leather cup?

[British Red]

Those or the pewter ones mate - which are actually The Balliol fours rowing trophies from 1876 and 78. Hold a nice drop though

Gailanne - the chalice is turned from Thuja burl (I think) cost me £5 from a flea market

Pignut - I may be able to lay hands on some wax - I'll ask the bee bloke - enough to dip could be horrible dear though - a small block is £2 - do you really want that much - or say a fag packet sized block to brush on?

Red

 

[Pignut]

Those or the pewter ones mate - which are actually The Balliol fours rowing trophies from 1876 and 78. Hold a nice drop though

Gailanne - the chalice is turned from Thuja burl (I think) cost me £5 from a flea market

Pignut - I may be able to lay hands on some wax - I'll ask the bee bloke - enough to dip could be horrible dear though - a small block is £2 - do you really want that much - or say a fag packet sized block to brush on?

Red

Mmmm not sure on size!

will let you know!

 

[Pignut]

I presume you use veg tan leather for this,

I thought to harden the cup it was dipped in moulton beeswax? this will seal and harden the Leather all in one go?

HELP! I seem not to know what to do!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Grooveski]

Atlantis arts sell beeswax(Page 203). I've mail ordered things from them a few times and had good, quick service.
http://www.atlantisart.co.uk/

 

[Pignut]

Atlantis arts sell beeswax(Page 203). I've mail ordered things from them a few times and had good, quick service.
http://www.atlantisart.co.uk/

Nice one!

Can anyone tell me if I am supposed to be hardening it in moulton beeswax?

 

[British Red]

I'm fairly sure BArdster has done some mate - might be worth a PM

 

[Grooveski]

Tips and a link from Bardster here(link on post 10).
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community/showthread.php?t=9790

Only tip I could give would be keep the temp down. I deep fried a sheath before learning that one . Next time I tried it I melted the wax then allowed it to start setting again before putting it over a very small flame and keeping it just over the melting point. Done some belts and wee bit's and bobs and they came out great.

 

[Gailainne]

From that Hide bound site "Brewers pitch is acceptable in contact with consumable liquids when the contact is transitory, as ale and wine normally is, at least in leather tankards as used by us!!

Historically either boiled birch tree sap or bees’ wax would have been used."

MIght be a viable alternative, and free as well at this time of year

 

[ESpy]

Tiffers over on BB has recommended using black gloss radiator paint rather than pitch in the past. Non-toxic, remains slightly flexible and doesn't dissolve at the first touch of something with a more exciting alcohol content.

Added - may have misremembered things - definitely gloss, definitely black - and childproof, so no unpleasant toxins. I think I'll see what Japlac does in terms of flexibility.

 

[Eric_Methven]

Can anyone tell me if I am supposed to be hardening it in moulton beeswax?

Molten beeswax yes, but you don't need to dip it. Get enough beeswax to half fill it. Put the wax in a pot and set that pot in another larget pot of water. Boil the water on a stove or campfire and keep it going until the wax completely melts in the inner pot. Warm your tankard, either near the fire or in an oven set on low heat. Wear rubber gloves and use an oven glove on top of that for safety - hold the tankard and pour hot beeswax into it. Swill it round the inside gently for a minute or so then tip it back out into the pot again. You'll notice a layer of fairly thick wax on the inside as it cools and sets - nowt to worry about.
Take an old, but clean paint brush, or a pastry brush and dip it in the pot of wax. Hold the tankard over it and carefully paint the outside with molten wax. It will probably set hard on contact. Once you have the outside painted, remove the wax from the stove and set it aside.
Next, you have to get the wax to impregnate the leather. You do this by placing the tankard back in the oven and letting it re-melt. Please, please use a baking tray beneath it otherwise you'll end up with an oven covered in beeswax that'll stink every time you put the oven on.
Place the tankard on the baking tray and put it in the oven for ten minutes or so. Keep checking it and when all the yellow opaque wax has melted back to transparent, remove from the oven an wipe over with a soft cloth or kitchen towel to remove the excess wax. The tankard will now be impregnated with wax both from the inside and outside. You may get slight leakage from the stitching round the bottom, in which case brush molten wax round the joint with a small artist's bruh to seal it.
When you take the tankard out of the oven it will be hot. It will also be fairly soft until the wax sets, so now is the time to check it for final shape an make any minor adjustments so it's nice and round at the top, and the handle isn't bent or anything.

