My Covid-19 and later projects

[John Fenna]

Project 22
Leather Water Bottle
Cut from scraps of3.5mm Veg tanned leather, saddle sewn with linen thread, wet moulded with sand then hardened and waterproofed with pure bees wax. Cord twisted up from some natural fiber from my stores ... not sure what fiber! Stopper from Hazel with leather Turks Head oiled with Flaxseed oil. Just over 1 pint capacity
.

 

[SaraR]

Project 22
Leather Water Bottle
Cut from scraps of3.5mm Veg tanned leather, saddle sewn with linen thread, wet moulded with sand then hardened and waterproofed with pure bees wax. Cord twisted up from some natural fiber from my stores ... not sure what fiber! Stopper from Hazel with leather Turks Head oiled with Flaxseed oil. Just over 1 pint capacity
.View attachment 59285View attachment 59286

Nice!
Do you coat the inside with beeswax too? How long does it last before you have to reproof it?

 

[John Fenna]

Answers in order
Yes
No idea

 

[Woody girl]

That's realy neat!

 

[John Fenna]

Project 23
Thumbles
Not quite thimbles, not quite sewing palms, not quite thumbstocks - but offering thumb protection when carving or sewing....
Ambidexterous, wet formed, 3.5mm Veg Tanned leather, sewn with artificial sinew, dyed with Eco-Flo dye and treated with home made dubbin.
I am getting really desperate for projects.... no point making stock to sell - will I be making stuff that will not sell using materials that I could have used to replace stuff that is selling well ... if I ever get my stall in operation again? I can't afford to use good materials just to make stuff just to make stuff which may never be used. I do not actually need anything major myself and stuff I would like I do not have all the bits for and with an income based on furlough at 1 day a week I cannot afford to buy luxuries.
So - if I cannot make something from stuff I have in the "Off-cuts and might come in useful" pile - then it ain't getting made!
I like making stuff - but I also like reading and walking - so more of those are getting done at the moment!

 

[mic201m]

another little doodle for you to see

 

[John Fenna]

And so endeth the lockdown projects - I go back to work today!
OK - it is only learning the new procedures ahead of letting the plague ridden hordes of tourists back onto the Iron Age site, pus a bit of maintenance but it is a start. No word as to when the campsite will reopen for my doing the Bushcraft sessions and no chance of getting my craftwork sales up and running yet...
But after I ran out of materials for my projects I turned to fitness training (mainly adding extra walks and cycle rides to my usual daily program) and from only being able to walk one mile, with the aid of a stick, when my knees were at their worst a couple of years back, I have recently managed NINE miles over the course of a day ... on pretty flat terrain, mainly surfaced lanes and tracks - and I have lost a couple more kilos in weight while still putting on a bit of muscle as well!
So - C-19 has not been all bad for me so far!

 

[John Fenna]

OK - work is tailing off after the holiday period and the effects of Covid are still with us... no schools yet booked for visits to the Iron Age Village... so back to covid projects!
Project 24
A tool roll. I bought a cheap set of carving tools - very cheap, second hand... almost given away... so I made them a tool roll...
Upholstery leather bought at the 2019 Moot sewn on a domestic machine.

 

[Barney Rubble]

You sir are an inspiration to us all. Very well done and thanks for sharing all of these wonderful projects. My highlight of the bunch was your Ash whisky cup, I think I'm going to have to try and make one for myself.

 

[John Fenna]

Project 25
Acorn Coffee
It is that time of year again, so I harvested a bag full of (Sessile) Oak Acorns, parboiled them, shelled them, dried them and roasted them and ground them. The one thing I did not do was photograph them!
Here are photos of a previous harvest....

 

[TLM]

Interesting I have never tried that, does your parboiling solution include something else besides water?

 

[John Fenna]

Just water - it is just to make the shells easier to peel but may also reduce the amount of tannin in the nuts...

 

[Broch]

And ....... taste?
I love my coffee.

 

[TLM]

reduce the amount of tannin in the nuts...

This is the reason I asked as tannins are acidic some people use basic chemicals to neutralise them. I am not quite certain it works like that in this case, it would be better to leach them out. Tannins do not have a great taste.

 

[John Fenna]

The coffee tastes OK - but not much like real coffee ... a nice hot drink though!
The big drawback is the lack of caffine!

 

[John Fenna]

Project 26
Dragon Patches
Made from scrap leather, embossed with the Welsh Dragon - a tourist carp Key ring fob only slightly modified...

 

[John Fenna]

Project 26
Gaiters
Made from an old kit bag that had seen better days plus bits I had around.... Proofed with "Fabsil" tent proofing fluid.

 

[John Fenna]

Project 27
Zip pouches
Kit bag leftovers... The small one I waxed with clothing reproofing wax in an effort to hide some stains...

 

[packalot]

hello John, i'm interested in getting into some DIY work somewhat similar to what you've been posting here in this thread and i wonder if you have ever posted info on your sewing equipment. i'm specifically interested in what sewing machine you use and what your thoughts on it might be.

i used to do some basic leather work on an old treadle Singer. you had to help it along fairly frequently but i quite enjoyed it. i do wish i still had access to it but sadly it passed out of the family long ago.

 

[John Fenna]

These days my "go to" sewing machine is just one from Aldi, though I also have a Husquavena "Rose" model (that is pretty worn out) a Toyota Super Jeans for heavier work and a hand cranked Singer which is mainly used in power cuts
All the most recent stuff was done on the Aldi...