General discussion > Antique Accoutrements
Bone Tipped Powder Horns
Marcruger:
Just a guess on my part, but do y’all think the original finial got knocked off at some point and the screw replaced it? I see the neck part of the finial/knob on some original and contemporary horns and think, “Hmmmm, that is dangerously narrow.” Just thinking out loud. Tim. Thank you for messaging Jay. Best wishes and God Bless, Marc
Tim Crosby:
--- Quote from: Marcruger on October 01, 2018, 04:37:48 PM ---Just a guess on my part, but do y’all think the original finial got knocked off at some point and the screw replaced it? I see the neck part of the finial/knob on some original and contemporary horns and think, “Hmmmm, that is dangerously narrow.” Just thinking out loud. Tim. Thank you for messaging Jay. Best wishes and God Bless, Marc
--- End quote ---
Yes Marc the finial could have been broken off and replaced with a screw, would not be the first time. On some Va. horns the butt was of one wood, say Walnut and the finial was of another, Hickory maybe. A hole was drilled and the finial either press fit or glued at some time in its life. What could have happened was, if the plug was lost another piece of wood could have been fit to the hole and then a screw put in.
Tim
Tanselman:
I took additional measurements today, plus got the butt plug screw out without damage to the plug. The photos I took are not very good of the screw, but it is very old, slot slightly off center, and more of a "U" bottom than a flat bottom seen in modern screws. It appears to be a hand-made screw with course, deep threads, flat tip, and file marks across head now covered with patina. Screw is 1-1/4 inch long, shank is 1/4 inch, head is 7/16 inch wide.
Butt plug measurements: diameter is 2-9/16 inches; plug is 1-11/16 inches high above base of horn.
Tip measurements: 2-9/16 inches long; base diameter is 29/32 inch; first step diameter is 25/32 inch.
Nose of plug - when screw removed, the nose is flat with old finish matching rest of plug. It appears, to me at least, that while the nose is very flat, I can faintly see a couple of marks from a knife blade, probably used to flatten it. But the finish appears as old as the rest of the outer surface of the plug. If an integral ball was broken and removed, it was done an awful long time ago. Makes me wonder if, by chance, the plug used about a 3/4 to 1 inch tapered shaft with a ball on the end for strap attachment, like the early Tansel horns had [theirs were made out of horn], pressed tightly into a drilled hole. Hole diameter is about 1/4 inch and was originally drilled...current large screw fits hole well. Here are a couple additional pictures. Shelby Gallien
Tim Crosby:
Thanks for the additional information. The screw looks to me to be hand made but could have been added as old stock well after the advent of machine made, thinking Industrial Revolution, although many screws were still hand made.
FWIW, I am probably one of few that found this interesting:
http://www.wag-aic.org/Am_Wood_Screws.pdf
Would you take a straight on Pic of the butt with the screw out?
Thanks, Tim
Tanselman:
Tim, neat article on early wood screws. The one in the plug is almost exactly like the "1830" type screw. Here is a shot of the plug taken straight on...to the best of my camer's ability. Shelby
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