My daughter found a pair of large cow horns at a car boot sale. She asked me to make one into a blowing horn, the other I can have!So here it is. I have only just started on this project, so I'll update when I do some more work on it.
The raw horn Scrapped and the tip cut off
The (big!) mouth. 4" The mouthpiece
I have such a blowing horn, though I must say that one of my sons is far better at blowing it than I am.
ReplyDeleteJust a quick tip on powder horns in case you make one before asking.
DO NOT glue the base plug in place. Use beeswax to seal it and secure it with light pegs. Toothpick size should be fine. This is the original way it was done, and it is a safety measure. Should for some reason you powder horn explode, the pressure will blow the base plug out instead of fragmenting the horn.
Regards, Le Loup.
http://woodsrunnersdiary.blogspot.com
Hi Le Loup. Thanks for the tip. I haven't made one yet but have been reading about them, both books and on the net. I don't think I have read this before. I'll follow your advice, it does make sense. Not sure I'll have an opportunity any time soon to use it for it's intended purpose, but at least it will be as accurate as I can get it.
ReplyDeleteJoel
Hi Joel.
ReplyDeleteI used to be a Hornsmith one time, only make stuff for myself and friends now. Your comment on your daughter finding the two horns reminded me of something so I thought I would share.
I started hornsmithing in the Territory, in Darwin. I was in the middle of cyclone Tracey in 74!
I belonged to a black powder pistol club there. One meeting day a chap came to me with two lovely blue/grey horns off a wild bull. Wild bulls and buffalo roamed wild in the Territory. You are advised to have a bull-bar fitted to the front of your vehicle if you live in the Territory.
This particular bull had come up over the bonnet of this chaps car and right through the windscreen! Fortunately they were not struck inside the vehicle.
Anyway he wanted me to make two powder horns from these horns. Once made and polished with sheep fleece and ashes they came up a beautiful colour. He kept one for himself and donated the other as first prize in a shoot. I won that shoot!
I redonated it and took a lesser prize, it seemed the right thing to do.
Regards, Le Loup.