Horn Sizer request

[akhawkeye]

So here's one for you folks... I am attempting to make my first powder horn (with horrible results so far), and I am need of a horn sizer. I have the Sibley book on "Recreating the 18th Century Powder Horn", and in it they talk about the lathe turned horn sizers and plugs. Well... I don't have a lathe. I have tried to make a sizer with a 2X4 and a jigsaw, but no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to make a perfect circle, let alone a perfect taper.

So... my question to you all is: Does anyone out there know of an alternative method to making a horn sizer? Or, Does anyone have an extra one they can loan me? Or, does anyone have a lathe and the skills to make me one? Now I realize that nothing is free in this world, and I would be willing to pay or trade for this service. I would normally not ask this, but I am new to the area in which I live and know absolutely no one here with a lathe. And as far as the horn goes, I am stuck. Any advice?

If this is not appropriate for this forum, please forgive me.

Thanks,
Colin

 

[paulvallandigham]

Surely there is a local woodshop, or possibly a local wood working club through a community college, or a club organized by a park district in your area where you can find someone with a lathe to turn down your horn sizers. Ask around.

I have always had good fortune in finding people who are thrilled to be asked for help. They become interested in your project, often charge nothing, if you agree to let them see your finished work. Everyone is facinated with ML guns, and all the gear that goes with them. Powder horns attract people who are otherwise horrified at the idea of people owning and shooting guns.

 

[pichou]

All you need is a hole saw set or a compass and jigsaw/band saw, and a pine board. Cut out a whole bunch of different sizes of circles. Make them close to the size you think the horn opening will be. But make smaller ones and larger too. One that is just too big can be made into the finished plug. When the horn is soft, start shoving the circles in till you are at the outside of the horn.

When the horn is cool and dry use drywall screws to make handles to pull the plugs.

 

[Goldhunter]

Some one here once suggested a small, clay flower pot. Do you have an old wooden Louisville Slugger laying around? It's tapered. Just cut it up, if you can bring yourself to do it.

For mine I took a 4x4, cut about 4" long. Set the table on my band saw to 10 degrees, and started cutting. I cut four flats, then cut four more making a octagon. Then put it in the vise and took the rasp to it. It's crude but works well enough. I always fit the plug to the shape anyway, but the plug gets it "rounder" than it was.

 

[akhawkeye]

Thanks, guys. There are a lot of good ideas here, and I'll have to try them. I did try to locate a local resource for wood turning, but have not been able to locate anyone with a lathe. I turned to the forum here as a last result.

Thanks for the ideas. I don't have many power tools, but I'll give it a go with my jigsaw and a rasp again.

I also like the clay flower pot idea. I tried it with a tub of dried out putty, but the heat just softened the putty and buckled the plastic. I can see it now - "Honey, I really don't know what happened to your petunia..."

Colin

 

[Black Hand]

One of those little clay pots works like a charm. The clay is rough enough to grip the horn on the inside to keep it from moving like it would on a smooth surface. And they come in so many sizes.....

 

[pichou]

You just can't hammer on the clay pots. :rotf:

The plug I made on the lathe is 8 degrees and double ended in two sizes.

 

[paulvallandigham]

If you can find any of those aluminum " tumblers" - glasses made by the millions and sold back in the 50s-- in some antique store, use them. They have angles sides, with the smaller size at the bottom. There are also heavy gauge Plastice glasses that can be used. Wonder around a hobbie store, or home applieances and dish store, looking at the shape of different things. A 6 inch pocket ruler comes in handy to measure the diameter of things.

Don't pass up using door knob hole cutters to cut round stock out of pine boards, that you can then file bevels on to shape. Most of the " keyhole " cutters have a center bit, that cuts a centerhole in your wood as the outer round saw cuts the circle. That centerhole comes in handy for inserting bolts to hold and remove the plug from your horns, or for mounting on a screw chucked in your handdrill, the drill mounted in a vise so you can turn it on and use files to evenly bevel the circumference. There are a lot of " make do " things you have, or can adapt to help you make forming blocks. Even styrofoam coffee cops can be used to mold epoxy resin in, to make a strong tapered plug form. Use plastic or styrofoam cups of different sizes to make different sized forms.Even those clay pots can be used to cast similar forms. Once the epoxy sets, you just break away or remove the pot, and you have your form.

