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laminating horn

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stuckinthemud:
So I laminated two strips of horn with gelatin glue, after 10 hours I took the string wrap off and the joint fell apart, the glue was jelled but not set/dry even thought the glue outside the joint was totally dry.  Presumably a horn-to-horn joint needs a really long clamp time - any ideas how long to leave it to dry?

BowEd:
Did you size it well with thin glue and let dry first?

bownarra:
Was it still liquid when the last clamp was applied?
Gelatine itself works but the gel time is way short....
As Ed says you must size the horn and wood many times with 5% glue first. Until the surfaces are glossy. It can take upto 20 coats of sizing.
funnily enough I've just been sizing a set of horns to be glued up today.
You only need to clamp the joint for a day or so max.
The gelled glue is sufficient to hold the parts together but they will take a month to dry enough to carry on working.
Sounds like you did something very wrong!

stuckinthemud:
Mmm, used 25 percent glue to size the horn , wondered why it only needed 4 coats of glue

bownarra:
That will be why then!
Horn to horn is a difficult bond to get right.
Heat the parts thoroughly the first time they are sized to increase porosity and make sure the glue is at 65 Celsius.

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