Horn Kiln

[Frozen Run]

I've been searching pretty hard but can not find an image of William Frankfort's horn kiln. He made it out of one of those Christmas popcorn tins that holds an impossible amount of caramel, cheese, and buttered popcorn and also a heat gun. If anyone has any pictures or could provide any information on this horn kiln or a picture of their horn kiln it would be much appreciated. Thank you.

[Top Jaw]

I don’t know Williy’s specific horn kiln set up.  But for general rounding of a horn base with dry heat (on horns that are already mostly round), I have used the oven set at 350 deg.  I put the horn on a cookie sheet on the middle rack, & wrapped it with a damp towel - except for about 3” of the base exposed.  Keeping the base from contacting the metal to help prevent scorching.  Goal is to get overall temp of the base up to 325 to 350 F - to point of removing the horns memory, and shove it onto a sizer.  Less mess, but hot oil is still my preferred method for rounding horns that have an oval base.  Be advised that sometimes dry heat (or excessive heat) can cause delamination of the horn layers.

[bigsmoke]

I saw Willie's horn oven and that inspired me to make my own.  Here are a few photos of it.
I used a smokeless gunpowder can, but I imagine any large round or square can would work.

Here is a side view of the oven.  On the left is a sliding mount for the heat gun.  I cut part of the top of the can out and also the side, then bought a light piece of sheet metal and bent it to form a cover for the cut out part.  I affixed the cover with a length of piano hinge.  Then I fashioned a locking device to hold the cover tightly closed.


This is an end view of the oven.  Obviously.  Notice the hole drilled into the cover about an inch from the end.


Here is the key to accurate oven temperature, a thermometer.  That goes in the hole shown above.


This is the key to not burning the horn, a heat deflector.  Instead of the head blowing directly onto the horn, it is deflected around and the entire horn is warmed to about 340+/- degrees F.

It's not a difficult build and the results are rewarding.  I found that it worked best with lighter weight cow horns rather than with massive bull horns, but YMMV.

Hope this helps some.

John (Bigsmoke)

[Frozen Run]

This helps a lot, I think this would make a good candidate for a shop made tool submission, thank you!

[Frozen Run]

To the left is the horn press I finished up not too long ago. I got the plans for it from the HCH website here:

https://www.hornguild.org/a-simple-horn-press-by-rex-reddick/

I added the two boards that run just inside the side columns to increase the stability of the top plate. The press screw is 18" and was a misjudgment on my end. The plans doesn't name the part exactly, just gives an obsolete part number which no longer exists and the company that made them sold out to Pony. You have the option of either a 9", 12", or 18" from the manufacturer. I determined it was a 12" press screw which was sold out entirely along with the 18" for the foreseeable future because of reasons. I then deduced, incorrectly, that a 9" press screw would not work. Fortunately Lowes had the 18" ones mislabeled in their inventory and was able to order one. It's a bit ungainly, but not the worst thing in the world to operate, plus if I ever strip it then I can just lop it off and start fresh. I spilled my can of shellac being a klutz finishing it so everything in my shop got an emergency coat of shellac. When life hands you lemons, ask it for a bag.

The kiln was a combination of John's example and my one friend Phil who told me about them in the first place. I screwed the legs on to the top by mistake building it up so the intake is coming in from the right. I opted to use the same heat deflector as what Phil used to save room on the inside, cutting a   ᗡ D pattern in the lid and bending it in. The only problem is I neatly drew out my Ds, got the cutoff wheel on my dremel and realized I had cut them out entirely sometime just before the second ding of the second part hitting my bench. I knew I had to cut out only the outer curve, but I saw the line and just turned my brain off and cut out the whole thing. So I took a coke can, cut off the top and bottom, flattened it, bent it in half, formed a couple copper rivets and riveted it to the intake hole. It worked. I could have sworn you used a sliding bolt latch, the reason I selected mine, strange. There's a pretty decent sized gap around the door, if that's an issue then I'll just rivet on more coke cans probably, but I'm hoping it isn't. Also, Phil insisted I put a wooden shelf in it for the horn to rest on so I did.

Thank you again for your guys' help!       

[Frozen Run]

A couple important additions I left out. Phil made his from the plans published in The Horn Book from an article which I believe Willy Frankfort wrote, I'm not sure from which issue. The copper rivets in hindsight were a bit overkill. I could have just used a heavy gauge staple, like the kind you staple targets up with, and bent the prongs over. This is the method I will use in the event I need to cover the gaps in the door.

[bluenoser]

Have been following Frozen Run's most interesting thread " 7 Horns and a Bag" and got to thinking.  Not wanting to derail that thread, I thought it best to revive this one.
A thrift store toaster oven found it's way into the shop last week and I have been trying to rationalize keeping it.  I already have a nice little digitally controlled kiln, so no justification there.  It seems to me, the toaster oven might make a dandy horn kiln.  Haven't looked, but might have to put a metal heat shield between the upper element and the horn.  Might even set it to max temp and run it through a digital controller for better temperature control.
Anyone tried it and how did it work?

[Frozen Run]

Thank you bluenoser. Please keep us updated with what you discover regarding the toaster oven.

While I haven't given up on the kiln I built, I fear it is largely a bust. It is way easier for me and I have more control just using a heat gun and a welding glove. It's faster too as I don't need to wait for a kiln to get up to temp.

Sadly too, the companion press is also a bust I fear. At the time the original article I used on it was published, you could build it for next to nothing which I believe was the major benefit to the design. I built it last year after the crippling increase in building supplies hit and it cost me something like $150? I have a nice end vise that's easier to use and has more control. At the cost it takes to build that press, most people would be better off investing the money towards an end vise or even buying an antique book press I believe.

[bluenoser]

Sorry to hear the kiln is not panning out as you had hoped.  I imagine we have all had projects that didn't pan out and others that required tweaking to get the bugs out.  I find it is sometimes advantageous to set an uncooperative project aside for a while and then take another run at it.  Soetimes, things just don't work out and it is best to throw in the towel.

Took a look at the toaster oven and think it might work.  Might have to scrap the toaster mechanism, but that's no loss since I wasn't planning to make toast in the shop anyway   I do believe it would be wise to install a heat deflector below the top element.

I thought that press was a dandy and have been wondering if it would be worthwile to build one.  I only make the occasional horn, and have only made two flat ones.  Don't have an end vise or any place to mount one and have never seen a book press on offer in these parts.  Had to do a double-take on the $150.00 price tag.  Is it the screw mechanism that drives the price up?

[Frozen Run]

Thank you, it was still fun making them and I'll continue to tinker with them.

The screw is no longer made by either of the links provided in the instructions. It's now made by I think pony? Lowes brand. The problem was the company, with everything going on, couldn't get them in the US. They were back ordered everywhere for a year. Luckily, Lowes had them mislabeled on their website so I was able to get one.

Everything was expensive and it all added up. The MDF was like 40 bucks at the time, a bunch of dimensional lumber, the granite slab, everything was expensive and it just added up fast. To the guild member's credit, it was an incredibly well thought out device for when prices weren't insane on everything, you could have built it for 30 bucks not so long ago.

Tim did a really nice tutorial on how he flattens horns.

[Tim Crosby]

  https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=70772.msg706940#msg706940

[bluenoser]

Thanks Tim,
That "vise" is pretty much as basic as it gets and definitely up to the task.  It should also store well.  Will definitely keep it in mind if I decide to make another flat horn.  Also took note of the set of wedges.