Tutorial on Mug Making

[Angster]

Ok, a while back (yeesh, has it been a yearnow?), I said that I would put together a tutorial on my method on makingmugs. Finally got everything together, so here it is.

I've got over 25 photos to go with the tutorial, so I'm going to be breaking itinto several sections. As I'm not good at organization, I don't have aparts/tools list, so it would probably help to go through the entire tutorialto see what I'm doing, then you can figure out what you'll need if you want totry to make a mug yourself. Oh, on an off note, this is just how I doit. Don't hesitate to change some of my steps to fit the way you dothings. Let's get started.

Forming the Base

To form the base, I use a 3 inch diameter PVC dohickey (I think it's supposed to fit in a floor drain, the screw holes were for the metal screen top) and a 4 inch hose clamp. The leather doesn't have to be too think. I'm pretty sure the leather I use is 6-8oz. Anyway, soak the leather a while until all the bubbles have been released and the leather is fairly moldable (moldible? moldy?).

Push the leather down over the PVC until you can fit the hose clamp down flush over the top of the whole mess.

As you tighten the hose clamp, you may need to shove and push the leather around a bit to make sure you don't have any crinkles under the clamp. Sometimes I'll undo the hose clamp just to be able to push it down again and get a better grip on things.

When you can finally get the hose clamp tightened all of the way down, you'll have something like this.

Ok, you're done with the base for now, so set it aside to dry.

Making the Mug Barrel

For the barrel of the mug, I will use slightly heavier leather, usually 8-10oz. The dimensions are 6 inches high by 12 inches long. Note: The dimensions I'm using are for a base formed on a 3 inch PVC dohickey. If you use another diameter, you'll have to adjust the length of the barrel. I'm in the middle of making a pirate mug for this tutorial. As you are waiting for the base to dry, you can tool/stamp/paint the barrel however you'd like. You will be trimming approximately an inch from the length of the barrel (it will make sense a little further on, trust me), so keep that in mind while tooling/stamping/painting/whatever.

Preparing to Stitch the Barrel

I put this picture here instead of the first section because some of my points pertain more to this section. Look at the bottom of where the hose clamp marks are. The bottom of the barrel is going to line up here, which is actually fairly easy to accomplish, as that line is a crease that the barrel leather is going to rest against. Oh, also at this point, you may want to trim the excess down a bit from the base. Don't cut up past where the hose clamp marks are, however. Again, the whole trimming point will make sense in just a second...

This is just a personal preference, but I will edge bevel the top edge of the barrel, on the outside only. You can fiddle with this to see what you like best.

Next, you will want to skive the inside of the bottom edge of the barrel, about half of the thickness of the leather and about as high as the base (the portion of the base that was covered by the hose clamp). Again, this is optional, but stitching through 1 1/2 thicknesses of leather by hand is easier than stitching though 2 full thicknesses of leather. WARNING: If you do this, make sure you're skiving the BOTTOM edge! Yes, I have skived off the top edge before...

Now, wrap the barrel around the base, getting it fairly snug. mark the leather at the two points where the ends meet. This will help you figure out how much you'll need to trim.

What you will want to end up with is a 1 inch overlap. MATH WARNING!!! Measure the amount of overlap you marked on the barrel (I measure both ends and average the results if I'm a bit off). Then subtract 1 inch, and the result is how much leather you'll need to trim off. ARTISTIC WARNING!!! If you have not tooled the barrel, or it's a repeated stamped design, you'll not need to worry as much about which side you trim down. However, if you tooled a design in the barrel and you want it to face out properly when holding the mug by the handle, you may need to trim a bit off from each end. I wish I could give you a definite method to achieve this every time, but I'm still guessing and fitting it each time I make a mug, so you're kind of on your own, sorry. FINAL WARNING: Make sure your math leaves you with a 1 inch overlap! There's been a couple of times I've trimmid a barrel down only to watch the ends line up, not overlap. Kind of hard to recover from that goofup.

Now that all of the math is finished, and you've marked where you're going to trim, cut off the edges of the barrel until you have the correct length.

