ring, I carved two grooves into it purely because I thought it would look prettier. They were cut with a dremel bit. If you choose not to decorate it just go ahead and polish it.

Grab your buffing wheel or a piece of cloth or towel, squirt a pea sized spot of your polish of choice on it and go to town. Shine it until you're happy with the sheen and wipe off the excess with paper towel.

Step 7: Look at That Fineeee Jewelry

You are now the proud owner of a genuine bone ring. Now go to the bar and tell all the ladies about how you wrestled a giant grizzly bear to the ground and took his tooth to make into a ring to remember the occasion!