Attached are several photos of a horn I made as a Christmas gift for my son-in-law. He’s had a pretty tough year between his father dying (way too early), his work and family.
It’s the first horn I’ve done and boy did I learn a lot. Between the tutorials here on the board, examples display by others, books and the kind responses to my PMs (thank you Tim and Carl!), I was able to cobble something together.
I chose the F&I style because his family came to America during that time period - to Virginia and then the Brushy Mountains of North Carolina. It’s “decorated” (and I use that term very loosely ...) with a mountain scene that reflects his family’s old apple orchard farm, along with a few of the creatures we see there from time to time. Also, there’s a scales of justice and banner underneath with “Deus”, “Veritas” and “Famila” engraved (again, using the term loosely ...). The pins were made from early cut nails dug out of the ruins of his great grandfather’s house which was burned by vandals several months back. The plug and spout stopper are cherry (unfortunately not from the property) - cherries were grown at the orchard as well. Unfortunately, the stopper isn't totally in line with the flow of the horn - close but no cigar as they say.
There was a near calamity when staining the horn. I tested a stain (light walnut) on a piece of scrap horn - it looked a little red but not that bad - but on the horn it might as well have been Rudolph’s nose (I exaggerate a little but you get the idea ...). Fortunately, with the help of someone at our local woodworking store and a different stain brand, the color, if somewhat darker than I first intended, at least got back to something closer to what it “should” be.
Again, thanks to you all here at ALR for generously sharing your knowledge and works. Your art and craftsmanship never cease to amaze me. Can’t wait to start another horn. Any helpful comments on what to do better next time would be great appreciated!
