Polishing Cattle Horns
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.พ. 2021
- How I scrape, sand, repair, and polish cattle horns. These can be used for decoration, as drinking horns, cut up into knife scales, tips for string nocks on archery bows, etc. Lots of uses if you get creative!
Great explanation by the way. The baking soda and super glue seems like a great trick for the cracks.
I found a horn by the river and wanted to make a necklace out of it but didn’t know how to clean it up this video was the exact thing i needed ty sm 💞
Thank you for the video, thoroughly enjoyed it!
Dude where’s or 2 . I loved this video I have been making drinking horns myself , just finished third set . Was really looking forward to some new techniques, and a gilded cap possibly a bottom would be a nice addition
Found Long Horn when huntung and has alot of makes on horns like you way to do it told in was for fence
Could you please give me some ideas to polish up the bangle bracelets I’m working on? The ones I’ve seen at shows don’t look like they will ever dull and the inside is as shiny as the out side. Since some brackets will be very thin and some wide? I really enjoyed your video, you’re very talented!
Thanks so much! Show pieces are often sprayed with a high gloss lacquer, or they can be polished just prior to display. Unless adequately coated with some sort of protection, copper will always tarnish and form a patina, and even then the protection just delays the inevitable. Without knowing what equipment you have available, it’s hard to offer advice, but the process I’ve been using lately for a near-mirror finish is to first sand to 600, pickle in salt/vinegar, neutralize in baking soda water, rinse with clean water, then buff as follows - white compound on a denim wheel, followed with red compound on a muslin wheel, then blue compound on a muslin wheel, and finally green(zam) compound on a soft, loose cotton wheel. Lately, I’ve moved away from applying any sort of protective coating unless a customer specifically requests it.
Can a steer horn be too flakey to polish up safely? I have one that's pretty weather worn and would love to polish it up but dont want to ruin it
Love your channel, keep on going and posting ! put more tags at the video for audience
Sweet 👍🏻 👍🏻
How do you treat the end of a horn that has split?
what you use to buff with
What is that pink compound and where can I find it? Also, what type of wheel on on the drill?
It’s a standard red rouge, commonly found at any jewelers or knife supply site. Possibly big box hardware stores or hobby supply places like Michaels or Hobby Lobby may carry it as well.
Missed the question about the wheel, my apologies. I think it’s muslin, but I’m not sure. Nothing is labeled where I buy them, and they’re just sold as buffing wheels.
Is there any reason why you can use a belt sander in the beginning? I can see that the scrapper will be good to work for a finial finish, but a belt sander might work really well especially if you use the flexible area of the belt sander.
I would like to know too. He said you could if you would like to
Any way to polish it if I don`t have the electric wheel tool ?
use the drill
Interesting video, but I can't believe you left all of those scratches in the final product.
makes can be great.
Any way to polish it if I don`t have the electric wheel tool ?
Yes, they just require more elbow grease ;-) you can experiment with higher grit papers or pads - the highest I’ve been able to find here is 1200grit wet/dry. Above that highest grit, you can use commercially available buffing/polishing compounds on a cloth and rub by hand, or experiment with making your own compounds. You can use things like baking soda, toothpaste, diatomaceous earth, silica, or any other fine powder. The powders may need to mixed in some sort of carrier, like wax or grease. Beeswax mixed with turpentine or mineral spirits to a paste consistency would work for this, or even tallow. Alternatively, once it’s sanded to a high grit, you can try burnishing with wood shavings, or using a wood rod or piece of bone.
@@ericoberholtzer1949 thanks, your knowledge on this is awesome.
currently i`m dealing with my first set of horns, I never did this before, I have two issues though. I have put them in bleach for 5 / 6 hours to eradicate the smell, afterwards I read that it can destroy them over time and they will decompose. I have changed the water few times now they are just in soap water but I am concerned I may have damaged them permanently. Do you think they are still ok ?
the second concern is that the smell is not gone, it smells like dead animal and I don`t know how to get the smell off, any piece of advice ?
thanks lots !!
Happy to share what I’ve learned so far! I’m certainly no expert. I don’t use bleach for processes like these, it tends to lead to brittleness in the long term. It may be wise to manage your expectations with this set :-) they may be ok, maybe not, it depends on a lot of things. As for the dead animal smell - you’ve likely still got some flesh and blood bits deep down in the horn that’s still decomposing. You’ll need to get that out before continuing. The process can be sped up by manually removing as much tissue as you can. What I usually do after cutting the horns off the skull(I get fresh heads from my butcher) is just toss them outside by an anthill and let nature do it’s thing for a few months. If the smell is bothersome they can loosely buried as well, the bugs have no trouble finding it(remember to mark the site!) check on it every few weeks to make sure the bugs aren’t eating the horn itself. Once they’re cleaned out, I throw them uncovered on the roof of my shop for a few more months to fully dry anything out, then manually clean out the little bit left. The trade off here is lots of time. Hope that helps! In any case, if I were in your shoes, I’d continue like normal(maybe with a vinegar soak to help neutralize the bleach -do it outside and don’t breathe it in, you’re making chlorine gas). You might end up losing these anyway, but they’re valuable for the experience. You’ll be able to try out different methods of finishing to see what works without worrying about messing them up.
@@ericoberholtzer1949 thank you, awesome insight
@@ericoberholtzer1949 they are just fine after one week, some of them are a bit softer but drinkable and polishable with no problem. So I ask :
I wanna make them shine like the sun.
Currently cleaned them , cured, removed excess skin. Even if some skin always remains on exterior, it's hard as damn to take all off
What is the best way to make them super shine ? I see on youtube different opinions, dry sanding, beeswax, polishing machine, polishing pink paste rubbed with a soft cloth, baby oil - ykes, and wet big grit sanding with water on the sand paper.
Which one is the best ?
Regards