Horn Container

[famouseagle]

There's a really nice horn container by Bob Wiegand shown on the Contemporary Makers' Blog.  It reminded me of an early powder flask I saw and photographed at the Lewisburg show.  Does anyone have ideas on the technique used to straighten a piece of horn into a cylinder?

I've used the wood plug and heat (lard) process to round the end of a horn but this component must be straightened as well.

Here's a picture of the early powder horn.  Very interesting object.

[Tim Crosby]

 My guess is that was a very straight horn to start with, not every horn is powder horn quality.  If you look at it you will see a little curve on one side and the other is just a little straighter. Cut the horn, square the ends, heat it, insert sizers. make plugs, file/rasp the design, make/turn plugs and you've got it.

Tim C.

[keweenaw]

If you look at the long horn horns always for sale on ebay you can find something for little money that will have rather straight sections and is pretty round.  They aren't good for powder horns but would probably work great for some containers.

Tom

[rwiegand]

Hi,

Thanks for the compliment on the horn container.

There are several ways to 'straighten' horn that I know of.  I'm sure there are more.

1.  Use boiling water.  If the horn is thin enough it may reach a temperature that will allow it to be formed.
2.  Dry heat with a hot plate or propane torch.  Just be careful to not burn the horn.  It will become brittle and worthless.
3.  Use oil in a controlled temperature setup.

Horn generally needs to reach 325 degrees to become pliable enough to easily reshape it.  But again be careful.  Any hotter and it will become softer and spongier than you want.
Once the horn is soft enough place it on a form and walk away for a day or two.  This will allow the horn to settle into it's new shape.  It may come back to it's original shape a little (hence the curve you see in the flask above), but it will be close.

Hope that helps!

Bob Wiegand

[LRB]

  That is a beautiful horn. Looking at the photo closely, it is not perfectly straight though. Look around. You should be able to find one. If thick enough, in the right area, you might turn one straight

[Artificer]

That really is nice work.

[LynnC]

Hey - What happened to Famouseagle - A Guest???

[LynnC]

Back from exile eh Daniel