Horn Crack

[smoker13]

I've got a Savinelli Corno straight pot that is PERFECT for smoking medallions,, coins, etc, which I've been doing so the past couple years.

Well, if you're at all familiar with this style, the stem is a military mount that goes into a piece of horn.

Cleaning it a little while ago I pushed the stem a bit too hard into the horn and the horn cracked. After the cursory cursing, I was wondering if I could just take the stem out, get some fine type of glue into the thread of a crack, put it into a C-clamp, and be a happy man again.

Anyone out there encounter cracked horn before and could recommend a particular glue that would bind successfully? Would Loctite work? I've got some on the bench, and it's nice and thin, so it could get into a fine crack.....

Anyway, your help would be greatly appreciated, as this pipe, though relatively humble, is just one of those that is dear to me.

 

[Brewdude]

You might want to pm either Jesse Jones (Ocelot55) or Al (riff raff) about this as they have probably had experience with that kind of repair.


Cheers,

RR

 

[Ocelot55]

Since my name has been invoked I suppose I'll chime in!  :mrgreen:

Horn is notorious for this kind of issue. Like most repairs, there is a right way, an okay way, and a wrong way to do it. In this case the only way the crack can be stabilized to prevent such an event in the future is by inserting some sort of material, brass tube is usually used, to reinforce the area. This should probably be done in combination with using glue to mend the preexisting crack. Every time I do a similar style mount I use brass.

I don't typically do repairs unless it's something I'm set up to do or for a good customer, but there are a number of qualified repair folks out there that I'm sure could accommodate your request. Of course with a thin coat of superglue you may not have any further issues, but there is no guarantee.

 

[ontariopiper]

Hey smoker13,

I've repaired a few cracked horn shank extensions over the past two or so years. Like Ocelot posted, I glue a short section of brass tubing into the horn and then glue up the crack on the outside using CA glue. When polished up, the crack disappears. A bit of tweaking to re-fit the tenon into the repaired shank, and away you go!

Before:

After:

I posted a horn repair on my blog HERE if you want to see the step-by-step repair.

 

[Brewdude]

And there ya go!




Cheers,

RR