How To Make A Conch Shell Horn, it's a great way to sound off!!!!

[Mizznewbooty018]

how far do you drill? im not sure if i made a mistake.. cause sometimes i just hear air and sometimes it does work but for some reason not everytime,,

[doneaster]

@Mizznewbooty018 Once you have sawed off the end of the shell, you only have to drill just enough to get through the flat area where the saw went through. Then you should use a Dremel Tool or a file to enlarge the hole to about the diameter of a dime. Be careful and don't drill too deep or the horn may not blow. In the unfortunate case where you accidently drilled too deep, there is another option you could possibly repair the horn by installing the mouthpiece from a trumpet into the hole.

[rickbeach23]

Hi Don. I don’t know if what I am looking for even exists, but I thought you would be a good one to ask. I need to find, or build an electronic simulator for a conch shell horn. My idea is to mount a conch shell (my wife wants to gold leaf it) on a stand/box. The box would contain some device that sounds like a conch shell horn when a button is pressed. Any ideas or direction on this project would be greatly appreciated. it is to be an auction item for an upcoming Alzheimer's benefit. Thanks

[doneaster]

No Alan, I've never tried to cut a helmut conch but I'm sure that with the right hacksaw blade it could be done, without breaking too many blades. The number of teeth per inch is what determines the cutting ability of the blade, it would be a matter of experimentation to determine which blade would cut a helmut conch the best. Thanks for watching and commenting on my video. Conch Shells are wonderful sounding instruments aren't they?

Don

[georgekaneohe]

Don, thanks for the video -- I found it very helpful. Have you tried cutting a helmet conch? I went through 2 hack saw blades before switching to my 14" chop saw w/ abrasive blade. My dremel did wonders after that in being able to carve a nice hole. I used the bit that looks like a drill bit, but cuts on the sides as well as the ends and has a guide to help control it. -Alan

[doneaster]

Kruegs8, Yes you can use the conch shells that has the hole where the conch was removed howeve,r be prepared to cover the hole with something and be careful not to get any material inside that might block the passages or it may not sound too good, That's why I prefer using the ones that haven't had the conch commercially removed. They sound better and are easier to work with.

[a3886]

i have a nice horn that i like and you can see where that little hole was punched in the side to get at the conch - the spot is just covered up with what looks like wood putty. it may have some kind of detrimental effect on the overall resonance / niceness of the tone, but it's certainly not unplayable and i quite like the tone i'm able to get out of it sometimes. so there's that option. thanks so much for this vid, i've got another little shell i want to make a horn out of and this is perfect

[Kruegs8]

Can i use one that has a hole where the conch was removed or not?

[Msskywatcher8]

thank you doneaster,for the great vid,i agree blacklungsjoe is very talented. been making shell horns for about a year now,have used 5 kinds of shells successfully.inspired by the narly 11+inch helmet conch horn that granddad brought back from the indies

[blacklungsjoe]

Don! i pulled my material togethere and posted a 'how to' vid today. it's in three parts, i hope you glean something from it. Thanks for all the motivation to do so.

[blacklungsjoe]

Thanks for the recogntion Don. i'm happy to hear you can make the horn with a hacksaw. I had no idea. Opens up a lot of possibilties for me. I will no longer be limited to shells with pre cut holes. Regarding the instruct vid, i will make haste to get it online. I have thought about what material i'm gonna cover and it should'nt take me too long, so I'll sttop procrastinating. Wish me luck in my pursuit to get on America's got talent. I've been trying really hard recently to spread my art.

[doneaster]

Yes Matt,

I've found that I can consistently create good sounding horns from different Conch Shells by using a Hack Saw to cut off the end to make the sound hole. However it's best to avoid the Conch Shells that have had the Conch removed by cutting a hole in the side of the shell in order to remove the Conch.

[jeffaquarius]

good informative video..i think i might make one for me too :)