Check the fit again by wrapping the barrel around the base again. The amount of overlap should be about 1 inch. NOTE: The 1 inch rule is not a hard, fast rule. I go with 1 inch because it seems to give enough overlap that the seam is not prone to bending/flexing which would crack the lining. Also, 1 inch is the width I make my handles, so the stitching lines up with the handle pretty well.

When you have the overlap to the right size, skive the edges down. This will keep the thickness of the barrel fairly even at 1 thickness the entire circumference of the mug. I skive the outside edge on one side, then the inside edge on the other.

To make stitching so much easier, I just glue the barrel closed, lining up where I skived the edges. I've been asked whether the glue would be bad if you're actually going to drink out of the thing. I honestly can't say no way, but consider this. The leather mug will be completely saturated with beeswax, then the inside coated with a mixture of beeswax/brewer's pitch, so there's very little chance of that happening. But, go with what you're comfortable with.

That's the end of this section... With the next section, we will stitch up the mug barrel, attach the handle and base.

[CitizenKate]

Thanks for the great post, Angster! This needs to be pinned...

Kate

[Angster]

Ok, we've gotten our base formed, our barrel tooled/stamped/painted, then trimmed to size and ready for stitching. Let's forge on ahead!

Stitching the Barrel

We are going to stitch two lines down the overlap, on each side to hold the edges. I will lightly scribe a line parallel to the outside edge, that would be just inside the inside edge (if that makes any sense). So, for math geeks, if the overlap is 1 inch wide, I'll scribe the line 7/8 inch from the outer edge. That will place the stitch line 1/8 inch inside of the inside edge (ok, I seem to be making it even more confusing).

I use an overstitch wheel and hand awl to punch my holes in the leather. I also use a stitching awl for the barrel. You don't have to, and if you have small hands, you can easily (well, easier than I could) use a saddle stitch for the side. But as the second picture is trying to show, using the stitching awl makes it a bit easier to stitch down the sides.

Now is the time to put on the handle. I will strap a 1 inch wide piece of leather, and edge bevel both sides, front and back. Makes for a more comfortable handle. After bevelling the edges, I'll skive the edge (grain side) where the top of the handle is going to be. Finally, I'll glue the skived bit to the mug barrel, over the stitched lines.

This picture shows the top of the handle after it is stitched on. I just eyeball where the stitches are going to go. I also stitch the box instead of just a line across, since the box seems to make the handle just a bit sturdier.

Sorry about the fuzzy picture. The next step is to pull the handle down to the bottom of the barrel, forming out the handle to your preference. Trim off the handle and skive the handle leather at this end (flesh side). Then glue it down, punch some more holes and stitch. The picture shows that to stitch first. After that is done, you can glue the base into the barrel, set your stitch line, and poke yet another set of holes to stitch (don't fret, you're almost done with stitching!).

Yet another fuzzy picture, but you should be able to see the finished stitching.

Finally, now is the time when you can trim off the excess from the base. The reason I waited until now is that the bottom of the barrel is level, and it's pretty easy to trim the base to match the barrel, as opposed to trimming the base, trying to match it up with the bottom of the barrel, and keeping it lined up while stitching. How I trim off the excess is with a nice sharp box-cutter. The blade is thick enough that it doesn't flex, and by going around several times, I can carefully trim the base and end up with a nice clean bottom (of the mug!).

We now are ready to wax and seal...

Wax On, Wax Off, Grasshopper

Now... I have my own crockpot (don't go grabbing one from your wife, you'll get in trouble) where I keep probably 7-10 pounds of beeswax ready. The reason is that I do a lot of mugs, and this is much, much easier. Let the crockpot melt the wax then place the mug into the melted wax. You'll see it bubles up a lot like when you dunk it in water. You can use that as kind of a meter on how long to leave the leather in the wax. If your level is like mine in the picture, you'll need to roll the mug over, so the other side can get waxed. Bamboo skewers are your friend at this point. Back to the bubbles. I don't leave the leather in until all the bubbles have stopped. WARNING: If you do the crock pot method, keep a close eye on it, because you can actually heat up the wax to its flash point.

