First Horn (flat)

JBird · Jan 15, 2017

Just completed my first "finished" horn. this would be attempt 3 over the years. first one got ate by my Coonhound. 2nd one was nearly done till I decided to rework it a few weeks ago and ruined it.

So I ordered a few horns from powderhorns & more and decided to get one of there flattened horns to play with before I went through the trouble of trying to flatten one on my own. still took a fair bit of filing and scraping to get it where I wanted

Open to all suggestions I decided to quit while I was ahead and had a horn to show for the work, I intend to make a few more.

I may try dying it again I used a whole bottle of chocolate brown rit dye (darkest I could find)and this is as much as the horn would take

Base plug is Maple pinned in place with toothpicks both with just a plain BLO finish

GreyWhiskers · Jan 15, 2017

I like it. :thumbsup: GW

nessmuk · Jan 15, 2017

Grey Whiskers said:
I like it. :thumbsup: GW

Two thumbs up. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Ole Frog · Jan 15, 2017

Very nice!

and we all have ruined projects that we had to get in "just one more tweak"

JBird · Jan 16, 2017

Thanks for the comments guys. Anybody have tips on making a simple braided hemp strap?

rijerolmon · Jan 16, 2017

Nice looking horn! I have braided both 3 and 4 strands of jute twine for horn straps. I do try to find a good quality twine as some of the cheap stuff has "thin spots". I also wax the strands to lay down the fibers a bit before braiding.

Ames · Jan 16, 2017

Nice horn. Coon hounds get you every time.
Looks like the dye could have taken deeper. Did you simmer it long enough, say 20-25 minutes?

JBird · Jan 16, 2017

Thanks, it soaked for 30-45 minutes maybe the water wasn't hot enough? I may try again. I'm going to try and find a darker dye

Katahdin · Jan 16, 2017

thehornersbench.proboards.com try this site..

Spikebuck · Jan 16, 2017

I had to chuckle a little about the coon hound eating the first one. Have had dogs all my life and can see that one happening!

I like it! :hatsoff:

lonehunter · Jan 16, 2017

Nice looking horn, good work! :hatsoff:

BillinOregon · Jan 16, 2017

Well I sure like the thing. Nicely understated, competent.

Paul63 · Jan 16, 2017

Well done! That there is one fine lookin horn! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

JBird · Jan 16, 2017

thanks for all the compliments. maybe I can throw a strap together this coming weekend. already looking forward to working on my next horn

CrackStock · Jan 17, 2017

Driftingrz said:
Just completed my first "finished" horn. this would be attempt 3 over the years. first one got ate by my Coonhound. 2nd one was nearly done till I decided to rework it a few weeks ago and ruined it.

So I ordered a few horns from powderhorns & more and decided to get one of there flattened horns to play with before I went through the trouble of trying to flatten one on my own. still took a fair bit of filing and scraping to get it where I wanted

Open to all suggestions I decided to quit while I was ahead and had a horn to show for the work, I intend to make a few more.

I may try dying it again I used a whole bottle of chocolate brown rit dye (darkest I could find)and this is as much as the horn would take

Base plug is Maple pinned in place with toothpicks both with just a plain BLO finish

Nice horn. Your engrailment is particularly well thought out and pleasing.

It seems to have followed the natural curve of the original horn which is rare for new horners.

Wiping with some dark substance will help you find and remove any remaining scratches.

Remember that scraping with a very sharp edge is a better method of final smoothing than sanding or filing.

For the fine ring work, rolling a good fine file is a tough skill, but that is how I have seen that work done.

I think you are asking about attaching a carrying strap, but the general reason for making a flat horn is for the horn to fit inside a bag or pocket. I suggest that you tie a thong to the staple for easy retrieval from your hunting bag and/or to tie it to the bag to secure the horn against loss in the field.

Or are you trying to make a strap to retain your stopper?

Again, I like the horn and only make these other comments to give the feedback that you seemed to request.

CS

CrackStock · Jan 17, 2017

What happened to the horn that you believe is ruined? I would be willing to work with you on salvage efforts since I enjoy such challenges.

Hit me via PM if you like.

CS

JBird · Jan 18, 2017

The throat was originally round and looked fine. But I decoded to go back and change it up the step-down from the main body was to great and I ended up with some big flat spots, wasn't enough meat left in the throat to taper it

I cut it up and plan to make a box or 2 from the remains. So no big loss

JBird · Jan 18, 2017

CrackStock said:
Nice horn. Your engrailment is particularly well thought out and pleasing.

It seems to have followed the natural curve of the original horn which is rare for new horners.

Wiping with some dark substance will help you find and remove any remaining scratches.

Remember that scraping with a very sharp edge is a better method of final smoothing than sanding or filing.

For the fine ring work, rolling a good fine file is a tough skill, but that is how I have seen that work done.

I think you are asking about attaching a carrying strap, but the general reason for making a flat horn is for the horn to fit inside a bag or pocket. I suggest that you tie a thong to the staple for easy retrieval from your hunting bag and/or to tie it to the bag to secure the horn against loss in the field.

Or are you trying to make a strap to retain your stopper?

Again, I like the horn and only make these other comments to give the feedback that you seemed to request.

CS

Thanks for the compliments,

I tried to finish it off with a scraper but could not get clean lines around the areas the throat stepped up. I will go back and remove the tooling marks that showed when I re-dye the horn

As far as strapping it or not, I'm not sure yet the horn seems a bit big for a bag. The stopper will be attached but I'd like to make one out of the same maple as the base before I make a lanyard for it.

The strap ring didn't come out as clean as if hoped and it may be too narrow for anything but attaching the stopper

MSW · Jan 19, 2017

Nice looking work!

Barry Stewart · Jan 19, 2017

Really nice job! Makes me want to try one. Thanks, Finnbarr

First Horn (flat)

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