Hope this helps mate,

Eric

 

[Pignut]

Molten beeswax yes, but you don't need to dip it. Get enough beeswax to half fill it. Put the wax in a pot and set that pot in another larget pot of water. Boil the water on a stove or campfire and keep it going until the wax completely melts in the inner pot. Warm your tankard, either near the fire or in an oven set on low heat. Wear rubber gloves and use an oven glove on top of that for safety - hold the tankard and pour hot beeswax into it. Swill it round the inside gently for a minute or so then tip it back out into the pot again. You'll notice a layer of fairly thick wax on the inside as it cools and sets - nowt to worry about.
Take an old, but clean paint brush, or a pastry brush and dip it in the pot of wax. Hold the tankard over it and carefully paint the outside with molten wax. It will probably set hard on contact. Once you have the outside painted, remove the wax from the stove and set it aside.
Next, you have to get the wax to impregnate the leather. You do this by placing the tankard back in the oven and letting it re-melt. Please, please use a baking tray beneath it otherwise you'll end up with an oven covered in beeswax that'll stink every time you put the oven on.
Place the tankard on the baking tray and put it in the oven for ten minutes or so. Keep checking it and when all the yellow opaque wax has melted back to transparent, remove from the oven an wipe over with a soft cloth or kitchen towel to remove the excess wax. The tankard will now be impregnated with wax both from the inside and outside. You may get slight leakage from the stitching round the bottom, in which case brush molten wax round the joint with a small artist's bruh to seal it.
When you take the tankard out of the oven it will be hot. It will also be fairly soft until the wax sets, so now is the time to check it for final shape an make any minor adjustments so it's nice and round at the top, and the handle isn't bent or anything.

Hope this helps mate,

Eric

Eric!

You are a true star!

Just what I wanted!

 

[Bardster]

Here's a pic of one of my basic tankards before sealing
http://crafts.probetech.co.uk/images/leather/thumbcup.jpg
it holds about a pint 1/4.
And heres a pic of a 1/2 pint beqaker after sealing with beeswax
http://crafts.probetech.co.uk/images/leather/cup finished.jpg
and some more leather/waxed goods here http://crafts.probetech.co.uk/darkage.html
inc a very large bucket

In fact i could do a workshop for these at the next moot if any one is interested?

 

[Gailainne]

Remember I said my father had one, I talked to him about it last night and he dug it out for me, its in a bit of a sorry state, so any tips for reconditioning it would be welcome.

[/IMG]

It creaks alarmingly if you squeeze the top so I was thinking if I put some warm water in it I could at least get it a bit more round, what do you think ?

Stephen

 

[British Red]

I'd hate t mislead you, so I suggest PMing Bardster who is the leathermeister when it comes to bottles and flagons - or Eric who is also pretty damn knowledgeable!

Red

 

[Eric_Methven]

Without actually seeing it, I'd say paint the outside with fresh beeswax and pop it in the oven at around 200*F for ten minutes or so. It looks like it's lined with brewers pitch and the heat of the oven should soften it enough to reshape it. It'll also let the fresh beeswax soak into the fabric of the leather from the outside.

Alternatively, leave it as it is and use it to make a pattern for a new one (which is what I would do.)

It's a nice tankard,and the patina is wonderful. You'll lose that if you muck about with it.

Eric

 

[Gailainne]

Thanks guys

Eric I really want to leave the outside as is, I just want to reform the lip into a more circular shape.

The inside is coated with a substance which feels tacky to the touch, buts leaves no residue on your fingers, it also seems to have been applied in two layers, a thin layer which reaches to the the lip, and a thicker layer which reaches perhaps two thirds of the way up, presumable this is the brewers pitch ?

I'll have a think

Stephen