Some facts on beeswax. It's melting point is 144 to 147 degrees Farenheit (62 - 64 degrees Celsius). It's flash point is 400 degrees Farenheit (204 Celsius). There is no reported autoignition temperature, but I wouldn't want to get near enough to test. I've actually forgotten how long I had my crock pot on and melted/burned a piece of leather I was trying to harden. Stealing my wife's candy thermometer, I found out that my crock pot had heated the beeswax to around 375 degrees Farenheit. NOT GOOD!!! So, again, if you use a crock pot to melt beeswax, be very careful!!!

Now, if you're not interested in having a crockpot full of beeswax sitting around your place, you can paint the wax on. Melt some beeswax in a double boiler (mine is an old pot and an empty bean can). Get a cookie sheet with edges (jelly roll pan?) and line it several times with aluminum foil. Set your oven on its lowest setting (make sure it's under 200 degrees), let it preheat, then stick your mug in there. You can do this as you start melting the wax. With the leather warm, you can brush the melted wax on the flesh side of the leather, and the leather will 'suck' up the wax (it's pretty cool to watch). You'll need to do this several times, so stick the leather back in the oven, and wait a couple of minutes. You'll do this until you see the wax 'weeping' out the grain side of the leather (if you've painted the outside, it may not weep, so brush the last coat of wax over the paint, and you should be good). This has great potential for messiness, so be careful, and put down paper everywhere that the wax may go.

Get the mug out of the leather, and wipe off the excess wax with paper towels (it will take at least 2, maybe 3 or 4 towels to do this, so have a lot handy). Don't worry about the inside of the mug, we'll be doing more with that.

Sealing the Mug

Here shows the mug sealed. I probably needed to have more pictures of the process here, but I was in a hurry. If there are enough questions or requests, I'll post some more pictures of this portion. You'll see my double boiler here. The old pot is at the very top edge of the picture, and the old tin can is the other part. The mixture in the double boiler is roughly a 50/50 mix of beeswax and brewer's pitch. After it is all melted, I take the tin can out of the pot, dry it off, and pour the mixture into the mug. I then set down the tin can and take the mug. I slowly pour the mixture back into tin can, rotating the mug as I do, so that the mixture coats all sides of the mug. I usually start around the stitched seam and end up over the seam. I do this three times, going in opposite directions each time. This helps to create an even coat all the way around the inside of the mug.

After you seal the inside of the mug, check for dribbles of the sealing mixture that may have leaked out somewhere. In the picture, I had one stitch hole that hadn't sealed completely when I waxed the leather.

This is something that I just started doing. After the beeswax/brewer's pitch mixture has started to cool down, I scrape off the top of the mug. The rim of the mug, if you left the wax/pitch mixture is a magnet for lint and such. And since we wax-saturated the leather, you really don't need that stuff on the rim. To scrape off the wax, I use a bamboo skewer. After I get the majority scraped off, I can clean up the outer edge, then with a wet fingertip, I can smooth out the inner edge.

Final touchups... Burnish the inside of the handle. The waxed leather makes for a fairly rough flesh side to the leather, but it smooths down easily.

OK, you're done!!!

[hivemind]

This is a solid tutorial. Can we get this pinned?

[Urshag]

I have a couple of questions about this.

1. I know the tutorial said to use the bubbles as a guide for how long to leave the mug in the wax. But could someone suggest an average time?
2. Does the soaking in the wax make the leather stiff like I've heard boiling does?

Any information would be appreciated!

Thanks!

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Curious as to how much flex you have making the handle "flat" as opposed to "on edge"? Most of the mugs I have see the handle was laminated, and on edge for stiffness.

[Urshag]

I have a couple of questions about this.

1. I know the tutorial said to use the bubbles as a guide for how long to leave the mug in the wax. But could someone suggest an average time?
2. Does the soaking in the wax make the leather stiff like I've heard boiling does?

Any information would be appreciated!

Thanks!

Well I just found out the answer to one of my questions. I've read online that the wax process does indeed harden the leather. So we can assume the handle stays stiff after the soaking in the wax.

