Tutorial Repeat: Waxed leather drinking flask.

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Hibrion

Maker
Jan 11, 2012
1,230
7
Ireland
That looks great. I'm going to have to try this. Have you any idea how much wax I might need for the dipping method?
 
J

janeleonard

Guest
Love the tutorial. Probably one should be an expertise to some extent while trying these.
 

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
2,664
McBride, BC
Very well written and illustrated tutorial.

Find a bee-keeper. Our local one sells both honey and blocks of bee's wax (very clean, too) in the Farmer's Markets in the summers.
I save the stumps of artisan hand crafted bee's wax candles. Melt into blocks in a hot water bath.

My next wood carving project is a dish which needs to be particularly waterproof.
Hoping to apply melted bee's wax to oven warm wood then back into the oven for a couple of minutes.
So glad you've done that kind of thing. I don't believe that my dish will wrinkle.

For years, I've used an oven heat treatment to put the oil finish on the kitchen prep tools = spoons and forks.
It cannot be washed out.
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,937
4,570
S. Lanarkshire
Eric, that is such a good tutorial :D :notworthy:

Greensurfingbear, You can do it by using a cheap pan (£1 from poundstore) and a microwaveable jug or pot (£store again)

What you need to do is put the pot on a worktop and line it and overline it with an opened up bin bag. That becomes your 'catch' area for the wax.
You can't dip the whole piece with this method but you can pour and wipe the wax with this method.

The wax goes into the microwave and is melted in bursts of power (£store again, buy a cheap set of stainless steel utensils) stirred (and it's easier if you grate the beeswax first, though Midfords sell pelleted wax very reasonably that makes life easy) and then spooned or poured over the warmed leather above the plastic covered pot. Run off mostly ends up in the pot and the splashes will cool on the plastic and can be flexed off and dropped into the catch pot too.

It's a lot messier but for a £3 outlay and a bit of patience, it works and it cleans up tidily when it's all cooled.

Don't try to do it without a plastic wax catch, over the sink…..I totally blocked the ubend doing that :eek: :eek:.
HWMBLT still looks at me with concern when he sees me melting wax :rolleyes:

Midfords…Ikg beeswax pellets, 12.90, delivered.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pure-Bees...Candle_SoapMaking_EH&var=&hash=item3a996f33f5

M
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,937
4,570
S. Lanarkshire
Why ? It's just spoon the hot wax over it, let it drip off into the pot, buff up and then tidy up the wax splashes from the plastic sheet when it's all cool.

We also use the oven to soak wax into courrans…..bit of wax inside the shoes and then pop them into a cool oven. The wax melts and soaks into the shoes. Just mind that it's a cool oven and not to cook the leather.

You could go to the car boots and buy a big stock pot there for a few pounds, or an old jam making pan. I buy them for dyeing.
Needs an awful lot of beeswax to fill one up though.

M
 
This looks like a very interesting project. Is my assumption that the groover and stitch wheel are just for neatness, labour saving and reducing the chances of mucking it up correct? Leather work isn't something I've done before so, unless my local makerspace or similar has them, I'll be going with minimal tools for the time being.

Would something like this be fine for the holes? https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01FW19...lid=1QJL7ORFJV7PB&coliid=I2NO86LCSLDTP1&psc=1
 

bushcraftinferno

New Member
Mar 24, 2022
1
0
18
uk
How do i see the photos? they are just small icons on my laptop, im clicking them but its sending me to another tab and asking me to pay for an app.
 

Mesquite

It is what it is.
Mar 5, 2008
27,802
2,892
62
~Hemel Hempstead~
How do i see the photos? they are just small icons on my laptop, im clicking them but its sending me to another tab and asking me to pay for an app.
Unfortunately you can't due to Erics photos being hosted through Photobucket. They blocked public sharing of your pictures quite a while ago unless you paid for a premium account.

That action sadly lead to the loss of thousands of pictures on lots of forums.
 

SCOMAN

Life Member
Dec 31, 2005
2,583
452
53
Perthshire
I think I might have the original post saved. It inspired me to get into leather work but I never got round to making one. I’ll have a hunt at the weekend
 
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Stew

Bushcrafter through and through
Nov 29, 2003
6,446
1,284
Aylesbury
stewartjlight-knives.com
Unfortunately you can't due to Erics photos being hosted through Photobucket. They blocked public sharing of your pictures quite a while ago unless you paid for a premium account.

That action sadly lead to the loss of thousands of pictures on lots of forums.

I think there was a workaround for the blocker. Maybe an extension in Firefox or chrome?
 

SCOMAN

Life Member
Dec 31, 2005
2,583
452
53
Perthshire
No I couldn't find it. I found the knotted bracelet tutorial and sheath tutorial. I was positive I saved the flask and the bamboo bow tutorial.
 

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