Buff Powder Horn Help

[Patrick Hemken]

Just traded for 8 9 inch buff horns, that's the good news. Bad news: The horns still have the "root" still intact. Need some recomendations for removing the "root" so I can contine the horn Making process?

Thanks for the help that follows!

Pat

 

[sundog]

Try soaking it in water for a week, it is gonna get powerfull stinky. Soakin it rehidrates the membrains inside and then you can 1) drill a hole in the inner part put in a screw and try to push in a knife blade around the core and loosen it up then pull the screw and get it out with vise grips 2)you may be able to get it out with a knife blade worked around and kind of pry it out.

 

[soggy]

I've never done buffalo horns but have done several cow horns and would imagine that they would be much the same. What I have done is to put the horns in a large container of water and bring it to a boil for perhaps 1/2 hr. Drill a hole in the core and then screw in a lag screw so you will have something to get a hold on. Put the head of the lag screw in a vise and then give a good yank on the horn. The core should come out. You'll want to be wearing gloves to do this as the horn will be hot, and oh yes do your boiling outdoors or you might find yourself sleeping out in the shed for awhile :wink:

 

[paulvallandigham]

Don't hesitate to put something in the water, like Lysol, or anti-bacterial soap with a scent in it that is pleasant, like the dish washing soaps now available. The antibacterial soap or lysol will kill the bacteria in the core which is the Source of the bad odor. The soap will help kill and neutralize other sources, and the scented soaps will help mask it, too. I boiled horns out in the yard, and they still stunk to high heaven. I am not going to do that again, and have since thought about how to combat that stench. I have had to deal with other equally potent stenches, and using lysol or antibacteria soap with some kind of scent- hell, even Pine-sol will work, has gotten the job done. Ever boil out a skull?

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

You could get a pot of boiling water... do this outside, away from everybody because it has an odor you won't soon forget. Boil the horn for half an hour or longer. Then use gloves or something thick to pick up the horn by the tip. Give the butt end of the horn a couple of sharp raps on something like a chunk of wood. The core should just pop right out. It works for me. I've done that with the horns still dripping goo from the slaughter house, it never hit the floor before it was collected by me. :thumbsup:

 

[Charles D. Prokopp]

My method is even simpler. I'm one of those annoying people with a superfluity of patience. (People hate that sort of thing.) I just put my horns up on the roof for a couple of years in the Arizona sun. Then a quick rap on a hard object will usually pop the dessicated matrix out of the horn.
Of course, if you're a hasty sort of person and in a hurry, this method is not optimal. :wink:

 

[Patrick Hemken]

Okay, the horn soup is a boiling, come and get it!

Thanks for the help, I will post the results, or wait until after the burns heal is thing go wrong.

Thanks again, fingers are crossed!

Pat

 

[Patrick Hemken]

Eight horns complete, I smell and feel dirty after that job, got lots more respect for folks that specialize in horns... I'll stick to gun building, get dusty and dirty, but not that stinky... My cat likes me...

Thanks again for the help

Pat

 

[omarick1948]

Eight horns complete, I smell and feel dirty after that job, got lots more respect for folks that specialize in horns... I'll stick to gun building, get dusty and dirty, but not that stinky... My cat likes me...

Thanks again for the help

Pat

SMELLY! :cursing:
Maybe that's the reason I have nobody come close to me