Traditional Muzzleloading Association
Craftsmanship => Accoutrements => Topic started by: Bigsmoke on November 29, 2023, 11:24:03 AM
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Seeing as how it has been literally several years since I crafted a screw tip horn, I thought what the heck, why not? And so, I proceeded to do just that. I did have a few horn rolls that I had put away a while back, and so I decided to use one of those for the screw tip. Unfortunately, that was a bad choice, as it had a serious internal flaw. But, I finished lathe turning it anyway. I think functionally, it will be OK, but visually, it does leave something to be desired.
(https://i.ibb.co/7GzJF5Z/Screw-Tip-Horn-11-25-2023.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Wc3W1wM)
I do have several pieces of 3" long maple cylinders about 3" in diameter that I use for all my lathe turned baseplugs so why stop now. After turning it roughly to shape, I decided it needed some decorative grooves. And so, I got carried away on that. After looking at this for the last couple of days, it does start to grow on me. I'm really liking it now.
(https://i.ibb.co/CKvqhhR/IMG-7716.jpg) (https://ibb.co/whCTMM5)
So, that's my latest horn. I imagine it will go into my personal collection, at least for a while. I do have a couple of other horns started. I wonder what they will look like when they get finished.
John (Bigsmoke)
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Way cool John.
My question , how do you cut the threads. Lathe? Tap n die ?
I have a few horns waiting to become something.
I'd like to try turning but then I need a lathe first.
Kevin
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Tap and Die does it all, with the assistance of my wood lathe.
I will work up a tutorial on threading the horn and the tip and post it over on the Horner's Bench (https://thehornersbench.proboards.com/)
I will probably take me a week to do that.
John
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right on, thank you for the reply.
I may at sometime in the hopefully near future build a few more horns. That is of course after I finish the multiple leather bag orders I have.
friends, family and coworkers want real handmade leather goods, which in return is good for me .
I make a " purse" able bag . Its a standard 17/18th century bag design, I just add zippers, sometimes machine stitching and such things.
I'll check over to the horners bench and see what you're up too.
Kevin
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Nice! I don't see any flaws, what are you talking about? If it works, any "flaws" just give it character! ;D
~Kees~
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Ya know I think that old BS is starting to get the hang or making powder horns! ;)
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Well, I don't know if I am really getting the hang of it, but I am getting close.
Over on You Tube, I found a segment of making a horn tip. It is not quite how I do it, but the result is the same. Instead of spending an hour on making a tutorial about it, here is a link to this guy's technique. I do it a bit differently, and I surely do not go to the same barber.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-_H8VM0Plk
John (Bigsmoke)
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Never too old to learn something new, never ever thought of oil my drill bits for horn, makes sense, OK so we have the tutorial on turning an applied tip, now we need the screw tip portion, get that phone out smoke and get to recording!
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I have used vegetable oil to cut threads on the horn and on the tip, but never even thought of using it on the drill bits. Frankly, I don't see where it is even necessary, unless you have stock in a vegetable oil company.
I think that because I drill pretty slowly and I don't get any smoke coming off the bit, it is not really necessary. But, next time I drill some horn, I will give it a try and see how it works.
John (Bigsmoke)
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I have used vegetable oil to cut threads on the horn and on the tip, but never even thought of using it on the drill bits. Frankly, I don't see where it is even necessary, unless you have stock in a vegetable oil company.
I think that because I drill pretty slowly and I don't get any smoke coming off the bit, it is not really necessary. But, next time I drill some horn, I will give it a try and see how it works.
John (Bigsmoke)
I was referring to lathe drilling a tip, when I drill a whole horn tip I use and old school Stanley hand crank drill, works great and easy to control, especially twist drill bits.
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Interesting. By drilling on the lathe, you keep the drill bit centered and there is no wobble.
I would not feel too confident using the old time hand crank drill.
John
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John, hard to mount a regular horn on a lathe to drill the spout, not talking about an applied or screw tip
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Sorry, I didn't quite understand what you meant.
For drilling the horn, I rely on a drill press. Starting with a smaller size drill bit, I feed the horn into the bit. To stabilize the horn, I use a two handed grip and slowly press the horn up. And I use the slowest speed. When the bit cuts through into the cavity, I increase the bit size by 1/32" and repeat the process. I guess a safety message should go here. Do not hold the horn near the tip. There is a possibility that you could inadvertently drill through the bottom of the horn. I understand that hurts quite a bit. Then there is the blood issue. It could make a real mess in your shop.
If I am working on a horn that is going to have a screw tip, when I get to 1/32 past 1/4" (9/32"), I stop drilling. From this point on, please refer to the tutorial on screw tip horns.
John (Bigsmoke)