#248955 - 07/24/12 12:19 AM
Re: looking for a tiny prybar/nail puller
[Re: Eugene]
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Geezer
Registered: 06/02/06
Posts: 5357
Loc: SOCAL
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I use the prybars from countycomm.com/. That said, it's really more about the geometry than the size.
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Better is the Enemy of Good Enough. Okay, what’s your point??
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#248957 - 07/24/12 12:33 AM
Re: looking for a tiny prybar/nail puller
[Re: ]
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Geezer in Chief
Geezer
Registered: 08/26/06
Posts: 7705
Loc: southern Cal
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Another countycomm guy....
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Geezer in Chief
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#248960 - 07/24/12 01:29 AM
Re: looking for a tiny prybar/nail puller
[Re: Eugene]
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Crazy Canuck
Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 02/03/07
Posts: 3226
Loc: Alberta, Canada
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Are you hoping to preserve the nails?
If not, you can probably clamp a small pair of vise-grips on them, coming from straight above. It may mar or deform the nail heads, though.
If you want to protect the nails, a tool like a tack puller may be the best. It's basically a flat screwdriver with a slot ground in the middle (you could make your own). Alternately, a small cats-paw nail puller from the hardware store may work.
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#248965 - 07/24/12 02:05 AM
Re: looking for a tiny prybar/nail puller
[Re: Eugene]
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Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 12/26/02
Posts: 2995
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Yes, wanted to keep the nails. The end plug seems to be inside, I can hear it if I shake it. Can't seem to get it out so I'm going to carefully take off this end and get it out then put the end back on.
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#248979 - 07/24/12 06:16 AM
Re: looking for a tiny prybar/nail puller
[Re: Eugene]
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Crazy Canuck
Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 02/03/07
Posts: 3226
Loc: Alberta, Canada
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To satisfy my curiosity: what are we looking at here?
A horn with a brass insert on the end, intended to charge a black powder firearm perhaps?
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#248982 - 07/24/12 12:14 PM
Re: looking for a tiny prybar/nail puller
[Re: Eugene]
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Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 12/26/02
Posts: 2995
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Correct, it is a powderhorn. My grandfather gave me this old rifle and powder horn just before I graduated high school. Now i have the rifle back to useable condition and am working on the rest. There is no plug in the other end and something inside so i'm going to take off the big end and clean it out then put it back on.
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#248984 - 07/24/12 04:48 PM
Re: looking for a tiny prybar/nail puller
[Re: Eugene]
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Member
Registered: 03/29/12
Posts: 189
Loc: California
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I would be concerned that prying with anything against the horn may split it. At the least, prying will probably scar the horn. Maybe it is just best to leave whatever is in there, there.
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#248986 - 07/24/12 05:34 PM
Re: looking for a tiny prybar/nail puller
[Re: Eugene]
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Old Hand
Registered: 01/28/10
Posts: 1174
Loc: MN, Land O' Lakes & Rivers ...
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Old horn is pretty brittle, and I would be afraid that I would crack it if leverage was applied by a nail puller. Better to just pull up on the tack if possible.
I think if I was going to try and remove and save the tacks, I would find a thin hardened steel wire...a strand from light aircraft cable maybe. Work it under the tack like dental floss, loop it around once and pull.....come to think of it, dental floss or fishing line might even work.
Disclaimer: YMMV...I have an old powderhorn to look at, but I have never tried what I just suggested on it.
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The man got the powr but the byrd got the wyng
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#248988 - 07/24/12 06:53 PM
Re: looking for a tiny prybar/nail puller
[Re: Eugene]
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Addict
Registered: 05/04/02
Posts: 493
Loc: Just wandering around.
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I would try to take a peek inside.
Several ways to do that. x-ray pops to mind first. I once knew a veterinarian that had a wonderful curiosity. We would bring him all sorts of stuff and he would x-ray it for us. Great learning experience. Perhaps you can find such a person.
Otherwise, there are a number of industrial fiber optic inspection tools. Might try asking a high tech machine shop or similar if they would take a look for you.