Now if I could just find something that mentions an average time to leave the leather in the melted wax....

[Angster]

How long to keep the mug in the wax

Since I keep the beeswax in a double boiler, I don't keep as close of an eye on it as if I was using a double boiler. So, when I'm ready to saturate the leather, all I usually know is the wax is melted.

That said, there can be quite a difference level in temperature of the melted wax. If it is just at the melting point, it actually won't seep into the leather, just kind of form a waxy coat on the surface. If the wax is too hot, you have the chance to actually boil the leather (turns into some kind of waxy pork cracklin' nightmare).

So... I will usually take a scrap of leather (usually the tag end from the handle I cut off) and stick it into the wax to see what the temperature is like before submerging the mug in the wax. This gives me an idea of how long I'm going to leave the mug in the wax.

Now, to the easy answer you were hoping for. I'll leave the leather in for about 20 seconds. This is if the wax is around the boiling point of water (what you'd have using a double-boiler).

Does soaking leather in hot wax make it stiff

Yeah. Almost as hard as plastic. It will soften up if it gets hot (like sitting in a closed up car in the middle of summer). But at room temperatures, it's pretty hard. (Leather poker chips saturated in wax are really cool... Sound almost the same as casino chips clunking on the table)

Will the handle be stiff enough

As to the stiffness of the handle. I've had handles that still had some flex in them after waxing. This was due to either using too thin of leather or using the 'soft' leather at the edges of the side.

What I've started to do to get around this issue is to double up the leather on the handle. Just take two layers of leather and glue them flesh sides together. Oh, and as I glue them together, I start forming the curve the handle will have at the end. This keeps the inside layer of leather smooth. Another benefit to having the two layers of leather is all you have to burnish is the edges. There is no flesh side that needs to be slicked down.

Edited September 30, 2010 by Angster

[Urshag]

How long to keep the mug in the wax

Since I keep the beeswax in a double boiler, I don't keep as close of an eye on it as if I was using a double boiler. So, when I'm ready to saturate the leather, all I usually know is the wax is melted.

That said, there can be quite a difference level in temperature of the melted wax. If it is just at the melting point, it actually won't seep into the leather, just kind of form a waxy coat on the surface. If the wax is too hot, you have the chance to actually boil the leather (turns into some kind of waxy pork cracklin' nightmare).

So... I will usually take a scrap of leather (usually the tag end from the handle I cut off) and stick it into the wax to see what the temperature is like before submerging the mug in the wax. This gives me an idea of how long I'm going to leave the mug in the wax.

Now, to the easy answer you were hoping for. I'll leave the leather in for about 20 seconds. This is if the wax is around the boiling point of water (what you'd have using a double-boiler).

Thanks for the tutorial and the detailed reply! I do have a question, I was planning on heating the wax for the initial soaking in a crock pot, not a double boiler. Will that make a difference? Also, do you have any pictures of your finished mugs? I'd love to see them!

Edited September 30, 2010 by Urshag

[Jason Austin]

Hey Urshag,

Regarding the crockpot method. I find it works great but I don't try melting the wax in it. It takes about 7-8 lbs to fill my crockpot and I estimate that would take about 2 days to melt on high! So I use a camp stove with an old pot to melt the wax in small batches and fill the crockpot. With the crock on high it keeps the wax at a nice temp. Too hot to handle when removed but not boiling. Makes the mugs nice and stiff.

After your wax has solidified in your crock you can actually turn the whole thing upside down and turn it on for a while. The wax will melt around the outside and the whole giant thing will fall out. Then you can chop that up for remelting later.

Good Luck,

Jason

[Angster]

Thanks for the tutorial and the detailed reply! I do have a question, I was planning on heating the wax for the initial soaking in a crock pot, not a double boiler. Will that make a difference? Also, do you have any pictures of your finished mugs? I'd love to see them!

