Author Topic: Making A Banded Horn (ALL PTs Merged) Pix Repaired 31 Oct '19  (Read 13014 times)

Offline Tim Crosby

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 Someone asked about making a banded horn awhile back. I will post this here to start and move it over to Tutorials once I get it all posted.
   Here is an attempt at a tutorial showing the making of a banded horn, this one will have a Pewter/Antler tip, and two raised rings at the neck for the strap and three bands. I am going to post this in a number of installments because of its size. Some picture adjustments may be made along the way also.
 Obviously the first step is picking out a horn. Then laying out the location of the strap rings. This horn will have an applied tip so the length of it, on this one it is about 1 ¼” long, will have to be taken into consideration when laying out the rings. Overall remember  that the base will add some length to the horn, so think about the overall size of your horn. I do not cut the base until I have finished shaping it. I should say too that I work by eye, no measuring. So any measurements I mention are not right on, they are only a guide.

  Once the location is marked, upper and lower, make a cut using a hack saw at the two outer edges all the way around the horn, saw and turn at the same time. Not sure about the depth, it will depend a lot on the horn you have chosen, maybe 1/8”, I use a fine tooth hack saw. For the cut that will separate the rings use a finer toothed saw, maybe a coping saw and cut to the depth of the thickness of the blade. Start tapering the horn from the base down to the ring and from the tip back to the ring.  About 3/8’s” from the tip there will be a step cut for the tip to fit on or you can skip the step and fit the pewter right on the neck. Just make sure it is parallel so the tip will fit right. DO NOT final shape the portion were the tip will be until you cast the collar. Work the neck down to the point where it is almost finished and the rings are shaped. You want a smooth taper from the base up to the ring.

Tim C.







« Last Edit: October 31, 2019, 04:15:00 PM by Tim Crosby »

Offline Tim Crosby

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Making A Banded Horn Part II
« Reply #1 on: June 29, 2010, 12:39:09 AM »
 Now to pouring the collar. You will need a mold, a board with a piece of  ½” dowel stuck it in will do, maybe three inches tall. Be sure the dowel fits TIGHT but not so tight that you cannot get it out because you will later chuck the dowel up with the rough casting on it and turn the collar. So don’t  glue it in, besides  you want to keep any moisture AWAY from the hot pewter.

  Make a column out of a piece of heavy paper, I use old file folders, it should be, maybe 1” in diameter and a little shorter than the dowel, the collar only needs to be about 3/4” high but you need a little extra to work with. Try wrapping it around a 1” dowel or a broom handle, tape it closed, make sure the seam is sealed.  Put the column over the dowel and tape it to the board, cut some slits in the tape so it will wrap around the column easier. Put plenty of tape on and make sure you seal any escape routes. If you have never poured pewter before you cannot imagine how much can run out a microscopic hole or void. As you are taping try and keep the dowel as centered a possible.

 Once everything is taped up you are ready to pour the pewter. Be sure and wear safety glasses, a long sleeved shirt would not be a bad idea. I use a large serving spoon that has the bowel bent into a semi V shape to heat the pewter in and to pour it. I have poured so much that I can tell by the look when it is ready to pour but if you have not, I think someone said if a match stick scorches when it is put in it is ready. Try a couple of practice pours, if nothing else try pouring a line on a concrete floor just to get a feel for it. You can pick it back up and use it again. I use a stick as a brace, like a sign painter uses to brace his arm, on the spoons bowel when pouring.  How much do you need…a piece 1” square should be plenty. Pour it in one smooth pour so you don’t get any voids, you can tap the side of the column a little to help it smooth out. JUST BE CARERFUL!   
     
   Let it cool and unwrap it, hopefully the dowel is about in the center. It is now ready to be turned to size. I put the dowel in a four jaw chuck (if you don’t have one a ½” Jacobs will do
A live center in the tail stock will help) and turn the collar down using regular wood turning tools, small one are a great help. Sometimes the casting will slip, you can do a couple of things, put water on the dowel and let it swell or remove it and make a jam chuck that will fit. The whole operation takes less time than it does to write this paragraph.  It should be about ¾” long, depending on your design, parallel or slightly tapered towards the tip. Square at both ends or slightly rounded at the end where the antler will be. Set it aside, some place where you can find it, so you don’t have to hunt to find it like I usually have to do.

