the Argobuilder; Craftsmanship, Adventure, Enjoying Life!
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    • Making a SUP Paddle
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    • Nautical Fiction: Book Reviews
    • Seafaring and Boat Building Reference Books
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    • Making Maple Syrup
    • Building a Stone Arch
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    • The Warp and Weft >
      • Making a Large Tapestry Loom
      • Making a Small Hand Loom
      • Weaving Projects for Small Hand Loom
      • Beautiful Handmade Tapestry Beaters
    • The Merry Blacksmith
    • Making Cheese
    • Wooden Cheese Boxes
    • How to Make Pickled Pike
    • Wisconsin Bluegill Fry
    • Making Wooden Spoons by Hand
    • Handmade Wooden Dustpans
    • Making Broom-Corn Brooms
    • Making Horsehair Brushes and Brooms
  • The Muse
    • Poetry
    • Building a Martin Style Backpacker Guitar
    • Making an Alphorn
    • 3D Printed Alphorn
    • Making an Alphorn Bag
    • Alphorn Gallery
    • Viking Lur
    • Antique Typewriters >
      • Underwood Standard Portable 3 Bank Typewriter
      • Corona 3 Folder Typewriter Refurbishment
      • Typewriter Platen Replacement
      • Design of Rubber Parts for Antique Typewriters
  • The Model Maker
    • Making a booknook
    • Krick Alexandra Steam Launch >
      • Assembling Miniature Steam Model Clyde Oscillating Steam Engine
    • Ship Model FD 10 Arnanes Fishing Smack Johanna
    • Artesania Latina, Cargo Ship "Capri"
    • Building a Ship in a Bottle
    • Model of a Disney Water Taxi
    • BlueJacket Optimist Sailboat Model
    • Oseberg Viking Ship Model
    • Paddle to the Sea Model
    • Making a Cuckoo Clock
    • 3D Print Workshop >
      • 3D Printed Object Gallery
  • Tales of Adventure
    • Sailing from Door County to the UP Michigan
    • Sailing Northern Door County
    • Sailing Lake Superior Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
    • Sailing Lake Huron: St.Ignace, Mackinac Island, Les Cheneaux Islands, St Martin Islands
    • From Manitowoc to Algoma and back on a small boat, 2017
    • Sailing around Chambers Island Door County Wisconsin

Alphorn Maker's Showcase

Welcome to a photo gallery of homemade Alphorns!

It takes skills, patience and determination to build an Alphorn!  If you have successfully built an Alphorn and would like to showcase it here, please send photos of your horn, any links to your sites, and info on your location, to [email protected], and I will include it in this gallery.  
Please note that I do reserve the right to decide which words and which photos get posted on this site. Please include your first name and your location so I can update the map. This page is primarily for homemade wooden horns, but I will also post alphorns from professionals if professionals send me photos and descriptions of horns they built themselves.
Drawings and instructions on how I built my Alphorn may be found here

Map of wooden horn builder locations.  Red dots represent locations where the horns on this page were built.  The gallery is up to 8 Alphorns!  

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F Alphorn Built from Sitka Spruce, Built by Jason in Merton, Wisconsin, USA, in 2020.

One-Piece F Alphorn built in Wisconsin USA of Sitka Spruce, with a birdsmouth main trunk construction and traditionally carved bell. Walnut, Cherry, and Hard Maple trim rings.
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Sitka spruce Alphorn, with Black Walnut and Maple trim rings, and with local flower paintings. Wisconsin USA 2020.
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Mouthpiece end of the alphorn, with homemade Black Cherry mouthpiece.

F# Alphorn built by Scott in Green Bay, Wisconsin USA, 2020

Beautiful work, Scott!  The darker stained wrapping matches the bell-ring perfectly and I like the green bell.....maybe you can play it at a Packer Game!  Congrats on your finished product and thanks for sending in the photo.
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Alphorn built by Kelly in Vancouver, Washington, USA, 2021.

This one-of-a-kind Alphorn, with lovely bell painting, was built by Kelly in Vancouver Washington, and is tuned to F.  Great work Kelly and congrats on completing this beautiful instrument.
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Alphorn built by Stephen in Centreville, Virginia, USA, 2021

Congratulations Stephen on this Alphorn that you built with expert woodworking skills and wonderful design creativity. This alphorn is made in segments so that it may be disassembled. It is made of pine with steamed White Oak reinforcements around the sockets where the sections connect. Stephen used birdsmouth joinery for the trunk and also used a new very creative method of building the bell. The bell was made by first building a birdsmouth straight conical bell, then cutting that into wedge cross sections and regluing them together to make a curved bell. Fantastic!! Stephen's alphorn is not wrapped with reed and does not have hardwood rings at the bell-end; this gives it a unique and clean look. Check out this amazing instrument below. Stephen, thanks for sharing photos of your fine creation.
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Stephen with his finely crafted alphorn in Virginia.
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Check out this woodworking mastery! Steam-bent shaker style white oak reinforces the socket connection where the sections connect. Ace work!
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Here is Stephen's alphorn bell in-progress. Tapered , straight, birdsmouth cone.
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Next he cut the straight bell into angled sections that when reassembled formed a curved bell.
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Stephen's alphorn bell glued back together and sanded. I love the creativity and workmanship. Thanks Stephen.

