wax to seal the powderhorns?

[Damascus]

got 2 new powderhorns, a medium for the fffg and a small for the ffffg. They are not sealed, and will likely leak powder all over the place. Do I seal them with wax?
If so, how do I go about doing it?


thanks,


Damascus

 

[hornbuilder]

damascus:{
i'm not real sure by what you mean exactly when you said you bought two new horns and the will probably leak powder? where exactly are they going to leak powder ? if its the butt end and the fit is that bad as to leak powder you may have a problem just trying to seal them. more information will be needed to assist you in solving this problem. :imo: :results:

 

[Ridge]

If the gap is large enough in the plug to leak powder, you got taken. I'd replug it.

 

[Stumpkiller]

Pine pitch would probably be better as it dries hard and with no oils. If you're not worried about being truly "correct" you can squirt little Elmer's or Aileen's glue in (be sure to miss the nose plug contact area - either by careful pouring or with a wax paper funnel). By rotating the horn you can spread it around. Wax the outside of the seam first and none will ooze out.

I routinely beeswax the outside plug joint on my horns as a preventative measure to repel moisture and prevent capillary seepage from rain.

 

You can always try brewer's pitch.

Just :m2c:

 

[Damascus]

The only way that I know that they are not sealed tight is that when I blow into the end, they seep a tiny bit of air through, which I assume means that they could possibly leak a bit of powder. I can only imagine that people had this problem back in 1750, so I wondered what they might use to seal the horns. I intend on scrimshawing and finishing the horns over the next few months, and don't mind putting some time into making sure they are correct.

I suppose I could have bought a completely raw horn, whittled an end plug and such for it, but these were available at a rondy for 20 bucks a pop, so I couldn't justify spending the time to start from scratch.

I know that I have read something about using a brass spout on the horns, but I can't recall if having one is P/C for the F&I period. My personna is one of reasonable wealth, so the cost wouldnt be an issue, but were they in normal (not just one "trendsetter" in a corner of the northern woods) use at the time?


In great appreciation,

Damascus

 

If what you have is a simple air gap then go directly to the hi-tech method of sealing, Super Glue Gel.

Shoot it into all of the visible cracks from the outside. After it dries trace around all of the seams with beeswax. Beeswax is also good for spout plugs that wear slick or shrink.

Do not attempt to make anything flow through the spout, down the horn and around the baseplug. It simply will not work.

Very likely these cheap horns will always leak to some extent.

:front:

 

[Dave K]

I went to the drug store and bought "water glass" also known as sodium silicate. It is a clear liquid that you would pour into your spout swirl a little around that then pour out the excess. Then stand the horn on it's base plug for a day or two. IMHO, there is NO better way to seal a horn. It is not affected by hot or cold and it is invisible. Plus I heard it was used in the old days as well. For the heck of it. I did take one of my horns that was sealed this way and tried air pressure to see when the seal would let go. It was at around 110psi that the water glass failed.My plugs are held on by about 8 locust tree thorns placed egual distance around it's base. This sodium silicate comes in a quart jar for about $8. A life time supply!

 

[Griz]

My suggestion would be melt some beeswax and pour it into the spout end, swirl it around for a while and dump the extra out. What ever gets in the spout can be dug out with a small peice of wire with a small hook bent in the end. That's the way I do all my horns. I've never ran into any problems yet and it is PC. :m2c:

 

[Damascus]

Anyone know about the brass spout issue?


Damascus

 

[Claude Mathis]

Anyone know about the brass spout issue?

I believe brass spouts have been around since the 1600's.

 

[No Deer]

The one horn I built, I sanded the butt plug to be as close a fit as I could get. I then ran a bead of clear silicon caulking around it and put it into place. It is invisible from the outside and seals it very well from the inside. I drilled some small holes evenly spaced around the outside and drove some round toothpicks in, cut them flush and stained the ends.

 

[soquili]

Life is too important to take seriously.

Nice to see another Oscar Wilde fan here, No Deer. ::

And nice to see this topic, since I have the same type of problem with the horn I bought as a starter horn for my first black powder rifle. Thanks for all the great answers - you folks are terrific!
:RO: :front:
Patsy

 

[Griz]

I imagine that the silicone would work great, the only concern that I would have is....If you are going to age the horn you will get a very ugly color pattern because the stain will not work right where the silicone is, even a small film that isn't visible to the eye. I know the acid I use will not color right if even a little beeswax is on the horn. It MUST be clean for any colorant to work. :m2c: :front:

 

[dryfly]

The horns are sealed by the proper fit of the base and plug to the horn. I darken the inside of the horn base with soft pencil lead and then insert base plug and remove small amount of wood that shows contact. Keep doing this until you get full contact all around the base.
Then hold the base in place and blow through the horn, if it still leaks keep working on it. If not, clean it up, coat the base plug and horn contact area with a thin coat of Elmer