BULL BUFFALO HORN

[louieparker]

Thanks Bill.. I assure you the horn won't be cleaned.....Louie

[Robby]

Got it Louie, Thank you so much!!!
Robby

[Gun Butcher]

That’s all right Tim. I think I’ve got Louie talked into making one himself.  At least he has what sounds like a good start. Hopefully I have helped him a little.

Ron

[louieparker]

Tim
As Ron says, I am very involved in bone and buffalo horn.. Ron saved me a bunch of work by telling me where to get bone slabs.The slabs sure looked better than the dog bone I got at Petco. Ron has been a big help.  As you might imagine I have made mistakes and done things in the wrong order. Causing me to do the same task over and over. Also I  probably should have cut  another inch off the horn. Though shorter, the curve might have been better ?? I have learned some things. Things that I don't plan to use again. This will be my only St. Louis bufflo horn.
The peaked butt cap about drove me to the bottle ! I thought I could divide the butt in sixteen equal triangles and no problem..  I wasn't thinking at all ! That sure didn't work. When you peak the circle its not even close.. I know there is probably a formula to figure that. But I had no idea how to do it. So I did it with hill billy reasoning. Which worked reasonably well. I finally finished the end cap today. With all the bone and horn circles installed. Also the top bone ring. Next is the bone inlay in the horn body. I don't look forward to this. Trying to hold the horn and inlet a piece of
bone could be a bit of a  problem. 

I have always admired the St. Louis horn. But I have gained new respect for the fellow who made them..  Louie

[vhntr1]

I'm Shure it will be beautiful,as I admire your work every time I shoot my rifle you built!
Mark

[Gun Butcher]

That’s what I told him Mark.
 Louie, hillbilly reasoning is how I’ve done all the buff horns I’ve built. I wouldn’t even know where to look for the formulas to do the math much less how to use them😜😂

[ltdann]

! I thought I could divide the butt in sixteen equal triangles and no problem..  I wasn't thinking at all ! That sure didn't work. When you peak the circle its not even close.. I know there is probably a formula to figure that.

So a circle has 360 degrees and you want it in 16 segments....360/16 gives you  22.5 degrees...which is the angle of the triangle.   Divide again by 2 and that gives you 11.25 degrees which would be the angle to set up the cuts on the table saw for each side of the piece of wood.

Had to learn that years ago when I made my dad a ships wheel.  That was fun.....

[rich pierce]

That works for a flat circle.  Not a peaked cone.

[ltdann]

Sure it does.  Works regardless of the depth of wood or the height.  Use the same formula for making barrel staves.

Determine how much of the butt goes into the horn (say 1/2 in), determine how much peak you want from the edge of the horn to the peak where the plug goes (say 1 inch).  the total height of the wood will be 1 1/2 inches.  Cut the triangles, glue together.  You'll have basically a round piece of wood an inch and half high and made out of 16 pieces.

Fit the plug the 1/2" into the horn.   File a slight flat at the apex of the triangles and draw a circle (size of plug) where the plug goes and that's the center of peak.  file the wood from the edge of the circle to the edge of the horn.

[rich pierce]

Ltdann, not sure we are on the same page. Maybe I’m not understanding what is being done in making these St. Louis inlaid buffalo horns.
I am thinking we are not talking about making a plug of x # of triangular pieces of wood, but rather a strategy for applying triangular flat pieces of bone or horn to a peaked plug. Could be wrong.

[ltdann]

Lol, you may have a point....

Dan

[Robby]

If you use thick pieces of bone and horn on a flat circumference, rasp, file, and scrape around the perimeter, a gentle dome can be formed and your angles for installation will still remain true.
Robby

[Black Hand]

In the period, what would have been the preferred adhesive?

[Tim Crosby]

If you use thick pieces of bone and horn on a flat circumference, rasp, file, and scrape around the perimeter, a gentle dome can be formed and your angles for installation will still remain true.
Robby

 Couldn't you cut it, using thick flatted pieces of horn, lay it out on a  piece of wood that will become the butt, glue it all up and turn it on a lathe to get your dome? Cut the Triangles, fit then, glue them to the wood, drill the design, peg the whole thing to a piece of wood and turn. Thick horn is not hard to find this one is about 1/4".
 Maybe I am missing something? Like what the material is???

  Tim

[louieparker]

If you had thick enough bone and horn that would be the simplest way to to make the peaked done.  I have no idea how thick bone can be had. But I have never seen it thick enough to make this plug. You would have to have a wee bit below the horn rim and then enough to form the peak.. I probably over estimated the height on the original horn but I thought it probably had a half inch rise and mine came out a bit more than that. The angle of the photo can be deceiving. But You would have to have very think piece of bone to duplicate the cap I made.

The father & son horn has about an eighth in dome. I figure it was done in the method you mentioned....  LP

[Tim Crosby]

 Ok, just what is the material the Triangles are made from, Horn, Bone, Ivory, Antler or what?
 These are Beef bones, that with some work would probably work, getting good angles on them would be the trick.

  Tim

[louieparker]

Tim the triangles are bone and buffalo horn....LP

[Tim Crosby]

Tim the triangles are bone and buffalo horn....LP

 Thanks, I wasn't sure if it was Bone or horn, I figured the Blk was Buff.

    Tim

[Tim Crosby]

  Eye-candy.

    Tim

[Gun Butcher]

Oh yeah, eye candy is right.
Tim those pieces of bone might work but I’m not sure about the horn. I suppose you could use tips and cut flat pieces thick enough,but I don’t like to think about it that hard so I will keep doing it what I call the easy way.🤔 probably much easier methods but I am usually hard core untrainable😜😂

Ron

[Robby]

I didn't know there these horns have kind of a school of their own. I thought it was a 'one or two' of type thing. I also didn't realize the dome was do high on the featured horn, I thought it was an 1/8" to 3/16". Well, my plan is not to reproduce anything, just keep it in line with what already exists, with a little of my own imagination.
Robby

[iloco]

Only St Louis horns I have seen made and for sale were made by Scott Sibley.  I have always liked these horns. So few of them made that I guess I will never own one.
 looking forward to seeing the one Louie is making.

Couple made by Scott.

[Osprey]

I have to say I'm intrigued by these horns and have one on my to do list to go with a plains rifle on that same list.  Rifle parts are sitting in the closet and the horn is the only thing that has me excited about it.  Did anyone see TC Albert's how-to article on them in Muzzleloader last year?  Lots of good info, pics and places for scales for the inlays, etc.

[louieparker]

ilico ....  Those are great lookers ..Scot sure knows how to work that horn .  He knows how far he can take them down. I was afraid of finding a hollow spot !    I am about to get this one done. When completed  I will post a photo.

Both Scot and Ron have shoulder problems. It could be from filing on those buffalo horns !  That sure crossed my mind when I was working this one down,,,,LP

[louieparker]

Ilico here are photos of my first and last St. Louis horn. It was a time consuming task. Not being a horn maker didn't help, I made mistakes. Some I could redo some I couldn't. I lowered the the flats three times trying to get the body slimmer. All the while being concerned about finding the hollow spot. I had Ron as my adviser which was a big help. Anyway its finished and I am glad I did it ......LP