An old timer tip is to steam or boil the opening of the horn to soften it up a little bit (just like your finger/toenails get soft when you soak in the hot tub) and then fit the plug and let the horn dry. The horn will adjust to the plug for a super-tight fit and when you epoxy (cringe) or pine pitch (happy face) the plug into place it will be airtight.
What kind of material do you use as the plug, I am concerned that the material used would break and the plug becomes stuck inside thehorn and prevents you from using the tip hole untill you bore it out.
Hi again: One piece of advice for your viewers. When you use a hacksaw to cut your rings around the horn tip, put the blade in the saw backwards. It's much easier to control pulling the saw, than pushing it. Just a piece of advice from a long time horner. God bless: Two Feathers Proprietor of: The Mountain Man Emporium
I've finished several powderhorns. Currently working on one with a spiral filed in from spout to neck. My favorite is the first one I made I used a light coat of beeswax and scribed my lettering and designs into it and dabbed them with some India ink I lucked into. It worked fantastic. Looks like period mountain man scrimshawing.
I've watched twice. I have just finished the re-work/re-finish of a T.C. Hawken. I've just finished making my possables bag. I watched your video on that as well. I'm close to finishing my powder horn NOT fancy but my wife likes it. ( she IS a little biased ) These videos have been very helpful as I trundled along getting started with the black powder shooting. It's fun making the accouterments that are reasonable for me to do. Next will be a deer tine powder measure. My dad made my patch knife about 40 years ago. i also made the short starter. Holy cow! Lots of odds and ends to make!
P.s. i have made a few powder horns now. those jegs you came up with two help hold the work. what a great idea they are. definitely going to adopt that
I suggest putting a register mark on the horn and plug so you know exactly where the plug goes each time you check it for fit. This is just a small mark or more but each mark needs to be identified by different color mark or some other means of defining each. You can't make all the marks the same. I guess you could but it would make it more difficult. When I'm marking such as this I use just one mark. Just an idea. Thanks for making and sharing a great video.
Awesome video. I just made one about making a beaded strap that I put on my powder horn, but I hadn't really thought about making an actual powder horn myself. Might have to give it a try.
I've made a smaller version of the main charge horn for my primer powder. I cut the horn in half and used the larger end as a holder for the horn and used leather straps to hold it onto the strap of my "mountain man purse" otherwise known as the possibles bag. I started out with a full size cow horn though.
I used Brownell's gun stock bedding material(accro glass) to set the end plug into my horn, that way it seals while firmly attaching the plug to the horn,
I just found this channel and love it. I have been making all my own gear since the early 80's. I just finished a Traditions Kentucky percussion pistol kit and it turned out spectacular. I just ordered a bunch of goodies, side plates and a beautiful toe piece for my T/C Hawken rifle. My next gun will be a flintlock rifle. They are the sexiest rifles ever made. Leaning toward the Traditions Deluxe Kentucky rifle kit.
In addition to fitting the plug to the horn by the method shown, another way is to turn a round tapered cone shaped piece of wood on a lathe and boil the end of the horn. Push the cone up into the horn and let it dry. When you remove the cone you'll then have a very round opening and you can then turn a plug on a lathe to fit your horn. You can also re-use the cone for other horns.
If I may I would like to suggest an idea. What works well is a 12 inch long cloth or canvas bag 3/4 full of shot or beans, shot is more stable. Really helps to cradle your horn.
I made a powder horn and used a broken wine bottle to smooth the horn. Just wrapped a wine bottle in paper and then gave it a sharp tap with a hammer. The paper stops glass fragments going all over the place. Then opened the paper and selected a piece of the bottle that had a curved edge. I used this piece of broken bottle to smooth the horn by dragging it along the horn. The glass cuts off long strips of horn and very quickly I was down to the inner horn and finished it off with sand paper. Just make sure you have your mind on the job or you will cut yourself very easily.
I really must recommend wearing a mask while doing this. If you ever cut bone or horn it will file down into sharp shavings that if inhaled can cause serious damage to your throat and lungs
I have some questions here I can't seem to find the answers for. 1) when placing the large plug in the hole, how do you fill the horn afterward? 2) what do you use to make powder horn water proof, if the owner falls into the water it is desirable that powder still be dried so they can still use it. Is it beeswax or some wax saturated rope between the plug and horn? 3) the small tip, what kind of material do you use to keep it from leaking water and from breaking off inside if you take a tumble down the mountain? If that little plug breaks off and the shaft is still inside the horn it would seem the only way to acess the poweder is to punch in thru into the horn then remove the big cap to tek it out.. 4) when rivets are pounded into the horn do you use animal hide glu to seal the holes to prevent water from entering the horn or is there some other type of water proofing that can be used? Thank you for your time.
