Thread: Cutting horns thickness in half

Hey SRP, so I found a fairly cheap horn distributer and it looks like he has quality products. From what I understand horn blanks are 150x50X3.25mm and from what I remember u can get a set of scales from that. But this gentlemen has 152x45x9mm so from what Google so the thickness is a little over double... I was wondering if anyone has a good way to cut the thickness in half on this horn I'm about to get... I would just do it with my bandsaw but I vaguely remember someone telling me not to do that because it's a huge headache lol... So let me know! as always thanks everyone!

fonz

A lot depends on the tools at hand and your experience. With a properly set up band saw, simple resawing jig and a good blade, it can be done to any width you wish, some waste will go into the kerf.

You can cut them by hand with a fine/thin pull saw easily, with very little waste, but does take some care. Mark the cut line on all 4 sides and cut a kerf on each side, then cut in half using the kerfs as a guide. Horn cuts easily and quickly once cut to width, about 1 in or so.

With any resawing, cutting thin strips can easily produce potato chips, depending on the tension in the material, though they can be straightened. Natural materials are… Natural.

There are some good recent threads on buying Horn from Ebay sellers. You may want to start with the thinner material and experiment with resawing the thicker stuff, there is a learning curve…

Originally Posted by Euclid440

A lot depends on the tools at hand and your experience. With a properly set up band saw, simple resawing jig and a good blade, it can be done to any width you wish, some waste will go into the kerf.

You can cut them by hand with a fine/thin pull saw easily, with very little waste, but does take some care. Mark the cut line on all 4 sides and cut a kerf on each side, then cut in half using the kerfs as a guide. Horn cuts easily and quickly once cut to width, about 1 in or so.

With any resawing, cutting thin strips can easily produce potato chips, depending on the tension in the material, though they can be straightened. Natural materials are… Natural.

There are some good recent threads on buying Horn from Ebay sellers. You may want to start with the thinner material and experiment with resawing the thicker stuff, there is a learning curve…

Good information and I did find some good prices on blanks that are the right size but like everyone else I'm here to save money... So I found some horn for $4 a blank on black, black with white streaks, honey horn and ox horn...

I have some in the mail right now and those are some good tips.. Only down side is I don't have any experience with those tools but I can find someone who does pretty easy... Same with any tools or hardware... So let me know

You could make 1 piece scales from the 9mm material much the same way

Originally Posted by Substance

You could make 1 piece scales from the 9mm material much the same way

But wouldn't u be wasting a lot when sanding it down? Or actually could it be possible to make both sides of the scales from only cutting one out, then cutting that in half? Now that I think about it

I use a Japanese pull saw for all kinds of material - they really are quite easy to use and a good investment but make sure you get the rip saw with no spine. If you don't already have one, there are lots of places that sell horn blanks in the 4 to 5mm size that will be more economic in the short term rather than investing in your own saw. I tend to go with 4mm as a minimum so that it gives me an opportunity of sanding both sides and ending with a flat blank of about 2.5 to 3mm. Horn can be variable in quality so you need the extra to get over any bits of delamination and curve in its original state.

My advise is to buy your horn from Masecraft Supply Co. They sell horn 1/8" x 2" x 6". It $18.00 a pair. I have bought some horn through some eBay suppliers and found it was of less quality. I don't mind paying a little extra for quality. Black and translucent you should be able to get 2 scales from each piece. The honey horn I find frequently has a lot of delamination so you may only get one scale from a blank which means you need multiple blanks so you can match up a pair. Sometimes the honey horn is so delaminated I put it in the scrap pile. They also sell other materials suitable for scales. They are a go to supplier for me.
I have a band saw with a rip fence and have cut horn for thickness in the past. Sometimes it comes out OK and sometimes I get a potato chip. Not worth the effort and head ache for me.

Pictured is an acrylic blank. If you rip horn I suggest keeping your width at 1". Cuts much easier.

Thank you both for your reply! I cannot figure out how to out both replies into one comment so I hope u get notified inteplied to u guys...

UKrob thanks for the idea on the Japanese saw the the technique on how to do it... Good ideas to think about

Karlej, I want to buy from someone who has a big name out there but I have just been testing buying some bulk from some suppliers to cut cost and can't find too many that have the exact size I need... The first round is actually coming from someone on eBay, now my next question for you is how to determine the quality of the horn? Is it something u figure out after using it? Then u know after the finished product are or there things you can tell if it's some qaulity horn ur dealing with?

Originally Posted by Dafonz6987

But wouldn't u be wasting a lot when sanding it down? Or actually could it be possible to make both sides of the scales from only cutting one out, then cutting that in half? Now that I think about it

One piece are about 9mm thick max you could get 2 sets from a blank depending on shape etc
You make your scale shape then cut in half but not at the wedge end it remains whole.
See a lot of wood scales like this and I think it may be how Hart have a lot of theirs (IIRC)
I have seen Mistro Livi making some in at least 1 of his videos

Originally Posted by Dafonz6987

Thank you both for your reply! I cannot figure out how to out both replies into one comment so I hope u get notified inteplied to u guys...

UKrob thanks for the idea on the Japanese saw the the technique on how to do it... Good ideas to think about

Karlej, I want to buy from someone who has a big name out there but I have just been testing buying some bulk from some suppliers to cut cost and can't find too many that have the exact size I need... The first round is actually coming from someone on eBay, now my next question for you is how to determine the quality of the horn? Is it something u figure out after using it? Then u know after the finished product are or there things you can tell if it's some qaulity horn ur dealing with?

Pretty obvious things really. Is the horn in the dimensions advertised? Flat and straight. No delamination, voids, cracks, inclusions. Polished on both sides. Saves work as you can pick the polished side that will be the inside of the scales.