I was working on a powder horn this afternoon and in the process of scraping it with a sharp metal scraper, I nicked my finger and dropped the horn on the cement floor. It had the choice of hitting on the already plugged butt, the strong curve of the body, or the tip of the spout. It picked the spout tip. Naturally, it cracked. The spout is not the type that will take a big looking repair and still maintain a sense of proportion. Any suggestions as to a method of reinforcing the first 1/2" of it? I was thinking of getting some fine, pure copper wire and wrapping it. ::
Suggestions for powder horn spout repair.
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Rabbit
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Well there is always clear epoxy. If you want to keep it period correct you could try wrapping it with wet rawhide. When it dries it will shrink and be quite hard. I can't think of anything else without seeing the crack.
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Had same experience , used some clear epoxy as a glue base on the horn itself and wrapped with sinew. Actualy looks like it was made that way!! :m2c:
The suggestion for clear epoxy is a good one. I use clear epoxy and some powder dusting from sanding the horn to mix together to fill the crack. Do this and you'll never see where the crack was, even on close inspection. Of course, if you're going to stain or color the spout ... make sure you color the epoxy to match what you're staining to. The period repair of a piece of wet hide allowed to dry and shrink in place has worked well also.
Shortening the spout is not an option, as the spout is too thin behind it to support a tip. Right now, I am leaning toward taking the very fine wire of whatever non-functioning small electric motor I can find and using it to tightly wrap the thing. The copper, maybe with a little help, will soon acquire the proper patina to look as if it belongs there. The crack is the type that is hard to notice if the plug is out, but spreads a bit when the plug is inserted. I don't have any sinew on hand, but may be able to come up with the wire. That is playing a part in my decision to use wire.
Just a suggestion, and I don't know if it is available in your area, But the wire that we use for rabbit snaring seems like it would be just the thing . Not sure if it's copper, actually it looks more like brass. It's very pliable and would "age " nicely
Soggy :results:
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I did the same thing what I di to correct was first I put some epoxie and let dry to stop any futher damage then about 5/16 back from the tip a cut a notch all the way around with a three square file then I cut a piece of brass tube about 7/16 - 1/2 inch long about the size of the end of the spout I slipped it on and tapped the back edge into the notch I cut and the other over the end toward the center ...the whole thing looks like a brass ring on the end
Delta Factor
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The same thing happened to me. I wrapped mine with a thin piece of rawhide(dog bone) I bought from the pet store. It works great and I think it looks pretty cool too.
I used paper to get the right shape and size, then cut it out from the wet rawhide. I stitched it nice and tight, and as the rawhide dried, it became even tighter.
I used paper to get the right shape and size, then cut it out from the wet rawhide. I stitched it nice and tight, and as the rawhide dried, it became even tighter.
Another option, depending on your situation. In addition to epoxy gluing the split, you may also be able to put in an internal sleave. You could slightly bore out the tip and then glue in a plug made of horn(left over from trimming the end). Then you could re-bore the peg's hole. This would leave a very thin, internal collar but horn is very strong. Just a thought.
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If you have enough horn you could cut the split part off and make a screw tip horm!
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No need to complicate life, your first impulse was the right one.
Squirt some super glue into the crack and clamp it for a few minutes. Then wrap it with thin guage wire. This was a common and acceptable PC fix.
You can buy light guage brass, copper and steel wire at any good hardware store.
:front:
Squirt some super glue into the crack and clamp it for a few minutes. Then wrap it with thin guage wire. This was a common and acceptable PC fix.
You can buy light guage brass, copper and steel wire at any good hardware store.
:front:
But they had to first boil down the methyl-2-cyanoacrylate berries to get the super glue. :haha:
I have found countless uses for Titebond Liquid Hide Glue
Much easier than melting a pot of the real stuff, and it works good for fixing chairs, too.
When I set a knife handle in antler, I glop this stuff in as a rosin/pitch substitute. When it dries, it looks just like hot melt (real) hide glue. A little more authentic for any muzzleloading application. :front:
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