Please don't get me wrong I'm not giving you crap. just pointing out a big safety issue. ceiling the end cap of the horn with epoxy resin is not a very good idea. you have just made a bomb that sits on your hip .really needs the end cap to be fitted with 2 or 3 mm wooden pegs and beeswax used to seal it .if in the event of a spark getting to the powder horn contents. And yes it is documented that exactly this is happened in the past . The wooden pegs and beeswax give the precious that builds up an easy route to dissipate Again just a heads up and this was a great tutorial .cheers for posting
As always you make very informative videos and I learn allot thanks. I'm starting with a product I bought online. I most likely should have started from scratch instead but water under the bridge. I took my horn apart because I could not get more than 100 grains of powder into my horn. I found that the shop that built this did not drill all the way through to the main cavity. Can you tell me what you did to clean out the inside of your horn mine looks really funky.
To drill start with a small bit and don't forget the flat a the top is at right angle to the plug.at top I have been making horns pouches m l rifles for 40 yrs. When you cut your butt plug outside toward inside is 10 degrees. To scrape hold the blade at a 90 degrees to horn and scrape do not cut
If you are truly trying to duplicate an 18 century black powder, powder horn, JB Weld, or any type of Epoxy Resin does not fit the bill of available materials. Try using Pine Pitch you will harvest from the forest as a glue and sealant before drilling for and driving in the brass pins.
The more ye scrape and clean yer horn up, the thinner yer wall is thus reducing the depth of a carving. I take a raw horn, use a little sand paper and make it lighter to draw on my animal. As ye work on yer relief carving, ye’ll take care of the scratches. With the finished carving on the horn, boil it in coffee and ye get a nice rich hew and usually the carving is a different color than the background. I wouldn’t want to copy an old horn with maps or nothing like that. If ye’re going to invest yer time in it, then make it totally yer own, not a copy of somebody else’s work.
Yeah your mistake on that Powderhorn is by gluing net in there you basically made yourself a miniature pipe bomb make a suggestion that you don't glue them in fitim get them set and then pack them in and use a little bit of beeswax next time that way you don't have a pipe bomb
Hello: NEVER EVER glue in a plug....EVER!!! You've just created a hand held bomb! Should you ever get an ignition spark into the horn, the whole thing will end your life, or cost you a limb? Make the plug to fit correctly from the start. It's not THAT hard. I've formulated a very easy way to create an almost perfectly fitted cap, that requires only a piece of paper, a school glue stick and a pencil. God bless: Two Feathers. Proprietor of: The Mountain Man Emporium
If the horn is poured into a measure and not the barrel, that should never be an issue.... stop smoking while filling your powder horn. And FYI, glue or no, spark plus a container of BP equals a bad day....
epoxy....CRINGE...if you heat up the opening the horn will "shrink" around the plug, then you drill tiny holes for tooth picks or thorns from the locust tree, stick them in, snip them off 1/4" above the horn and tap them in...after it cools you'll check for leaks, you plug them with bees wax or pine pitch.....horn is a natural material and moves with temperature and moisture, the epoxy doesn't
An old timer tip is to steam or boil the opening of the horn to soften it up a little bit (just like your finger/toenails get soft when you soak in the hot tub) and then fit the plug and let the horn dry. The horn will adjust to the plug for a super-tight fit and when you epoxy (cringe) or pine pitch (happy face) the plug into place it will be airtight.
Hi, could you give me a idea of length of time in hot water? Boiling or just hot?
Thanks.
If you used hot oil 20-15 seconds, hot water 20-30 minutes @@nicktrueman224
What kind of material do you use as the plug, I am concerned that the material used would break and the plug becomes stuck inside thehorn and prevents you from using the tip hole untill you bore it out.
Hi again:
One piece of advice for your viewers. When you use a hacksaw to cut your rings around the horn tip, put the blade in the saw backwards. It's much easier to control pulling the saw, than pushing it.
Just a piece of advice from a long time horner.
God bless:
Two Feathers
Proprietor of:
The Mountain Man Emporium
Ty for tip god bless you
God bless ty for the tip fixing to try to make one
Great book, simple, easy to understand step by step and examples of originals.
I've finished several powderhorns. Currently working on one with a spiral filed in from spout to neck. My favorite is the first one I made I used a light coat of beeswax and scribed my lettering and designs into it and dabbed them with some India ink I lucked into. It worked fantastic. Looks like period mountain man scrimshawing.
