Iv'e boiled the skull of an aoudad to remove the horns. They came off easily. However, the skull plate cracked down the middle of the skull. I am shoulder mounting and was wondering how to re-attatch the horns to the bony structure of the skull plate and any advise on attatching the two pieces to the form ?
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I use Bondo to attach the horns to the skull plate.As far as the skull goes I would screw it to the mannikin then go over the surface with a light coat of bondo after screwed in place.
I agree with Okie . Just be sure that skull cap is secure and you are good to go .
Bradlee
Chances are you boiled it too long and the crack is just a separation of the suture in that skull that the Good Lord put there. Wipe both sids of the crack down with acetone liberally applied by brush (not a synthetic brush). When dry, Align both sides and tack glue them together with ZAP or other quality CA. After that, thin a little bondo with resin, add the red hardner and pour into the bottom of the cap to bond the two sides together. Drill and screw to the form as usual, and procede from there.
So bondo in the hollow horn to attatch them back to the cores ? Then Bondo and screw them in place ? My biggest question is the hollow horn attatchment to the cores ? The cores have dried out and don't seem to wanna fit just right back in the horn.
Turney, Before replacing the horn covers I saw off most of the horn core- you only need a few inches to support the covers and reducing that porous core cuts down on the attraction for bugs. Saw them down and the covers will slip back into place easier. Enjoy, Aaron H.
Aoudad horn sheaths are thin at the base. Boiling softens the horn material and it oftens warps on drying so that it will not fit all the way down on the cores. Four inches or so of the core is all you need for attachment of the sheaths. Smear the bondo on the insides of the sheath before fitting to insure contact at critical points. Wipe the cores and the sheaths with acetone applied by brush before using the bondo.
I just put the horns on an aoudad for my young lady apprentice, and even though I cut the cores short, I had to drive the sheaths on with a rubber mallet due to warp. She over boiled them too....LOL