horn nose cap

[smylee grouch]

When making a horn nose cap, is it better to use a solid portion of the horn, as the tip area or is it better to use the back area and cut and boil to soften before shaping around the stock? I have tried the last option and it didn't turn out as well as I wanted.

[bama]

The only horn that I have used is water buffalo horn. I used the solid portion of the horn and carved it to fit a tenon for the nose cap. The tenon went out the muzzle end of the horn. I am pretty sure this is the traditional method for attaching a horn nose cap. I did use black epoxy to hold it in place as the horn was black. I think the originals were glued on but I am not sure about that.

[Bob Roller]

When making a horn nose cap, is it better to use a solid portion of the horn, as the tip area or is it better to use the back area and cut and boil to soften before shaping around the stock? I have tried the last option and it didn't turn out as well as I wanted.

I used a horn forearm cap I got from Don Brown on my Whitworth copy and shaped it while shaping the forearm.
No ram rod to worry about on these rifles. Rod England has Don Brown's Alex Henry parts and kits and he can
possibly sell you a horn cap. <rtengland864@aol.com>.

Bob Roller

[mtlonghunter]

I've done several horn nose caps  and found what worked for me was making a jig from a piece of thin wall pipe . This type of nose cap is a thin piece of horn wrap  around the wood. Match the shape of the wood with the pipe at the muzzle after cutting the wood down as you would for a brass end cap. and using a heat gun warm the horn  and clamp it to the pipe in several places. Over bending helps hold it in place on the rifle.  Some of these types of caps curled around to the barrel while others just went strait up and exposed a little wood at the top of the wood line. Most were just open on the end to expose the end of the stock.

[Ed Wenger]

I've always used a solid tip for this, primarily because I wanted a cap that didn't expose any wood.  The cap was shaped such that the barrel would fit into the cap, just like a brass one.  I would add that all were for European pieces.  I don't know if it's still here, but Acer had a tutorial on horn caps at one time.  You might want to do a search and see if it's still available.


         Ed

[smylee grouch]

Thanks for the heads up on a tutorial Ed. I will try to find it.

[JCKelly]

boiling is not a good way to soften horn for changing its shape permanently
look on horngild.org
Hope this is legal, but here is an extract of one old article:
Whether by the grill, which takes a practiced eye, or by the oven, which takes a 300 degree setting, or by the fryer, at no more that 320 degrees of wet heating, the goal is to make a piece of horn plastic so that when it cools it will not loose its strength, but will loose the memory of its old shape and permanently retain the memory of the new shape.  The only time a horn should be boiled is when the bone core is separated from the horn after the horn is removed from the cow (we strongly recommend doing this 1.) after the cow is dead, and 2.) outside!).  And, so, a deep, dark mystery of the horn trade is answered by the indubitable Horn Swogglers

[Nordnecker]

Did you see runastav's norwegian build? He used a horn muzzle cap.

[Daryl]

You would have to ask Taylor, but I think this one was a solid piece of horn.