cracked my horn

[S.Kenton]

I was making a nice little day horn today, whilst it was snowing and blowing. I made a plug and found all my tacks and got everything ready..beez waxed the plug and pushed it in. and LOW AND BEHOLD.. the crazy thing cracked! Then it even cracked when I put one of my tacks in to hold the plug. So, can I fix this reliably? Also.. the horn in question is old..does that cause it to be more brittle? OR does the inside temp (about 50 degrees) have a bearing on the situation as well? I'm just curious as to how many of ya'all have had this problem, what you think the underlying cause was.. and if ya tried to fix it or not, if so how?

 

[hawkthrower]

I have cracked a few of them. Some old horns do get very brittle. Most of the time the ones I have cracked were from having the plug just alittle to big.
Are you heating the horn before installing the plug? If not, try that next time. It will make the horn much more flexable.
For a fix you might try wrapping the horn with a piece of rawhide. Many of the original repairs to horn were done that way

 

[Birdman]

I've done what Hawk mentioned a couple times, wrapped it with raw hide, stiched it up tight n let dry, then sealed with a good varnish,four or five coatings cut a bit so it soaks in real good, something ok for outside. Haven't had any problems so far.

 

[Sperit de bois]

Well lets see,,did you predrill the holes for the tacks???? how tight was the butt plug you made???and it has been my experience the older the horn the more brittle it "can" be. Might want to cut your losses and recut the horn to a primming horn or an,,"Afternoon horn"
Sometimes you just chase your tail and in the end have much invested for your return.
Want to read all about horns and making them and other items??? Go to The Hornersbench site,there you will be knee deep in horns and the like. :wink:

 

[BrownBear]

...and it has been my experience the older the horn the more brittle it "can" be....

You got it.

And the "history" of the horn is important. I get a lot of my horns as "field finds," from cattle on ranches that have died and were left where they lay. There's kind of a fine line in when to retrieve the horns. Six months to a year in the field is plenty of time for the rot to subside and the horns to pop free from the cores. But if you let it go out to 18 mos. or 2 years, and it will be a chipping nightmare when you go to work with it.

From what I can tell sunlight and summer heat are the culprits.

 

[omarick1948]

All of the above answers are great ones, and I would like to add, that you also can probably repair that horn with a good quality "slow cluring" epoxy and then tape or clamp everything up tight to dry overnight! The next day just remove tape/clamp, sand and do what ever you want cosmetically and you should be good to go!

Rick

 

[S.Kenton]

THANKS GUYS! Also.. yes I did pre-drill my holes for the tacks. I took horners advice and purchased some epoxy.. she's all clamped and drying as I type. I WISH I knew the history of the horn, I know it's about 25-30 years old if not older, it was one of my buddies un-finished projects. Thats all I know as far as history goes.

 

[ohio ramrod]

While it is too late to help on this horn, What I do when plugging a horn is to fit the plug with about 2 degrees taper and leave about1/4 to 3/8 inch stick out. Then heat both the horn and plug in an oven at 250 degrees for about an hour or two. This softens the horn and "dries/shrinks" the plug. Then I remove the plug and rapidly rub it over a plug of beeswax and then insert it fully into the horn. This allows the horn to "stretch around " the plug and the beeswax fills any minor gaps in the fitting. For an older horn that may be very dry and subject to cracking heating the horn in hot oil will soften the horn and help prevent cracking as well as give the horn an aged look.Also when ever repairing a horn with a crack I always drill a "relief" hole at the end of the crack to relieve stress and prevent further cracking.Epoxy mixed with sanding horn dust makes an excellant repair. :idunno:

 

[S.Kenton]

that sounds like some good advice Ohio RR..I will keep that in mind for future horn builds. How do you heat up the oil? I mean my wife would KILL me for putting a pot of oil in her oven..an old electric crockpot might do the trick?

 

[gus13]

an old "Fry-Daddy" would work for ya, get yourself a candy thermometer so you know its at the right temp - approx. 350, and your good to go. PM me if you need one!

I personally stick to dry heat via a heat gun, I dunno, I just like it better, and I use it for just about everything I need when it comes to horn work!
depending on how bad the crack is... a pic would help! :wink: a squirrel hide might do the trick! if you got one, just strectch it over the horn and re-pin the base, a little hide glue at the bottom and your set. Madison Grants book shows one that has three full squirrel hides one it! been thinkin of tryin that sometime!

 

[Rifleman1776]

Just dribble some thin CA into the crack and secure with rubber bands until cured.
To reduce brittlness, soak or rub the horn with mineral oil. Neatsfoot oil will work great also but will darken the horn.

 

[S.Kenton]

Forgive me.. But whats CA?

 

[S.Kenton]

This was my fix after reading all of your comments... drilled the end of the crack,Mixed some horndust with epoxy and applied to the damaged area and clamped horn together. I am going to wait for a few days then sand. Rifleman: I will try and rub some neatsfoot oil into my horn..I wonder if the epoxy will take the oil and discolor as well? Guess I'll have to wait and see.
THANKS GUYS! You ALL saved my horn from the scrap pile!.. :hatsoff:

 

[Black Hand]

Forgive me.. But whats CA?

Cyanoacrylate i.e. Super-glue