[Black Thorn]

Need some advise please, having laboured for a few hours making this topper, a split in the wood has occurred.
I put it on a radiator to accelerate the drying of the horn top and it seems to have happened then.
Is heating a no no?
Do I abandon the topper and start again?
Is there a way to rectify this?
The stick is for a family member so they will understand if it's not 100% perfect.

 

[Black Thorn]

This is a better photo

 

[Black Thorn]

This is a better photo

 

[gdenby]

I've never seen a crack quite like that. It doesn't follow the grain of the wood. I suppose the fracture happened when the end of the stick was cut. When heated, the wood contracted, and the slash like seam opened up.

Wood can be re-hydrated, but it needs to happen slowly. Weeks or months. Then a thin super glue will hold it OK.

I'd be inclined to sand away some of the wood, mix the dust w. wood glue, and stuff it into the crack.

 

[cobalt]

Thats sound advice . You should get away with it.

It is a big no no to do that

Once seasoned it should be okay in the house but not leaning up the rad.

Never dry wood on a rad, it will always split. use a hair dryer for a few mins if needed, I use the hair dryer to dry paint quickly but its not recomened .You should never put wood near a rad, that hasnt been kiln dried or bring it into a central heated house for that reason..Even then it could split. Lot of old good quality furniture has been ruined by central heating.. The air it to dry for it.

 

[Black Thorn]

Thanks for the advise Guys, lesson learned!
I'll sand it down a bit and fill. Hopefully it won't split any more.

 

[Sean]

Hope it works out well for you. It looks like to should stay to size If you get on it and get that crack filled

 

[MJC4]

As Gdnby said wood glue and sawdust paste is your best bet.

Also I would check the carpenters wood glue you use as some can be painted over but will not take stain. I use Elmer's Wood Glue Max, it can be painted or stained.

 

[Gloops]

Sound advice all round, I use sawdust mixed with 2 part epoxy, fills well and does;nt shrink.

Soe of the guys I know would fill with Black Milliput or some of the Brass/ Copper metal fillers and make it into a feature.

 

[Black Thorn]

I filled with epoxy and sawdust, probably could have sanded a bit more , but overall it's not perfect but acceptable. Don't know if using a wood staining pen may have helped?

 

[Black Thorn]

Overall happy with the stick, buffalo horn collar split, this has happened a few times, am I putting it on too tight?

 

[gdenby]

Never worked w. horn, but your post provoked my curiosity.

Among the things I found was that horn, like wood, needs to cure. Knife scale makers reported stabilizing the horn w. acrylics, just like wood, so it would not split. Others reported that it was not stable, and when pinned down tight it might split. This echoed something mentioned in taxidermy sites where special clays are used to fasten horns to skulls. The clays are stable, but evidently flexible enough that the stress between different materials is lessened. My intial thought was along the same line. The wood is flexing, and the horn is not flexible enough, and so splits.

Maybe you could scribe a thin line thru the horn collar in later work. Then, if the wood expands, the horn will have a way to expand without cracking.

 

[cobalt]

I have heard of people using stabilizing the horn for pen making and knifes , never done it myself. worked quite a bit of it, never had one split yet..However i have not used buffalo collars have seen a few people use them , think the chances are that to much pessure and a tad on the tight side would split them.. Normally there quite strong and always look good when highly polished.

I sometimes use buffalo and rams horn as end caps and spacers , with the odd horn used for a crook . you could try heating it up a bit when fitting it be carful if you try it there quite easy to bend. when hot. you can bend them when warm with your fingers you only need to boil them, There very easy to bend into a curve with a jig and clamp.

 

[Gloops]

making a good looking stick, was the sawdust from handle material and the glue prevented any finish coat darkening further?

I would think it purely personal to try and cover or leave them.

Another way could be to incorporate splits into a carved desingn.filled with a different colour.

 

[Black Thorn]

Yes the sawdust was from the handle, I probably didn't use enough.
Like the idea of incorporating a design!
Thanks all