Add a photo of it please
I don’t know what it is with hand crafting videos, but I love watching these!
As a black powder shooter I use mostly hand crafted items. Machine made don't have the same feel.
I've watched twice. I have just finished the re-work/re-finish of a T.C. Hawken. I've just finished making my possables bag. I watched your video on that as well. I'm close to finishing my powder horn NOT fancy but my wife likes it. ( she IS a little biased ) These videos have been very helpful as I trundled along getting started with the black powder shooting. It's fun making the accouterments that are reasonable for me to do. Next will be a deer tine powder measure. My dad made my patch knife about 40 years ago. i also made the short starter. Holy cow! Lots of odds and ends to make!
P.s. i have made a few powder horns now. those jegs you came up with two help hold the work. what a great idea they are. definitely going to adopt that
I suggest putting a register mark on the horn and plug so you know exactly where the plug goes each time you check it for fit. This is just a small mark or more but each mark needs to be identified by different color mark or some other means of defining each. You can't make all the marks the same. I guess you could but it would make it more difficult. When I'm marking such as this I use just one mark. Just an idea. Thanks for making and sharing a great video.
Awesome video. I just made one about making a beaded strap that I put on my powder horn, but I hadn't really thought about making an actual powder horn myself. Might have to give it a try.
I've made a smaller version of the main charge horn for my primer powder. I cut the horn in half and used the larger end as a holder for the horn and used leather straps to hold it onto the strap of my "mountain man purse" otherwise known as the possibles bag. I started out with a full size cow horn though.
Great looking horn. You can add thickeners to epoxy to make a better glue and fill holes like horn dust and talcum powder.
I used Brownell's gun stock bedding material(accro glass) to set the end plug into my horn, that way it seals while firmly attaching the plug to the horn,
I believe a small flange on the plug can serve both visually and functionally. Fit and blend are enhanced.
I just found this channel and love it. I have been making all my own gear since the early 80's. I just finished a Traditions Kentucky percussion pistol kit and it turned out spectacular. I just ordered a bunch of goodies, side plates and a beautiful toe piece for my T/C Hawken rifle. My next gun will be a flintlock rifle. They are the sexiest rifles ever made. Leaning toward the Traditions Deluxe Kentucky rifle kit.
New subscriber ty and god bless you
Great instruction! Thanks for the hard work & knowledge.
In addition to fitting the plug to the horn by the method shown, another way is to turn a round tapered cone shaped piece of wood on a lathe and boil the end of the horn. Push the cone up into the horn and let it dry. When you remove the cone you'll then have a very round opening and you can then turn a plug on a lathe to fit your horn. You can also re-use the cone for other horns.
This is the method that I use.
Great tutorial.
Really like your videos friend keep them up
you could go with a brad point drill bit , or a forstner bit and have an easier time drilling too
If I may I would like to suggest an idea. What works well is a 12 inch long cloth or canvas bag 3/4 full of shot or beans, shot is more stable. Really helps to cradle your horn.
I made a powder horn and used a broken wine bottle to smooth the horn. Just wrapped a wine bottle in paper and then gave it a sharp tap with a hammer. The paper stops glass fragments going all over the place. Then opened the paper and selected a piece of the bottle that had a curved edge. I used this piece of broken bottle to smooth the horn by dragging it along the horn. The glass cuts off long strips of horn and very quickly I was down to the inner horn and finished it off with sand paper. Just make sure you have your mind on the job or you will cut yourself very easily.
I really must recommend wearing a mask while doing this. If you ever cut bone or horn it will file down into sharp shavings that if inhaled can cause serious damage to your throat and lungs
Nice video.
Mantap keren banget 🙏👍 Thanks Selamat Siang
Thank you!
You might consider a Fractal Vise. They grip any shape. You’ll still need to cushion it with leather.
I use a sand bag and sometimes a rubber strap from a intertube. To check the inside depth use a coat hanger.
Nice Ethan! Thank You!!
I have some questions here I can't seem to find the answers for. 1) when placing the large plug in the hole, how do you fill the horn afterward? 2) what do you use to make powder horn water proof, if the owner falls into the water it is desirable that powder still be dried so they can still use it. Is it beeswax or some wax saturated rope between the plug and horn? 3) the small tip, what kind of material do you use to keep it from leaking water and from breaking off inside if you take a tumble down the mountain? If that little plug breaks off and the shaft is still inside the horn it would seem the only way to acess the poweder is to punch in thru into the horn then remove the big cap to tek it out.. 4) when rivets are pounded into the horn do you use animal hide glu to seal the holes to prevent water from entering the horn or is there some other type of water proofing that can be used? Thank you for your time.
