Horn cap and wrap

[mulefool]

Just curious on the horn cap. When you say a donut do you mean a piece that actually has a hole in the middle? That this would be the filler under the cap? And when you cut the cap off the horn pattern and just used the wings for the neck wrap, is it still sewn to the cap? If so is there just like a little tab from the neck wrap that is stitched in right in the back? ( I don't know if that made any sense at all?) I've been wondering if there's a better way to cover my horn caps so I'm always interested in new ideas on it.

[bunkhouseleather]

Heres a pic of the horn cap bottom and the donut filler and the neck wrap. The neck wrap is a separate piec and not connected to the horn cap at all. Hope that helps.

Jake

[mulefool]

Thanks for the pic. I may have another question about it, but I need to mull it over first. Chris

[Go2Tex]

OK, I see now. Thanks. One question though. Why a donut and not just a regular filler? Does your wing piece go up under the donut? If it's not attached, seems like you could just use a full filler piece and tack it down. Must be something I'm not getting.

[Elton Joorisity]

I have the same question...why not use a full sized filler and nail it down?? I can honestly see that whole wrap getting torn loose over time or even quicker dallied to something stout.

[bunkhouseleather]

The guy I learned from told me this was the way to put the neck wrap and horn cap on. But I am always open to new suggestions and ideas. The folks that I have lined up to build some saddles for are definetly going to test them out so I want to learn the best way to put 'em together. Could you guys show me some pictures of how you do it? Thanks.

Jake

[Go2Tex]

The guy I learned from told me this was the way to put the neck wrap and horn cap on. But I am always open to new suggestions and ideas. The folks that I have lined up to build some saddles for are definetly going to test them out so I want to learn the best way to put 'em together. Could you guys show me some pictures of how you do it? Thanks.

Jake

Jake, I tried it with kinda the same idea. I took the top piece with the wings and made it the bottom piece but I didn't cut the cap off. Of course, it is then reversed to show the grain side. The pattern will have to be worked out with scrap for the particular horn, but you will get the idea after you try it. The wings are cut and skived where they overlap at the back so they lay as smooth as possble, (that's the tough part). But, you leave enough leather to fold out flat all around, including the overlap area in back. There will be a very slight line where it overlaps but that gets covered with your horn wrap later. It's no worse than the line where the horn wings overlap, so I think it's not a problem. I guess you could try to butt together in the back rather than overlap, but you'd still have a line there. Anyhow, from there, you do a full round filler and then your full round cap and stitch 'em all three together. I don't have a pic of the bottom piece pattern with wings to show ya, but I do have one of the finished join.

[Echo4V]

I don't know if this is the reason for the donut or not but it seems to me that having that donut, instead of a full filler peice, would tend to take out the slight dome that some horns have in them. If the top of the horn is not domed at all then it would seem that the full filler peice would work out better. I do really like the look of the cap you have with stitching all the way around. I don't understand why this way would be more likely to get yanked off the horn than any other way if the throat peice, which the top is stitched to all the way around, is anchored as well as the the throat peice on another style of horn covering.

David

[steve mason]

In my opinion the middle filler of the horn cap should not be a donut, the filler should cover the whole horn cap and be nailed down, if it is not the filler will twist for sure if any roping is done or even ponying a horse etc. This is an essential part of doing any horn wrap either cap and wrap or wing style.

[Echo4V]

Steve, good point I hadn't thought of that. Couldn't the donut still be used though if it were cut with a little smaller hole then the inside edges skived a little and nailed around the hole? Would that provide enough strenth to keep it from twisting?

David