Repairing Conch Shell Horn

[Arking]

Hey all,

So I just got back from my two week vacation to the tropics and got myself my first accessory! I'm not much of an accessory type but I figured I might as well grab one while I was down there, they were only $20 bucks and in great shapes with different sized mouth pieces so I could get one that worked perfectly. Sadly the best sounding Conch I grabbed had some scuffs and broken spines (nothing big really) I decided to grab some polymer clay and give fixing it a try. I didn't grab any before shots (foolish I know) but these progress shots give a good impression of the work that's going into it. Really minor right now but a little sanding, some paint and clear coat should have this shell looking like new!

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[Arking]

Well update the repairs worked just fine I need to sand smooth and glue some of the end caps to the shell more permanently before I move onto painting but I'm really happy with how they've turned out. I'm having a problem finding a good smooth grit sandpaper in my apartment at the moment though so this project may get put to the side for a bit while I finish some other works and try to update my online store.

I've also been reading up on the calcium covered conchs I saw that were only $5 and feel a bit silly as the process to clean them and get them looking shiny and new is quite simple. I did note that several had punctures but with a bit of effort one could seal the puncture and make a pretty good horn.

[Mermaid Joie]

How does one use a conch shell horn? I have a very broken conch I found at tybee Island.

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[Keiris]

I'm just waiting around for the video so we can watch you blow it. ;-)

[Arking]

If you can send me a picture I might be able to help you fix it. Aside from this it's like playing a trumpet really, you need to press your lips together (I find the top over the bottom helps) and create a trumpet like noise with your lips to practice. I kinda thought of it like making elephant noises really, but thats what comes to mind when I do it. So yes, press lips together and blow gently to create a vibration between your lips and a trumpet like noise. Once you've mastered that you press it to the top of the conch and blow and the sound resonates through the chambers inside and trumpets out the open area.

Your conch will likely need to be cut to work properly but you can see how that is done in the photo of mine above. The mouth piece is important and I went through over a dozen finding one that worked for me. Too small and your lips won't vibrate enough, too big and you'll struggle to get the sound to resonate properly. I'll post a measurement of mine up when I'm back from work tonight so you can get an idea of where to cut.

[Arking]

I'm just waiting around for the video so we can watch you blow it. ;-)

Deal

[Arking]

For a quick measurement help though I've placed a quarter over the mouthpiece of mine and it just covers it. So you know the piece must be quite small.

[Mermaid Joie]

My very damaged tybee island shell....
I am not sure it can be made into a horn... so I'll leave that up to you.

I can't hear the ocean in it does this mean my shell phone is broken?...

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[Arking]

My guess is the pits might be causing that problem and would actually be an issue in making it a horn, along with it's size. Being as small as it is you might have to cut even deeper into the crown to get a sizable hole to blow through and by then you'd probably loose a great deal of the shape, so I'd say it's probably not worth trying out.

As for the pits they look fairly consistent throughout the shape. On the plus side of things because the pits are simply pits "repairing" the shell would be as easy as taking baking clay and brushing it over the surface, allowing small amounts to fill each pit and then cleaning the surface of any remaining clay residue before baking. That would fill your pits and leave you with white (or whatever coloured baking clay you have) dots in their place. From there you could do what I've done and create crowns for each of the broken spines using the remaining clay, you could choose to do this after or before you bake the pit spots into the shell. (275 F for 15 minutes).

It's hard to say but it looks like the skin of this shell wasn't fully removed by the time it came into your possession which means you'd probably have to clean it before all of those steps. Some people use a vinegar and water soak to help clean off the calcium buildup but I've read of others using bleach and other calcium/lime (CLR) removing agents that you'd need ventilators and gloves for. I'm not sure I'd want to risk it with your particular shell as any agent looks like it might make the shell even more brittle than it already is. Cleaning it though could bring out more luster and vibrancy. Another good option would be to buff your shell with mineral oil instead of removing the skin. If your shell is quite vibrant under water and dries out bleached the mineral oil will work wonders and give it a bit of a shine.

Lastly the pits you'd be baking into would not be the same colour as the shell around it, so even if you had gone through the effort of cleaning and restoring your shells true luster you'd have to treat the pits to match which gets a little unnatural. Painting and dip dying would probably yield the most accurate results, considering the faded gradient of your shell a dip dye in a natural dye such as indigo or woad may yield decent results, though you could get away with using food coloring. In the case of dip dying however you'd be dying the calcium of the shell as well, so your natural shades of blue/pink would be tinted by the colours you've chosen.

[Mermaid Joie]

That could be kind of cool though.
I don't have to have natural colors. My tail is purple and blue. I could fill the pits with purple clay and dip dye it blue and get a galaxy shell.... ;P

I will probably need to get another one for a legit conch horn though. This might be good practice conch.

I will definitely reference your tutorial later. We need a demonstration video of you blowing the horn!

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[Arking]

Hopefully this works :P

[Arking]

Ugh I watched it again, so embarrassing. Also totally need to colour my hair again. Auburn is a little unbecoming.

[Keiris]

Worth the wait...Adorbs!
And your blowing technique is phenomenal. lol

[Arking]

AWe shucks, thanks. It sounds better in person, the mic on my computer is kinda crud. But I've been practicing since theres different ways to do it to get different sounds. Still learning.

[Keiris]

Looking forward to your upcoming concert.

[Mermaid Joie]

Hopefully this works :P

I laughed! XD but it was because of your facial expressions not because of anything else. Your face is priceless!!! Haha
I attempted to make the same sounds I ended up makimg whale fart noises Hahaha!! XD XD XD

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[Arking]

Yeah I recorded this like 7 times before I found a video that was ok. Hard to do when on the spot let me tell you! When not recording making noise is a breeze.

As for a band, you're not too far off of an accessory idea I was looking into. I was going to sculpt over a flute or two and do some other shell related instruments.

I was thinking a cornett made of a Terebra anilis would be cool.
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Smaller whistles made from shells that hang from necklaces. And a split sharks jaw bone harp.
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