That was great!
I figured you would have used pine tar for apoxy?? Looks good tho
Please don't get me wrong I'm not giving you crap. just pointing out a big safety issue.
ceiling the end cap of the horn with epoxy resin is not a very good idea.
you have just made a bomb that sits on your hip .really needs the end cap to be fitted with 2 or 3 mm wooden pegs and beeswax used to seal it .if in the event of a spark getting to the powder horn contents. And yes it is documented that exactly this is happened in the past . The wooden pegs and beeswax give the precious that builds up an easy route to dissipate
Again just a heads up and this was a great tutorial .cheers for posting
As always you make very informative videos and I learn allot thanks. I'm starting with a product I bought online. I most likely should have started from scratch instead but water under the bridge. I took my horn apart because I could not get more than 100 grains of powder into my horn. I found that the shop that built this did not drill all the way through to the main cavity. Can you tell me what you did to clean out the inside of your horn mine looks really funky.
Did they use a pine tar (pine resin and charcoal) as a glue in the period?
A sealer And small tacks and nails? They had to keep their powder dry.
I'd get a bigger horn too.
Where is the Floop? How can you Boop the Floop, if there is no Floop?
Nice job on the horn.
Try a piece of glass for smoothing the horn
I have a fresh cow horn fresh off the animal. How do I dry or cure it to remove the horn core?
I found you just cut it off and let it dry in the sun with borax in it
Help! I found borer holes in my horn. What can I do to save it? No through holes but big divits.
How do you clean the inside ?
Hello fellow Hoosier, does anyone have any kind of tips on finding a cow horn around online they are fair price until it comes to shipping charges
To drill start with a small bit and don't forget the flat a the top is at right angle to the plug.at top I have been making horns pouches m l rifles for 40 yrs. When you cut your butt plug outside toward inside is 10 degrees. To scrape hold the blade at a 90 degrees to horn and scrape do not cut
So why use horn and not other kind of stuff to put your gunpowder, just esthetics or it have a purpose?
Where are you able to get horns?
If you are truly trying to duplicate an 18 century black powder, powder horn, JB Weld, or any type of Epoxy Resin does not fit the bill of available materials.
Try using Pine Pitch you will harvest from the forest as a glue and sealant before drilling for and driving in the brass pins.
espetáculo
Smaller pilot hole first
could u do this with thigh bone to from a cow ?
Were I you I would have threaded the plug before attaching it to the horn.
Please research the reason why horns are plugged with just a few tacs.
Glueing in the plug is a bad idea.
That book is expensive. 85$ on amazon
0:18
You're too hard on yourself . That turned out nice !
The more ye scrape and clean yer horn up, the thinner yer wall is thus reducing the depth of a carving. I take a raw horn, use a little sand paper and make it lighter to draw on my animal. As ye work on yer relief carving, ye’ll take care of the scratches. With the finished carving on the horn, boil it in coffee and ye get a nice rich hew and usually the carving is a different color than the background. I wouldn’t want to copy an old horn with maps or nothing like that. If ye’re going to invest yer time in it, then make it totally yer own, not a copy of somebody else’s work.
Halo maaf
Yeah your mistake on that Powderhorn is by gluing net in there you basically made yourself a miniature pipe bomb make a suggestion that you don't glue them in fitim get them set and then pack them in and use a little bit of beeswax next time that way you don't have a pipe bomb
Hello:
NEVER EVER glue in a plug....EVER!!! You've just created a hand held bomb! Should you ever get an ignition spark into the horn, the whole thing will end your life, or cost you a limb? Make the plug to fit correctly from the start. It's not THAT hard. I've formulated a very easy way to create an almost perfectly fitted cap, that requires only a piece of paper, a school glue stick and a pencil.
God bless:
Two Feathers.
Proprietor of:
The Mountain Man Emporium
yeah...glueing in the plug of a horn is not the best idea...
If the horn is poured into a measure and not the barrel, that should never be an issue.... stop smoking while filling your powder horn.
And FYI, glue or no, spark plus a container of BP equals a bad day....
You did not have to cut off the horn, just get a longer drill bit. Why cut that beauiful horn off .you get it!
epoxy....CRINGE...if you heat up the opening the horn will "shrink" around the plug, then you drill tiny holes for tooth picks or thorns from the locust tree, stick them in, snip them off 1/4" above the horn and tap them in...after it cools you'll check for leaks, you plug them with bees wax or pine pitch.....horn is a natural material and moves with temperature and moisture, the epoxy doesn't
Way too much talking. You don't need to explain the obvious.
talks to much