TIM C.













« Last Edit: October 31, 2019, 03:58:38 PM by Tim Crosby »

Offline Tim Crosby

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Making A banded Horn Pt III
« Reply #2 on: June 29, 2010, 12:54:24 AM »
 Now you need the antler tip. You will need a piece big enough to fit down in the collar about half its length and stick about half an inch or so, try to use one that is as solid as possible.
Cut it longer than you need for working purposes’, it should be relatively flat at both ends, you can square it up later.  Drill a centered ¼” hole, as much as possible, through it and put it on a pen mandrel. If you don’t have one it can be done between centers but it is a little trickier. Turn it so one end fits TIGHTLY in the collar, remember about half the depth of the collar and taper and round the other end. Once the antler tip fits in the collar you can pin it in.   
 I use a very small brad, about 3/64, with the head cut off and then filed flat so none of it protrudes above the surface. You will use two pins that are as parallel as possible to each other, drilling through the pewter and into the antler, they will be blind holes. Not drilling into the spout hole is a given, to help prevent that put a ¼” rod in the tip so that if the drill touches it it will move it away. Start the hole straight in and as you drill SLOWLY move the drill so the bit will go in at an angle missing the ¼” rod. The pins only need to be 3/16 to ¼” long. Once the first hole is drilled tap the pin in and drill the other side. Once again remember; The Antler Only Goes Half Way Into The Collar. Now that the tip is done it can be fit to the horn. Try and make it as tight as possible. Don’t pin it to the horn yet.

Once the tip is fitting, the pewter should over hang the neck just a little, a 1/16 or maybe less or. whatever looks right to you.  Finish shaping the rings and the rest of the horn. File, Scrape, sand down to the final shape. 
 
 That's it for today I will finish it up tomorrow. Tim C.









« Last Edit: October 31, 2019, 04:03:08 PM by Tim Crosby »

Offline Tim Crosby

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Making A Banded Horn Pt IV
« Reply #3 on: June 29, 2010, 03:14:53 PM »
  Now for the base, since I do not cut the horn until now, I take a look and make a rough cut. You will probably have to work on the walls of the horn at the base getting it to approximately the same thickness all around. The inside may also have to be cleaned up of any ridges so the base fits to the horn all the way around.  if it looks good, it gets boiled until soft and a sizer is put in. Once it is cool and the sizer is taken out I make sure it is flat, I hold them on a glass door and see if I can see any gaps or if they rock. Pick put a piece of wood that will work and turn away. Take a look at pics and see what you want, even with the horn, a little rim above the horn or the horn in the base (Another tutorial). Shape it the way you want it. I like to hollow the bases out, just to remove some of the weight. Once the base is fitted and shaped the bands are next.     







« Last Edit: October 31, 2019, 04:05:10 PM by Tim Crosby »

Offline Tim Crosby

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Making A Banded Horn Pt V
« Reply #4 on: June 29, 2010, 03:24:03 PM »
 The shape of the horn is done so hopefully you have some potential bands already cut, it may take many sacrificial horns to get what you need. You could use one at about the half way point if you want, two, one at the ¼ and one at the ¾ mark or so, three, etc…    I just cut a bunch and go from there. I am sure there is a better way to go about this but find some ugly horns and cut them up. Just make sure they are about the same thickness all around, although you can work on that, if you find a really straight horn that is a good start.  Depending on how wide you want the bands I would start with something maybe ½ to ¾ and work down from there. Once you find three that look like they will fit put them in water and boil them for a few minutes, check them to see if they are flexible if they are put them on a sacrificial cone and turn them to the right width, thickness and turn any design in them you may have decided to use.  When the bands are soft they will stretch some so they may not fit exactly where they did before, test fit them on the horn. If they still fit that’s good, if not they can be boiled again and fitted to the horn after it is finished. Making and fitting bands take some practice and getting a feel for.

