Main Discussion Area > Horn Bows
240's sheep horn bow build with Tom Lucas
hoosierf:
Great build along. Thanks so much for the investment of your time. I see that the horn is lashed down with what will become the back up? Any reason for that orientation? I would have guessed you would be able to get it flatter with the belly side up. Thx
loefflerchuck:
As far as the memory of the horn and some twist coming back the answer is sometimes. Some horns stay straight and some retwist. After the first straightening I find where the bow lays in the horn and cut that out. Then remove some twist with a table sander to try and get it as straight and flat as possible. Then reheat and shape the bow again.
You don't want to put the horn or sinew on a burner. Hold it above always moving it to slowly heat it for a few minutes.
Ryan is just braver than I am using a heat gun. I heat slower just in case.
For homemade glue sinew is just easier as hide scraps are kind of greasy. I once only had a small amount of my glue and mixed it with knox and it worked well. Making glue is pretty time consuming. I also buy it. The best I have found is from Brooklyn Tool and Craft. I can't put a website here but you can look it up. I get the 315 g strength but have been told the lower GS glue is just as strong and some prefer it. Any half ass hide glue will work on wood for sinew backing but horn does not accept glue like wood and also bends further so is under more stress. The best glue should be used for the first layer on the horn. The next layers are bonding to sinew and stick easier.
NorthHeart:
--- Quote from: hoosierf on March 01, 2018, 07:26:37 am ---Great build along. Thanks so much for the investment of your time. I see that the horn is lashed down with what will become the back up? Any reason for that orientation? I would have guessed you would be able to get it flatter with the belly side up. Thx
--- End quote ---
There is one thing i can come up with. The cross section of the horn naturally slopes down at each side. By lashing it with this side "up" (which will be the back), the rope can pull down on the sides and flatten the curve a bit.
wizardgoat:
My last horn bow probably had 15-20 small heat gun sessions, and very little horn removal.
I use the low setting on my gun, and it literally take 3 or 4 seconds to get what you need.
I only aim it at the horn, and gently flex it as I heat it. As soon as I feel it give a little I clamp it down.
NorthHeart:
No work could be done on the horns this week as they continue to dry naturally. I did stop by Toms gallery and had a look at a few pieces that were being put back into the display case from a recent photo shoot. I bought his biography, and as i learn more about his life it makes the privilege of learning the horn bow from him even greater. Ill be Montana bound at the beginning of April. If i am very lucky (and the horn cooperates) we might even have sinew on the back. We shall see.
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