I have had some success in using the camera on my droid for such applications. The bone is probably translucent. Take it outside on a bright day. Put the camera to the opening and shield the camera/horn junction from light. The exposure meter should compensate the exposure.
I think trying to remove the nails would take a conservators skill.
Nomad
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...........From Nomad.........Been "on the road" since '97
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#248993 - 07/24/12 08:02 PM
Re: looking for a tiny prybar/nail puller
[Re: Byrd_Huntr]
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Crazy Canuck
Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 02/03/07
Posts: 3226
Loc: Alberta, Canada
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I think if I was going to try and remove and save the tacks, I would find a thin hardened steel wire...a strand from light aircraft cable maybe. Work it under the tack like dental floss, loop it around once and pull..... Good idea. A guitar string (the high "E") is very strong from a tensile strength point of view. Just don't get a sharp kink in it, that's the failure point. Also, it may help to chill/freeze the powderhorn before attempting to remove the tacks. Brass has a high thermal expansion/contraction coefficient (hence the naval expression "cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey" -- cannon balls, that is). This may loosen the tacks slightly.
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#248994 - 07/24/12 08:10 PM
Re: looking for a tiny prybar/nail puller
[Re: Eugene]
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Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 12/26/02
Posts: 2995
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I can slightly see inside, it looks like a piece of wood, I'm guessing maybe the plug that was in the hole at the other end. I don't think the tacks are brass, if I scrape one its still dull black. I tried a knife blade under but just can't get enough leverage to pry them out. If your interested, this is the rifle
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#249007 - 07/25/12 01:40 AM
Re: looking for a tiny prybar/nail puller
[Re: Eugene]
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Veteran
Registered: 12/14/09
Posts: 1418
Loc: Nothern Ontario
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Looks like you might be able to use small end cut pliers to wiggle that nail out. I would be worried that any side torquing with a pry bar type tool may cause the horn to fracture. At least with the end cut pliers, if you gently grab onto the lip on the head of the nail, there will be no side load torque and less chance of damage as you are pulling the nail directly out.
_________________________
Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.
John Lubbock
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#249008 - 07/25/12 02:18 AM
Re: looking for a tiny prybar/nail puller
[Re: Eugene]
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Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 12/26/02
Posts: 2995
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Good idear. Diagonal cutters pulled it out. Notice the squareness of the nail to give an idea as to the age.
Edited by Eugene (07/25/12 02:18 AM)
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#249009 - 07/25/12 02:37 AM
Re: looking for a tiny prybar/nail puller
[Re: Eugene]
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Veteran
Registered: 12/14/09
Posts: 1418
Loc: Nothern Ontario
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Glad that worked. That is nice rife you have there. Any details on the manufacturer and or the provenance of the rifle? Depending on the value of the rifle, you might not want to do any major restoration on it as it can devalue the rifle. I am not in any way, an expert on antiques but have watched the PBS Antiques Roadshow enough over the years to know about the possible negative impacts of restoration on such items.
_________________________
Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.
John Lubbock
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#249010 - 07/25/12 02:55 AM
Re: looking for a tiny prybar/nail puller
[Re: Eugene]
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Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 12/26/02
Posts: 2995
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It was made by Great Western Gun Works in PA. From what I can find it could be as new as the 1920's or as old as the 1860's. I was in pretty rough shape when I got it. I could have cleaned it up myself but without knowing if it was safe or not. So I took it to a local gunshop who sent it out to their smith who refinished and test fired it.
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#249011 - 07/25/12 03:48 AM
Re: looking for a tiny prybar/nail puller
[Re: Eugene]
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Crazy Canuck
Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 02/03/07
Posts: 3226
Loc: Alberta, Canada
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Glad you got the nails out. Good job. I was surprised they were steel, but I guess at that end it doesn't matter.
Love the rifle. Lordy, do those blackpowder guns kick. Last time I fired one, my shoulder was momentarily in another time zone.
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#249016 - 07/25/12 09:42 AM
Re: looking for a tiny prybar/nail puller
[Re: Eugene]
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Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 12/26/02
Posts: 2995
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This is a small .32 caliber and a heavy rifle so it kicked about as much as a .22
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