 The bands showen on the horn here were test/trial bands, they did not make the cut. The final bands are shown along with the tip in the last pic.

Tim C.











« Last Edit: October 31, 2019, 04:13:17 PM by Tim Crosby »

Offline Tim Crosby

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Making A banded Horn Pt VI
« Reply #5 on: June 29, 2010, 03:31:20 PM »
 
 
 You can now color the horn if you choose, install the base, pins, pin the tip on, use two parallel blind pins or three perpendicular to the hole. Put the bands on pin them with two pins each, alternating around the horn. Put on more color as needed and your done.
 This is the way I do them, may not be the best but it works for me. I would like to hear of other ways or ways to refine this one.
 The horn ended up being about 12" around the outside curve, the base is about 2 1/4"

 Tim C. 

Notes:
Put cold bluing solution on the pewter to darken it. Also put a dab on the head of any steel pins that you used on the base or rings.
You can use wood pegs if you like, if you do I would use three to attach the antler to the pewter and three for pewter to horn, round toothpicks work well. If you use wood on the tip use wood on the base.       





« Last Edit: October 31, 2019, 04:14:09 PM by Tim Crosby »

seesbirds

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Re: Making A Banded Horn (ALL PTs Merged)
« Reply #6 on: June 29, 2010, 04:02:38 PM »
Tim,

Great tutorial!  Thanks for sharing your knowledge.  One of these days I will have to try making one of those banded horns.  Now with your help, I won't have to stumble my way through it so much.

Regards,

Mark

Offline G. Elsenbeck

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Re: Making A Banded Horn (ALL PTs Merged)
« Reply #7 on: June 29, 2010, 07:17:42 PM »
Tim, great job.  Talk about trying to cover more than one phase, geez.  Alot goes into making a tutorial and you did a fine job Tim, even I can follow along.  Bravo!
Gary
Journeyman in the Honourable Company of Horners (HCH) and a member in the Contemporary Longrifle Association (CLA)

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."

g.pennell

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Re: Making A Banded Horn (ALL PTs Merged)
« Reply #8 on: June 29, 2010, 09:44:04 PM »
Tim,

That's a great tutorial...and answered all the questions I had about the process.  Now, I just gotta get busy... ;)

Thanks!

Greg

eseabee1

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Re: Making A Banded Horn (ALL PTs Merged)
« Reply #9 on: June 30, 2010, 02:03:34 AM »
Very Nice tutorial Tim

Offline Ken G

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Re: Making A Banded Horn (ALL PTs Merged)
« Reply #10 on: June 30, 2010, 02:42:28 AM »
Great tutorial Tim!  Thanks for sharing.  This is exactly why I think this forum exist. 
Ken
Failure only comes when you stop trying.

Offline B. Hey

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Re: Making A Banded Horn (ALL PTs Merged)
« Reply #11 on: June 30, 2010, 05:25:48 AM »
I totally agree with Ken ... GREAT tutorial. Thanks for taking the time to share. Take care ... Bill

Offline Tim Crosby

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Re: Making A Banded Horn (ALL PTs Merged)
« Reply #12 on: June 30, 2010, 06:57:32 PM »
 Thanks, I hope it helps. If there is anything that isn't clear or if another pic is needed to help explain something just let me know and I'll see what I can do.
 In Tutorials there is a thread about making bands,  I repeated some of it here but there may be something useful in it.

Tim C.
 

Offline acorn20

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Re: Making A Banded Horn (ALL PTs Merged)
« Reply #13 on: July 03, 2010, 06:06:35 AM »
Tim,

Great tutorial!  I certainly hope someone places this in the "Tutorial" section before it gets lost on site.

Dan
Dan Akers

digger

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Re: Making A Banded Horn (ALL PTs Merged)
« Reply #14 on: July 06, 2010, 03:48:04 AM »
What a great tutorial, thanks for all your hard work laying this out. I hope it gets moved to the Tutorial section as well.