ARTICLE XII.
DIRECTIONS FOR POLISHING HORNS, HOOFS, ETC.
Go to a hardware store and buy two good wood rasps, flat on one side and round on the other; then get three grades of emery or sand-paper, say No. 1, No. 0, No. 00; then go to a drug store and buy ten cents' worth of sweet oil and ten cents' worth of rotten stone. Get an old felt hat and an old case knife and you are ready for business.
Take of either horns or hoofs, several at a time, and put them in an old pot or kettle of boiling water, let it boil until they become soft, which usually takes about half an hour; take out one at a time and rasp it until it begins to cool and harden, put it back and take out another, and keep this up until all are rasped down to the shape you want them. Now take one at a time in the same manner and scrape them until they are scraped smooth of all rasp marks, using the case knife for the scraper, the edge of which has been ground square off like that of a shear blade. Now take the No. 1 sand-paper and sand-paper down, then use the No. 0, and finally finish up with the No. 00, rubbing-lengthwise of the horn. We are now ready for the finishing touch. Take a piece of felt sufficiently large to rub with, pour some of the sweet oil on it, then dust with the rotten stone, and give the horn a thorough rubbing, putting more of the rotten stone on occasionally, and keep up the rubbing until you get a high polish. Such a polish will remain on for years.
Another way to polish horns: Fasten them firmly on a bench or to the wall. Take a strip of ticking or felt about three inches wide and three feet long. Wet it in water and sprinkle powdered emery over both sides. Take hold of both ends, place it around the horn and draw backwards and forwards, around and around, until the horn presents a smooth surface; then take another strip of the same description and use in the same manner, except using rotten stone instead of the emery. There are different grades of the emery, and only the finest is to be used in polishing; a coarser grade can be used in the same manner in the place of sand-paper, and is very good.
COLORING HORNS.
If you wish to give a horn a flesh color, secure a very light colored horn, rasp and scrape it down very thin, and polish so that the horn is transparent. Get some red paint (with plenty of dryer in it) give the inside of the horn a coat of the paint, and set it away to dry. Before applying the paint, wash the horn out well with soap and warm water and dry well. The above gives a beautiful flesh color, which will last for years, especially when filled with plaster paris.
TO REMOTE PLASTER PARIS FROM A HORN AND TO MAKE THE HORN ROUND.
After the plaster paris has become thoroughly dry it is very hard; therefore to cut it out with a chisel is very tedious; but it often has to be done. If the inside of the horn is smooth and a little tapering, it is very easy to remove by boiling it until the horn expands or becomes soft; then tap the horn with a smooth stick or hammer, and the plaster will drop out in a whole piece. If you have put a rivet through the horn before putting in the plaster paris it is more difficult to remove, as the rivet holds the plaster firmly in the horn. In such a case take a chisel and dig out the plaster paris down to the rivet, then either cut the rivet with the chisel or file it in two and take it out; then proceed as above directed.
To make the butt of a horn round, put the horn in boiling water; let it remain about ten minutes; have a round wooden plug ready, which should be wedge shaped; drive this in the horn while hot, and let it cool; afterwards remove the plug, and the horn will remain round. This makes quite a difference in the appearance of the horn where you wish to use it for a hat rack, footstool, etc.