horns back "in the day"

[TinStar]

Just a question about horns from the time before the F&I war and up to the Rev War.

I notice that many contemporary makers use round plugs for their horns. Were many originals like that? Were they done in Europe and used for trade? Did they use pedal operated lathes or just round them with hand tools? This is all Greek to me. I am working on my first horn. I heated it with a heat gun to soften the horn and that worked; except it wasn't perfect so I did some hand work to get the plug to fit better.
Just wondering how the settlers and such on this side of the pond would have done their own horns.

TinStar
Soli Deo Gloria!

 

[omarick1948]

Usually round turned base plugged powder horns were shop turned base plugs turned on some type of early lathe, i.e, either human powered bow lathes or water powdered lathes etc.,in the horn factories. Yes, there were horn factories. The common "home-spun" powder horns mainly were heat rounded or left semi-rounded in it's natural shape.

There are three things that you have to have when rounding that horn. (1) Start out with a horn that's body is basically round in the first place and not too oval of thick walled. -- (2) You must have even thickness all the way around the base end walls of the horn. .. and, (3) You must have the horn heated hot enough until pliable to form round with a forming cone of some type.

You can saw and rasp a very nice butt plug with ordinary hand tools, but it just takes patience, practice and a little elbow grease!

Rick

 

[TinStar]

Rick,

You are so right about the elbow grease!! Wow!
But I did get the base so it fits good; even though the horn is not perfectly round. This will likely wind up looking quite "primitive". But I look at it a learning experince. Thanks for the tips too!!!

TinStar
Soli Deo Gloria!