Powder Horn Repair?

[AK in PA]

Murphy strikes on the eve of Pennsylvania's deer season. While preparing my gear, I discovered my powder horn developed a fully open, longitudinal crack that extends for half the horn's length. (It was fine just a week ago when I last shot at the range. Cause?!?!) So it looks like tomorrow, I'll be pouring BP from the big red can instead of the horn. Any suggestions for a repair? I'm thinking that 2-ton epoxy and a couple of quick clamps would work.

 

[Dave K]

Just a guess here. I really don't think the glue will hold the clamped parts together. I think you may need to use something like Accraglass to fill the crack. Let's see what the others suggest.

 

[whummell]

Im interested in thr others opinon also. I would think epoxy or gorilla glue would widen the crack

 

[Riku]

Why don't you use rawhide.I've seen few original that were fixed that way. You propably have to cover the hole horn or most of it but it's more PC than any modern glue!

 

[Gary]

Rawhide is traditional.

 

[Goldhunter]

+3 :thumbsup:

I had a buffalo horn crack on me. I filled the crack with beeswax, smoothed it out a bit and then covered it with rawhide. When that stuff dries it is hard enugh to keep the crack from expanding, the beeswax was my way of giving a little more reasurance. I just made the piece of raw hide cover over lap the horn by about 1/4 inch or so to completely cover the crack.
[url] http://www.muzzleloadingforum...c.php?tid/195816/post/289925/hl//#289925[/url]

 

[Harddog]

Whatever you use to repair the crack, drill a small hole through the horn right at the end of the crack. This will keep the horn from cracking farther.

Randy Hedden

 

[Black Hand]

I had the same thing happen about a year ago. I dropped my horn (full of powder) onto a concrete floor, and put a ~4in crack into it. I removed the base plug, glued the crack with superglue and wrapped it tightly with artificial sinew (the superglue won't stick to the waxed "sinew"). After drying, I removed the "sinew" and scraped the outside smooth and re-inserted the base plug. I then wetted a piece of antelope rawhide and sewed it together using a "baseball stitch" to bring the edges together. After drying (next time I would wait a week or so), trim off the excess rawhide and liberally coat the outside with beeswax and get it to soak in with a heat gun (a stove burner will also work) until it will take no more. After cooling, scrape off the excess wax and "polish" the rawhide with a rough cloth to smooth the surface.

 

[Norskie]

Rawhide, the duct tape of the period. Get you a rawhide dog chewer, soak it, unroll it, wrap the horn in a square chunk of it and sew it up. after it dries, cut off the excess and you'll have one fixed the way they'd a dunit.

 

[Harddog]

Most of the old horns I have seen that have a period repair are sealed with pitchpine and held together with staples. I would think that, back in the day, a rawhide repair was just something to make do until a proper repair could be made.

Randy Hedden

 

[jasontn]

ive used epoxy a few times to repair cracks in horns if possible sand the horn some prior to repair, save the sand dust and mix it in the epoxy to kinda blend it in

 

[John Tice]

Someone gave me a small old horn with a big crack in it years ago. It was right near the base, which was gone. I made a new base, filled in the crack with pine pitch and then put a piece of brain tan over it (it was my first try at brain tan and it was rather stiff). I soaked the piece of hide first and punched parallel holes along the edges and then sewed it up nice and snug with sinew. After it dried it was hard and air tight. I use it still as a priming horn. I got a lot of satisfaction from fixing it up to use again.

 

[Riku]

Most of the old horns I have seen that have a period repair are sealed with pitchpine and held together with staples. I would think that, back in the day, a rawhide repair was just something to make do until a proper repair could be made.

Randy Hedden

Hyvää päivää Randy!

Just wondering that is there also a possibility that they havent yet but the rawhide piece on the horn?
Ps. A good pointer drilling that hole in front of the crack.

 

[Goldhunter]

Yep, both have been covered. :grin: