sheep horn

[jess stuart]

I am going to be adding sheep horn to the back of a riser for the first time. I will be cutting a section out of a full horn.  I was wondering what would be the best way to get the section I cut out to lay flat?  I am assuming one would want it fairly flat before gluing it to the riser.

[Kc kreger]

The way I have heard but not tried, getting ready too though, is to put the overlays (I assume that is what you are doing) made from sheep horn into warm water and slowly heat it up like on a stove top.  Keep checking the horn for flexibility as the water temperature rises the horn should become more and more flexible.  The point is to raise the temperature of the horn through out the entire thickness and it becomes soft and mold-able.  I know a lot of people that do this with cow horns and have talked to several bowyers that do this with their sheep horn overlays.  In fact I have some cut I'll experiment and report back in a little while!

[Kc kreger]

Okay finally got some practice in before shooting light faded and then found a small sauce pan.  I heated the water on an electric range until it was pretty warm to the touch.  Placed the horn in the water and let it come up to a good boil.  Stirred occasionally to make sure the horn didn't stick to the bottom of the pan (my Mrs. idea!)

I didn't set a timer but the horn was stirred around for approximately 10 minutes.  Then I took the thinner of the two pieces out and set a large glass measuring cup-thingy filled with water on top of it while sitting on the flat counter.  

I noticed that the horn was soft enough to bend but I must not have had enough weight sitting on it because when I lifted the weight off it sprang back up to the original shape. Or I took off the weight before it had time to cool all the way down. So I placed it back in the boiling water and took out the thicker piece.

This time I held down on the measuring cup thingy until I thought it was cool enough to touch.  This worked much better as it stayed flat.  Then proceeded to do the same thing with the thinner piece.

If I can figure out how to add my before and after pictures I will, but for now you'll have to take my word on it.    

[jess stuart]

Now, that is an awesome explanation, thanks a million.  I was fairly sure I had heard or read to heat it in water.  Thank you so much for taking the time to answer.

[DVSHUNTER]

I have heard of using oil in place of water, but have never tried it, but my source was reliable.  I'll be trying it in a few months. If you can wair, I'll let you know.

[Dmaxshawn]

I boil in water and then put my 70 anvil on them.  There flat !!!

[rainman]

You also can use a heat gun and clamp it flat as you heat it up.  A heat gun will get it hotter than 212 so it goes faster, same thing boiling in oil does.