Pine and Fir Alphorn Built by Jason in Wisconsin, USA

This is the second alphorn I built, and the goals of this second horn are: 1. Built in sections for easy transport  2. Lightweight with no wrapping around the outside of the horn  3. Simpler rustic look vs my first one, for example there are knots in the wood, it features a sorghum stalk woven handle, deer antler foot, no hardwood rings on the bell and a some carving marks are left to be seen in the bell.  4. The experiment was to build an alphorn from low cost construction lumber...the wood for this horn cost $59.00.   More details on how I built this horn may be found on my Alphorn building page.
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3D Printed Alphorn, Designed and Made by Jason in Wisconsin USA

Printed in 4 sections, which are assembled using threaded joints.  Alphorn in F.  Made in 2023.
Link to Page on How I Built the 3D ALphorn, including drawings.
3D Printed Alphorn
3D Printed Alphorn
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Alphorn built by Eric in Denver, Pennsylvania, USA

Another new and creative alphorn! This one from the rolling hills of Denver , Pennsylvania.   Denver, Pennsylvania was founded by Swiss immigrants so it is quite fitting to see this fine instrument built there. Use of flame to char and finish the exterior along with leather straps and a bike-sprocket-foot make this a one-of-a-kind masterpiece! Congrats on your project and thanks for sharing.
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Alphorn made by Hartmut in Stuttgart, Germany

Here is a beautiful Alphorn designed and made by Hartmut in Stuttgart, Germany.  Tuned to F, and also note the lovely hand-turned mouthpiece from a cherry tree in Hartmut's garden.  Wonderful!  Hartmut's design includes a brass sleeve connection, allowing the Alphorn to be disassembled.   Inspiring work and thanks for sharing!
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Copyright 2016 - 2024 www.argobuilder.com ALL photos and writing are copyrighted by Jason W Talbot of Wisconsin USA as of the date on the top header section of each page, unless credit is given to others. Contact [email protected] to request permission to use any writing or images from this site. Thanks. Use the information at your own risk, please ​make safety your first priority, the author does not claim responsibility for the accuracy ​or inaccuracy of any information on this site
  • Home
  • The Shipyard
    • Building SCAMP "ARGO"
    • Compac 16 Pilothouse
    • Building a Kaholo SUP
    • Making a SUP Paddle
    • Ships' Provisions
    • True Seafaring Tales: Book Reviews
    • Nautical Fiction: Book Reviews
    • Seafaring and Boat Building Reference Books
  • The Woods of Arcady
    • Wisconsin Mushroom Hunting
    • Wisconsin Wildflower Photo Gallery
    • Making Apple Cider
    • Making Maple Syrup
    • Building a Stone Arch
    • Making Traditional Wooden Skis
  • The Homestead
    • The Warp and Weft >
      • Making a Large Tapestry Loom
      • Making a Small Hand Loom
      • Weaving Projects for Small Hand Loom
      • Beautiful Handmade Tapestry Beaters
    • The Merry Blacksmith
    • Making Cheese
    • Wooden Cheese Boxes
    • How to Make Pickled Pike
    • Wisconsin Bluegill Fry
    • Making Wooden Spoons by Hand
    • Handmade Wooden Dustpans
    • Making Broom-Corn Brooms
    • Making Horsehair Brushes and Brooms
  • The Muse
    • Poetry
    • Building a Martin Style Backpacker Guitar
    • Making an Alphorn
    • 3D Printed Alphorn
    • Making an Alphorn Bag
    • Alphorn Gallery
    • Viking Lur
    • Antique Typewriters >
      • Underwood Standard Portable 3 Bank Typewriter
      • Corona 3 Folder Typewriter Refurbishment
      • Typewriter Platen Replacement
      • Design of Rubber Parts for Antique Typewriters
  • The Model Maker
    • Making a booknook
    • Krick Alexandra Steam Launch >
      • Assembling Miniature Steam Model Clyde Oscillating Steam Engine
    • Ship Model FD 10 Arnanes Fishing Smack Johanna
    • Artesania Latina, Cargo Ship "Capri"
    • Building a Ship in a Bottle
    • Model of a Disney Water Taxi
    • BlueJacket Optimist Sailboat Model
    • Oseberg Viking Ship Model
    • Paddle to the Sea Model
    • Making a Cuckoo Clock
    • 3D Print Workshop >
      • 3D Printed Object Gallery
  • Tales of Adventure
    • Sailing from Door County to the UP Michigan
    • Sailing Northern Door County
    • Sailing Lake Superior Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
    • Sailing Lake Huron: St.Ignace, Mackinac Island, Les Cheneaux Islands, St Martin Islands
    • From Manitowoc to Algoma and back on a small boat, 2017
    • Sailing around Chambers Island Door County Wisconsin