How to Carve Shapes Into Ostrich Eggs

If you want to try your hand at a hobby where you are the artist that makes delicate little works of art, carve shapes into ostrich eggs. You can create intricate filigree patterns, elegant designs or raised relief pictures of birds, angels or anything else you would like to carve into your ostrich egg.

Things You'll Need

• Ostrich eggs
• High-speed Dremel
• High-speed Dremel cutter bit
• Basketball needle
• Bicycle tire foot pump
• Towel
• Warm water
• Dish drainer
• Rubber bands
• Tape measure
• Masking or quilter's tape
• High-speed drill
• Tungsten carbide steel drill bit
• Diamond drill bits
• Green-and-white drill bits
• Single edged razor blade
• Carving knife
• Woodcarver's sand paper
• Bleach
• Baking soda

Instructions

Blowing the Egg

1. Make a mark on the ostrich egg where you want the hole to be located.

2. Drill a hole in the ostrich egg using a Dremel high-speed cutter bit, such as the #115. Because ostrich eggs are very hard, hold the bit at an angle allowing the corner of the drill bit to start the hole. Straighten out the drill bit once you start the hole.

3. Attach a basketball needle to the end of a bicycle tire foot pump and place a small towel under the bicycle pump on the counter next to your sink.

4. Insert the basketball needle into the hole you made in the egg.

5. Use one hand to hold the ostrich egg in the sink and the other hand to pump the foot pump. The force of the air from the pump will make the inside of the egg come out of the hole. It usually takes about six pumps to remove most of the egg from inside the shell.

6. Pour warm water from the sink into the egg using a funnel. This will rinse out any egg that may be remaining inside the shell. Repeat this step if necessary. If the water is a little cloudy, fill the egg again and add some bleach to prevent any odor from the egg.

7. Shake the egg well to remove as much water as possible. Stand the egg upside down in a dish drainer and allow it to dry thoroughly.

Marking and Carving the Egg

1. Divide the egg into even sections with rubber bands and mark your design on your Ostrich egg. Measure the rubber bands to make sure they are equal.

2. Draw lines within the sections of the rubber bands to make your designs.

3. Apply masking tape, or quilter's tape, to areas that you want to make braids or raised designs.

4. Cut away the layers of the ostrich egg using a high-speed drill with a tungsten carbide steel bit.

5. Finish the design on your egg using various diamond drill bits and green-and-white bits, made for dental use. You can also use single-edged razor blades, carving knives and woodcarver's sand paper to finish many designs.

6. Soak the carved egg in a strong solution of bleach and water if there is any membrane that is ragged.

7. Neutralize the bleach by soaking the ostrich egg in a solution of water and baking soda.

Tips & Warnings

• To make arched lines on your egg use a quarter or other coin.

• Make sure not to push on the drill bit when making the emptying hole.

Resources

• Visit this site for more information on carving eggs.