Macadaciouse Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 So I was turning a handle on a lathe and found an internal crack in the horn. The piece turned out well and I'm not expecting perfection, but is there a way to minimize the crack? Can it be filled with horn dust and glue the way you can ghetto-fix wood? If I can't come up with a better idea I'm just going to clamp it, superglue it and make that the back, but I figured I might as well see if anyone has tried this before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWooldridge Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 Horn dust and glue is what I was going to suggest - not sure how many other choices there are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macadaciouse Posted August 6, 2009 Author Share Posted August 6, 2009 Anyone have a clue what type of glue to use? Wood glue seems like a poor choice, but then so does 2 part epoxy, crazy glue or really any other type of glue I can think of. Epoxy may hold the joint together, but I mean for mixing with horn dust... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 Never worked with horn but, epoxies are mostly filler. I've worked with boat building epoxies and made various styles for different purposes by adding fillers like saw dust, silicia, plastic micro ballons, mineral powders and other stuff. If you have one of the two part epoxies that is a slow set, and dries amber, the mix the the epoxie like usual and stir in the powdered horn. The trick here is to use an epoxie that takes several minutes to set up. When it gets to thick enough to stay in the crack then fill, smooth and leave alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Hale Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 I use super glue, horn lives for the day it can crack. If it is not stabilized it will likely do it again. I do not use horn unless stabilized. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don A Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 If the horn is grayish / blackish in color, J.B. Weld might blend in without mixing anything in. Simply do a test on scrap to see how it looks. If you can live with the color, you probably can't beat it for strength. Get the regular J.B., not the fast set, make sure the crack is clean, work the glue into the crack with a toothpick or needle so you leave no voids, and clamp it with a bit of pressure until it cures. By the way, if it squirts out a little when you clamp it, wait a couple hours and trim it off with a razor blade. It will still be soft, but won't smear and make a mess. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 I would use Acraglass, the same stuff used to bed rifle actions. It dries an amber color, and can be dyed. It is a 2 part epoxy, and it will give you ample time to work it in. You don't mention how wide of a crack it is. What we did with some gunstock repairs was to drill a hole from the backside , if possible, fill the hole with Acraglass then drive a dowel into the hole. The dowel pressure fed the Acraglass into the crack filling it completely. If it is a thin tight crack, about the only way I know of to get it glued up would be to do it in a vacuum chamber. Kind of like how they do windshield repairs. By evacuating the air the thin glue is allowed to seep into the cracks. If the wife is out you could put some Super Glue on the crack, and draw it down in a FoodSaver bag to get the air out :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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