remedies for holes in a powder horn

[Molly]

Had a box of old horns in the attic for years back when.  Also in the box was a very nice original native knife with a handle made from what I think now was buffalo horn.  "Bugs" (worms) of some sort got in them and bored holes in several horns and chewed the knife handle almost off, with just a "shell" left when I got to it.  Did a repair on the knife handle with black epoxy and repaired the powder horns with a tan epoxy.  The black was darker and glossy when applied but dried to a near perfect color match.  The tan took a stain well and both were super easy to work with once dried.  Those repairs were done over 20 years ago and still solid and looks GREAT.

[Mad Monk]

Not saying safety is not always first. After thinking about using the heat gun, I do not believe the heat alone would set powder off. Emptying the horn I would think is a given.
 It does not take much heat to soften glue or wax if there is any.

   Tim C.

That would depend entirely how fast you heat the powder.  This is why you see warnings about avoiding spark or flame.  If you drop a grain of black powder on a hot plate that has been heated up the grain will ignite on contact. 

If you place the grain on a cold hot plate and then turn it on to heat up the only things that happens is that the sulfur turns to a vapor and goes off into the air.  It will appear as if the surface of the grain is bubbling slightly.

The actual ignition temperature of the black powder is governed mainly by the ignition temperature of the charcoal component.  The sulfur acts as something of a combustion accelerator once the powder ignites.  Since it is consumed/converted during powder combustion it does not qualify as a combustion catalyst.  But without the sulfur present the burn rate is a lot slower.

When I would place samples of BP in the oven to check moisture content I kept the oven temperature no higher than 160 degrees F.  Any higher and the powder starts to slowly give off sulfur vapors.  The moisture test data would then be inaccurate.

[sonny]

inside out fix would be the best way to fix for nobody to see or know what happened there. I take a coat needle an thread a piece of thread to it. I slip the threaded coat needle thru the chip or open crack from the outside of the horn. I jiggle the needle down the inside of the horn until it exits thru the pouring tip. I pull a bit of extra thread thru the horn an out the tip. I then tie a cotton ball, or a flax ball lump (for you purest)! to the string an mix up some 5 minute epoxy an juice up the cotton/flax lump nice an juicy/sticky. I then pull the reinforced goo lump by the opposite string back towards the hole an pull as much as I can, into an thru the break making a patch from the inside out. I let that guck lump harden an file the extra hardened lump outside the break even. I then take horn dust of the same color, an with my 5 minute epoxy once again, mix an make a horn dust filled thick paste, which is smeared into the remaining break depression making a perfectly even rough looking, horn matching, max strength ,invisible patch............If you wanted to be creative a small bit of stain rubbed over the local area makes it look like it was always there..............This stuff works for me!!!......try it on a scrap piece if you need to convince yourself...................sonny