Last week I made an order to an online shop for a few parts for my Philadelphia derringer, and decided to order a polished blank horn while I was at it. They only had 1 size that they labelled "scrimshaw quality" - 15 to 18", and I figured a larger horn may be easier to learn scrimshaw on anyway, so I went with it...
So the box arrived Wednesday, and I instantly realized their idea of scrimshaw quality and mine were different - or they sent the wrong horn - this one has little to no solid white areas on it. I also realized I probably should have gone with a medium sized horn - needless to say, this thing is HUGE. I decided to just go ahead and use it, since it is a good looking horn, and since it's my first, it'll probably end up as scrap anyway.
This afternoon I started to work on it. I read somewhere (I think somewhere on here), that you can put a flashlight down it to see how far the cavity goes...3 drill bits later...I realized I hadn't sawed off enough of the end, because I've drilled approximately 4" into the thing and still haven't reached it. I can, however, see the light shining through the hole, so I think I'm close. The plan is to cut off another inch from the end and see how that goes.
I also noticed a small crack (1/2") at the base of it, which I plan to chop off before I start to fit a cap for it. It looks like there's a longer crack on the inside of it running about 2-3 inches in from the base, but it doesn't go all the way through, and I don't think it will effect function, and I hope it will be fine once the cap is installed. If anyone has insight to this - if I should fill the internal crack with anything, etc. - please let me know (obviously I won't drill at that point).
People warned of the smell of the dust - really, it's just what I expected - it's just keratin, after all, so it's no different than the filings from my toe nails. What I didn't expect was that I'd be picking horn dust out of my teeth!
It is promising to be a fun project, though. I can see why people get addicted to this craft!
So the box arrived Wednesday, and I instantly realized their idea of scrimshaw quality and mine were different - or they sent the wrong horn - this one has little to no solid white areas on it. I also realized I probably should have gone with a medium sized horn - needless to say, this thing is HUGE. I decided to just go ahead and use it, since it is a good looking horn, and since it's my first, it'll probably end up as scrap anyway.
This afternoon I started to work on it. I read somewhere (I think somewhere on here), that you can put a flashlight down it to see how far the cavity goes...3 drill bits later...I realized I hadn't sawed off enough of the end, because I've drilled approximately 4" into the thing and still haven't reached it. I can, however, see the light shining through the hole, so I think I'm close. The plan is to cut off another inch from the end and see how that goes.
I also noticed a small crack (1/2") at the base of it, which I plan to chop off before I start to fit a cap for it. It looks like there's a longer crack on the inside of it running about 2-3 inches in from the base, but it doesn't go all the way through, and I don't think it will effect function, and I hope it will be fine once the cap is installed. If anyone has insight to this - if I should fill the internal crack with anything, etc. - please let me know (obviously I won't drill at that point).
People warned of the smell of the dust - really, it's just what I expected - it's just keratin, after all, so it's no different than the filings from my toe nails. What I didn't expect was that I'd be picking horn dust out of my teeth!
It is promising to be a fun project, though. I can see why people get addicted to this craft!
