Horn lesson

[Rolfkt]

Cleaning up bison horns isn't such a chore, if you use the rigth tools. I cleaned up two 16" horns last saturday.

Start with the corses wood rasp you find and get ridd of all the brittel scale.

Now get a knife and grind away half the blade. This gives better controll and strength when scraping the horn. Getting ridd of all the flaws and white lines takes just a bit of elbow grease.

Don't use sandpaper until all the white lines are scraped away.
Best regards

Rolf

 

[BillinOregon]

Rolf: Thanks for the advice. Really like your half-ground scraping knife and will attempt to dupicate it.
Bill

 

[76monza]

Bill,
I've heard and seen a lot of different ways for people to reshape horns and fit plugs... I've experimented with some of those methods. but by and far the simplest method is to measure the circumferance of the horn. It does not matter that the horn is oval. Divide that total circumference by 3.14. that will give you the diameter of the opening of a circle with that circumference. Divide by 2 and now you have the radius. Using a compass you can draw the circle out on the wood. I use a coping saw to cut my plugs out and then a rasp to shave down the edge of the plug about 10 degrees so that when I drop both the horn and the plug in the boiling water they are both soft and will seat into the opening deeper. The base comes out round every time. It's probably the only part of high school algebra I remember.

Smokeydays

 

[BillinOregon]

Smokey: Good thoughts! I had not heard of boiling both the horn and the plug. Doesn't the plug expand a bit, then contract when drying? I'm intrigued. Meanwhile, I'm continuing to scrape down that horn. I'll get there eventually.

 

[omarick1948]

I hope you boil that Bison horn outside or when the wife is gone for a week or two!...Wheooooowee! :barf: That smell has ta grag a magot! :shocked2:

 

[paulvallandigham]

Put some PINESOL and a dash of baking soda in the water when boiling horns( OUTSIDE!) It will neutralize and mask the odor quite well. If it begins to smell, add more baking soda.

 

[76monza]

Now the Bison don't smell like pinesol...


I do boil them outside in my shop and yes it does smell ...gamey, but the results are worth it.

Smokeydays

 

[omarick1948]

GAMEY!!!!...That must be what the wife means when I have to give our old hound a bath???? :yakyak: Or is she refering to me? :hmm: :shocked2: