Dragon Protection

[JohnBarton]

What better way to protect $9000 worth of pool cues than with dragon scale armor?

[TroyS]

That's pretty incredible! I really like the whole thing! Great Job... What would something like that cost an average Joe off the streets if you don't mind me asking ...?

[JohnBarton]

That's pretty incredible! I really like the whole thing! Great Job... What would something like that cost an average Joe off the streets if you don't mind me asking ...?

I charged $800 for it.

[RustyMelton]

Cool case. Is that a small storage area under the lid?

[Tina]

Really, really cool.

I love the design but feel sorry for the maker *S* Someone has to have dreams about all those scales:-)

[JohnBarton]

Cool case. Is that a small storage area under the lid?

It is. More like a coin purse size.

[kiwidownunder]

What wonderful job you have done on your bag. A lot of work that is for sure. Very Very creative.

Kiwi.

[rickeyfro]

John, Id really like to take a shot at one of those, does anyone offer a pattern, seems like it would be kinda complicated figuring it out without one. Rick

[JohnBarton]

John, Id really like to take a shot at one of those, does anyone offer a pattern, seems like it would be kinda complicated figuring it out without one. Rick

There is no real set pattern for cue cases. The most basic cue case is the envelope style which is essentially a piece of leather folded over with a flap. You need to put something in to divide the parts from on another.

This case that I have shown is a tube case. Tube cases are defined by having a rigid core surrounded by a leather exterior. There are two types of tube cases, multiple tubes and single tubes. Multiple tube cases are made of a bunch of fabric lined small tubes of generally two diameters for the butt and shafts of the cue. Single tube cases are made of one large tube with a fabric interior making up the dividing compartments.

I build the interior first and then the exterior around it.

To me the most important thing is to protect the cues. How much protection is needed is a subject of debate among cue case makers and users. My personal view on it is that the case should primarily protect against impact and accidental removal and abrasion. On asecdondary level the case should protect against excess moisture and sudden temperature change. So with the in mind I will start with the fabric and makes sure that it is soft and strong and does not absorb moisture. Then I put in a layer of foam rubber to be a cushion. Basically I like the interior to be soft and inviting. One of my customers for another line of cases we make called it like a lovable hug. He even trademarked the phrase to use to describe my interior on his brand of cases.

A lot of beginning cue case makers focus too much on the exterior and neglect the interior in my opinion. My philosophy has always been to perfect the interior (an ongoing process) and build out from the center.

You can find a list of case makers to study at www.jbcases.com at the bottom.

Having said all that there is someone who says they have a pattern for a cue case. I think his business name is Bid Daddy leather or something like that. I don't know whether the pattern is any good or not. I am not going to release any of ours right now because we worked hard to get the measurements right and I need to have some secrets :-)

Here is a good place to start if you want to go straight to the top of the envelope case style www.jacksandsaps.com

[DarkDreamsLeather]

That is a hella lot of work right there!!

[TomBanwell]

Beautiful work!

[JohnBarton]

Beautiful work!

Thank you and can I say that you are responsible for me spending several hours of my life at your website(s) last year marveling at the creations you bring to life?

[Arturo]

John:

That is truely sweet! I really think $800 is way too cheap for that much work and level of detail.

Arturo

[Cyrex]

Very cool case John. I really like how you 'hid' the back panel by sewing along the lines of the scales. Very unique look and you keep coming up with the coolest little features. I loved Chris's case with the JP pocket! That was genius. Thanks for always thinking out of the box. It's a big inspiration. ~R

[Fonzarellis]

I'm a dragon buff but a beginner when it comes to leathercraft. I was fooling around the other day with this and there is a vast difference between scales for fish, snakes and lizards. Since dragons are essentially a big lizard I was looking into this first. Surfing around here and on teh internet I found several samples and even tutorials for raised dragon scales by undercutting the point of each scale with an exacto knife then rolling the leather to make the scales sort of stand up. I had to give this a try so I found a pattern online, did a screen capture, scaled it to several different sizes then printed it out on some vellum. Transfered, cut and beveled each scale, used a lined shader and a decorative cut, then did the under cutting.

Here are the results...

No undercutting

with undercutting

I really was not satisfied with the result and will probably end up with some of the more high end tools suggested in the posts above for making dragon scales in the future. I did continue to experiment and end up with much different results using some of the more common tools.

This was a small piece of scrap for doodles with the basic 6431 camoflage tool on one end and the 6855 mulefoot on the other.

Not sure if I used the camoflage tool correctly but the result looks more like the scales you might see on a carp or some other large fish. ( Disregard the oak leaf doodles in the center, I was practicing with my el cheapo Tandy swivel knife after some sharpening and honing.)

The mulefoot seems to yeild some very good results. I used a 6910 lined triagular shaped figure carving tool to add some lines but ended up following that with a lined shader and some decrative cuts. These look more like nonvenomous snake scales to me. Lizard and dragon scales woould be more pointed at the ends. Gonna need those other tools for that though. Fun to play around with for now.