Powder horn ?

[mtsage]

A question on horn making. I have made a couple of powder horns and all seemed to be ok with the horn outcome. They work for me and all is well. I started another one, more or less as a fun/experiment project. It is a solid black horn and I really don't care for it all that well. So a good horn to experiment on I guess. And it was from a cattle rancher friend. Anyway you can see from the pic it is really thick at the base. Should I thin this down in preparation for the taper plug fitting? I have all the necessary tools to thin it out. I also have taper tool plugs. Seems like it would be alot easier to work with if thinner. I tried heating in oil and it is really stiff even when heated at 350 deg. for longer than what is recommended. I also own the book by Scott Sibley and understand it well. Thanks in advance and Happy New Year to all.

 

[Tumbledown]

That's some thickhorn. Definitely try thinning it down.

 

[Dave Dworshak]

You have plenty of room for carving designs!

 

[Trev]

I wouldn't bother thinning it, being lazy I see a lot of work for not much gain. Thinned from the inside it would possibly hold one more charge of powder, or it might be a 1/2 ounce lighter.
I might make that into a ball horn as sturdy as it is.

 

[S.Kenton]

That’s a thick horn for sure, it’s going to make a heavy powder horn if you don’t thin it dramatically. Thinning that horn is going to take an awful lot of time. Depending on the length, you might consider cutting it from the base some, as it should thin out as it goes towards the tip. Then you could thin it from that point. If weight doesn’t matter to you it would make a great candidate for a two piece base plug.

 

[Absoroka]

No way you can round a horn that thick. You could cut a couple of sections out of it and make salt horns or cups?

 

[mtsage]

That’s a thick horn for sure, it’s going to make a heavy powder horn if you don’t thin it dramatically. Thinning that horn is going to take an awful lot of time. Depending on the length, you might consider cutting it from the base some, as it should thin out as it goes towards the tip. Then you could thin it from that point. If weight doesn’t matter to you it would make a great candidate for a two piece base plug.

I'm a dummy it appears. What is a 2 piece base plug. Thanks.

 

[S.Kenton]

I'm a dummy it appears. What is a 2 piece base plug. Thanks.

You will fit your base plug into the opening of the horn, go ahead and pin it in, the. Get a large enough piece of wood cut it round and make sure it barely over laps the outside edge of the horn.Get some good wood glue and glue them together and then drill two holes into the two glued pieces together and add two wood screws. I always put my two holes near the center and countersink them just slightly, then they can be covered by the staple and easily hidden. When you’re done you can shape the top piece of wood with a file and use some epoxy mixed with wood shavings, or use stainable wood glue to fill in the countersunk holes.

 

[S.Kenton]

You will fit your base plug into the opening of the horn, go ahead and pin it in, the. Get a large enough piece of wood cut it round and make sure it barely over laps the outside edge of the horn.Get some good wood glue and glue them together and then drill two holes into the two glued pieces together and add two wood screws. I always put my two holes near the center and countersink them just slightly, then they can be covered by the staple and easily hidden. When you’re done you can shape the top piece of wood with a file and use some epoxy mixed wiith wood shavings. Or stainable wood glue to fill in the countersunk holes.

The first two pictures are examples of the process I described to you. I put two screws in that base, if you look hard you can see one, the other screw is under the strap. The third picture is what will happen if you simply fit a plug. Either or will work.. it’s simply the taste of the builder.

 

[Moleman]

I've made several thick walled horns and rather than fight getting them perfectly round I just make a plug to fit the horn. Call me lazy but it works for me.

 

[Trev]

make a plug to fit the horn

That's just what I would do.

 

[Drakos]

Use a draw knife followed by a rasp then sand smooth to re-profile the entire horn. Remember to draw from the base to the tip, following the grain of the horn.

This is a few hours work but the product you have in the end will be worth the effort.

 

[S.Kenton]

A f

Use a draw knife followed by a rasp then sand smooth to re-profile the entire horn. Remember to draw from the base to the tip, following the grain of the horn.

This is a few hours work but the product you have in the end will be worth the effort.

A few hours? Did you see how thick that sucker is? Most likely a few days! lol
But honestly, that’s what I would do, actually, I would have went with a whole different horn altogether… but that’s just me..enjoy the process and if it gets too irritating or monotonous then set it down and come back to it in a few hours or the next day.

 

[Eutycus]

I'm not seeing a problem. It shouldn't take woodworking genius to either make a plug or thin that horn. As far as time consuming, who's on a schedule?

 

[mtsage]

I'm not seeing a problem. It shouldn't take woodworking genius to either make a plug or thin that horn. As far as time consuming, who's on a schedule?

Retired and snow on the ground, hunting season over. I'm not on a schedule for sure.

 

[mtsage]

A f

A few hours? Did you see how thick that sucker is? Most likely a few days! lol
But honestly, that’s what I would do, actually, I would have went with a whole different horn altogether… but that’s just me..enjoy the process and if it gets too irritating or monotonous then set it down and come back to it in a few hours or the next day.

LIke I said in the original post, just a fun little project with no expectations.. With only a couple of horns under my belt, all seem to be different. I got the tools, time, and patience to get it down to my liken. Fun.

 

[S.Kenton]

who's on a schedule?

Me! I have barely enough time to do anything these days! But if I was retired then it would be different for sure.

 

[oldwood]

Powder horns are pure fun to make. I'm a total amature , but I've looked at many old originals , and one day just decided that , "I can do that." I sometimes go to m/l rifle shows where there are raw horn dealers. My favorite horns are the ugliest horns in the pile , green color horns , small horns made to use attached to the front of a shot pouch. One suggestion to make shaping the small end easier , cut and drill the horn using a 1/4" hole through to the inside of the horn. Insert a 6" length of 1/4 " wood dowel into the small end , and hold he dowel in a vise so the horn can be rotated on the dowel while filing the horn to shape. When I build a m/l gun , I always make a shot pouch , and horn to go w/it. Pure fun. Also , Epoxie is a horn makers friend. Use it sparingly , but use it. Old originals were sealed w/bees wax , or pine pitch. If you use brown epoxie dye to color the glue , looks similar to pitch , or bee's wax. Bee's wax was a carry along universal water proofing crack filler , back in the early days. If the horn plug developed a crack , the hand held cake of bee's wax could be rubbed into the crack protecting precious powder from damp. .......oldwood

 

[Absoroka]

If you need to fill your day, you might try buffalo horns next.

 

[Bucks Co]

I've never tried to 'round' my horns - initially i used to fit a complete cap to the shape of the horn - now I cheat a little and fit a flush plug usually pine but any scrap wood to hand could be used - then glue the finish cap to that - not authentic but it works and its real easy to get a tight looking 'joint' and I agree epoxy is our friend!!