I just finished a horn kit and after nailing in the end cap I found that it was not a perfect airtight seal; i.e. if I blow into the spout I can feel a little air escaping around the edge of base plug. Any ideas on the best way to seal this besides cutting the horn again and resizing the plug as it is at the size I like now. Thanks, Swank
powder horn question
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I have been told that many horn makers pour in a little shellac (or similar product), swirl it around, decant excess and let dry. This is a common problem and most commercial horns have it! P.S. I should have said 'lacquer' rather than shellac.....although lacquer has shellac in it....
I use melted beeswax, pour some into the tip and swirl it around and it will seal the horn from the inside.The little that ends up on the spout end will help form a seal on the tip plug also. It worked back then, should be OK for today :thumbsup:
Guest
hey Griz! how's things up in the frozen north? (I went to Penn State and miss the old place)--down here in 'warm' Lousyanna (26 degrees this am) the summers get awlful HOT--would the beeswax seal melt and capture some powder in the horn?
RussB
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Swank...On the top "plug", before I drill the horn to nail it, I use "acra-glas", the same stuff that's used for barrel bedding.
I carve the top plug to a very close / tight fit that extends about 3/4" inside the horn, then I put a Release Agent (I use Tree-Wax) on the horn, making sure it's both inside and outside the lip of the horn about 2" all the way around.
Then I apply the acra glas to the wooden plug, fairly liberal, and insert it in the top of the horn, wiping the excess as it "oozes out".
After about three hours, I remove the plug, allow it to cure overnight, dress it up again the next day, insert it back in the horn, then I drill the small holes to put the brass nails in....which are getting hard to find!
After installing the nails, I buff the horn, and wooden top to a finish, "blending" that finish together.
There are probably more, and better, ways of doing this, but I do get a "water tight" fit, and the end cap can be removed if need be.
Russ
I don't think it would get hot enough to melt but beeswax is sticky and it will get a coat of powder in the top layer of the wax inside the horn. If beeswax is questionable maybe try parrafin wax, not as sticky and I think it takes a higher tempreture to melt it. As for the steamy north, -4 degrees this morning at 4:00am, that is when I got to work and started plowing snow. Yesterday I started at 3:30 am and plowed the college parking lot 3 times, 20 - 30 mph winds, I plow it out and the good Lord blows it back, who says God doesn't have a sense of humor. Still miss this place? :shocking:
But I still wouldn't live any where else.
But I still wouldn't live any where else.
I use "sodium silicate" also known as "water glass" to seal a horn. You get get it by the quart at a drug store for someting like $8. For the heck of it, I applied air preasure to the inside of the horn to see when the water glass would fail. It failed at just over 100lbs amd started to leak air. I pin my horns with the thorns of a locust tree.
Dave, sounds like a heck of an idea, years ago I used 5 ton epoxy to glue the cap in and that worked great until I became more concerned with keeping my horns as historically correct to the 18th century as I can in this age. YES I still use a sears lathe to turn the cap and a sander to rough out some of the horn, but after that I use good old elbow grease and files to finish my horns. Please understand I am not critisizing, heck I still have the urge to use epoxy but I know that it really isn't why I make horns. I do it just to get out of the honey-do list on Saturdays :crackup: :crackup:
Guest
I use bees wax, but I apply it to the outside. I have a little electric hot knife. Melt BW on the knife and spread it around and in the joint. Then buff the excess off. You could also heat the horn with a good hair drier until it's warm enough to melt wax, rub a small piece of wax over the joint and it will melt into the joint. When thwe whole joint has as much wax as it will take, wipe of the excess.
Cody
Cody
Thanks for all the responses guys. My server was down and then the site, so I got impatient and tinkered before reading all of these responses. I ended up just packing wood filler around the horn/base plug joint, sanding it flush, staining it to match the plug and sealing it with polyurethene. Not PC but seems waterproof and functional. I think I'll seal from the inside as RUSSB mentioned for my next attempt.
Swank
Swank