 

[CARBABY]

If your still toying around looking for baseball bats to cut up, and aluminum water glasses. Just find a styrofoam cup (coffee cup) about the size your looking for to round out your horn. Fill the cup with plaster of paris or cement. When dry your ready for use. Peel the cup off your sizer. If you want to go a little farther down the line, seal the plaster or cement with paint or sealer. Insert into horn when it's (the horn) hot. OH thank heaven for 7-Eleven!! Try a small coffee to go!

 

[peashooterJoe]

I whittled mine down with a knife and sanded with disk sander. Don't have a lathe and no woodworkers live around me either. Did the same with a coping saw and disk sander to make my plugs. These were plain horn plugs nothing fancy.
PeashooterJoe..

 

[fatboy]

wooden base ball bat cut down should work for ya taper is there you just need to cut out diff sections and maybe do some hand sanding . I have one I am going to try one of these days

 

[dlpowell]

I take discarded tree limbs that have dried. Need to be about 5" thick. Cut it 7" long. Take a hatchet or axe and rough shape it. Take the rough shape to a vise and get after it with a very rough bastard file. Use the concave end first as the smaller contact area will eat up the wood quicker. Keep turning it in the vise until your happy with the shape. Now take a finer file and smooth it out. Takes about an hour from start to finish. Materials are free and you probably own all the tools to do this.

 

[billk]

My method is very simple and accomplishes two things at once.
I go to the local Menards or Home Depot and I buy a decorative finial for posts. They come in different sizes and they are usually made out of pine or cedar. They cost about $3 to $5. I then remove the screw that is on the bottom and cut the bottom section off. That leaves me with a coned shaped "plug". If it does not fit fairly well, I sand the wooden plug a bit with sandpaper (palm sander works well).
I soften the bottom of the horn in hot vegetable oil. Pay attention to the oil temperature and check the horn for softness very frequently. It only takes a few minutes if not seconds. If you don't pay attention you will cook and burn the horn.
I then push the wooden plug in the soften end of the horn and I tape it with some masking tape and let it cool overnight. When I take it out (it comes off easily because the oil acts a lubricant), I have a perfect fit every time.
I then cut off the upper portion of the wooden finial leaving enough wood to allow me to shape the plug with a bit of a dome or what other design I wish to do.
I wash the horn and the wooden plug with dish soap to remove the oil that is still left before I glue the plug to the horn. I use two part epoxy to adhere the plug to the horn and I have a permanet, water tight seal. I also add nails around the base. I use small finish nails with the head removed and I predrill first. I like to use 8 for uniformity but they are mostly for decorative purposes.
Hope this helps.
Billk

 

[George Hoskins]

Another idea. Take your drill and bore a hole in your blank. Put in a carriage bolt and fasten with a nut. Mount in your drill chuck and VIOLA the poor mans lathe. Use you rasp or file to shape the plug when the drill is running. Good luck

 

[50cal.cliff]

I got my horn sizer a t Wallyworld. Go to the candle section and look for what the call a tea light candle holder. This one had about a 12' tall cone as a base with a half bowl on top with a place carved out for a tea light cnadle.

I cut the bowl off and split in two and added a 3/4 piece for a base.

The smaller one works as a base for most horns and the larger one, well lets just say its for Texas Longhorns. So you could probaly leave it all together and add the base to the bottom of the big section. Toatl cost about $10.00 - $12.00, no muss no fuss!!!!!!!!

 

[Chris Cade]

there was a fellow on ebay selling sets at a reasonable price. i bought a couple and they work perfectly.

 

[Harddog]

Colin,

I hate to throw a monkey wrench into the mix, but if you can't turn, cut, file or somehow make a wood horn sizer, then how are you going to make the actual butt plug that the horn will need?

You can use baseball bats, flower pots, aluminum tumblers, etc. as a sizer, but you still need to be able to make a butt plug.

Randy Hedden

 

[Gus]

So how did your horn come out? Done yet?

I just started on my first one tonight. I bought my new raw bison horn, and it came over the weekend. Malachite’s Big Hole has a pretty good tutorial on horn making here: http://home.att.net/~mman/PowderHornsForSale.htm

gus