Yes, it will make a difference, of a sort... Both methods will heat wax past the melting point of wax. However, the double boiler will get the wax up to around water's melting point, then pretty much keep it there. A crock pot will keep heating wax beyond that point. DANGER, DANGER. You will need to keep an eye on the crock pot to make sure the wax doesn't get too hot. Not sure, but I think if you just left it, you could get the temperature past the flash point of wax. My crock pot has several temperature settings. I'll start on high, wait for the wax to melt, then turn the crock pot to low. This slows down how quickly the wax gains temperature. You may want to buy a candy thermometer to keep track of the heat of the wax. Keep it around 200 and you should be fine.

Look for the thread 'My Take on Leather Mugs'. I have pictures of some of my mugs there.

Jason, my crockpot, when full, will melt the beeswax in a couple of hours. I guess it has a cumulative effect on the wax as it melts. Starts slowly, then the melting process sort of speeds up.

Edited October 2, 2010 by Angster

[Urshag]

Yes, it will make a difference, of a sort... Both methods will heat wax past the melting point of wax. However, the double boiler will get the wax up to around water's melting point, then pretty much keep it there. A crock pot will keep heating wax beyond that point. DANGER, DANGER. You will need to keep an eye on the crock pot to make sure the wax doesn't get too hot. Not sure, but I think if you just left it, you could get the temperature past the flash point of wax. My crock pot has several temperature settings. I'll start on high, wait for the wax to melt, then turn the crock pot to low. This slows down how quickly the wax gains temperature. You may want to buy a candy thermometer to keep track of the heat of the wax. Keep it around 200 and you should be fine.

Look for the thread 'My Take on Leather Mugs'. I have pictures of some of my mugs there.

Jason, my crockpot, when full, will melt the beeswax in a couple of hours. I guess it has a cumulative effect on the wax as it melts. Starts slowly, then the melting process sort of speeds up.

Thanks again Angster! Yeah I already bought a thermometer to keep an eye on the temperature of the wax. I will keep a close eye on it. By the way, on another post about mugs "Big Steve's First Mugs"

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=25297&st=0&gopid=169102entry169102

I asked him about how he achieves the sort of reptile skin look of the mug on the top row far right. Any idea on how he does that? I assume it's a carving stamp tool of some kind but I can't seem to figure out which one it is. :/

Thanks again for answering all my questions. I'm sure as I attempt my first mug I'll have more. lol

Dennis

[Angster]

Thanks again Angster! Yeah I already bought a thermometer to keep an eye on the temperature of the wax. I will keep a close eye on it. By the way, on another post about mugs "Big Steve's First Mugs"

http://leatherworker...02

I asked him about how he achieves the sort of reptile skin look of the mug on the top row far right. Any idea on how he does that? I assume it's a carving stamp tool of some kind but I can't seem to figure out which one it is. :/

Thanks again for answering all my questions. I'm sure as I attempt my first mug I'll have more. lol

Dennis

Honestly, I've been thinking about that as well... Unfortunately, I've had instances where I've gotten a really cool look, but couldn't for the life of me replicate it.

However, I have an idea... Take the leather and just sponge-wet the top of the leather. Then dimple it with either a ball-peen hammer or pear shader. Then you're going to 'bake' it in the oven for a bit. Have the temperature of the over really close to boiling point of water. Since the wet leather will want to shrink when it dries, and the dry leather underneath won't want to, I wonder if it will add a layer of 'shrivel' to the surface... Only problem I see is that the hardened surface of the leather won't then want to be shaped into the mug barrel... Hmmm... Something to play around with?

[Urshag]

Honestly, I've been thinking about that as well... Unfortunately, I've had instances where I've gotten a really cool look, but couldn't for the life of me replicate it.

However, I have an idea... Take the leather and just sponge-wet the top of the leather. Then dimple it with either a ball-peen hammer or pear shader. Then you're going to 'bake' it in the oven for a bit. Have the temperature of the over really close to boiling point of water. Since the wet leather will want to shrink when it dries, and the dry leather underneath won't want to, I wonder if it will add a layer of 'shrivel' to the surface... Only problem I see is that the hardened surface of the leather won't then want to be shaped into the mug barrel... Hmmm... Something to play around with?

Thanks Angster!

BTW, for the PVC thing you're using for the base, is it 3" across measured from the outside edges? I bought something that was marked as 3 inches but the mug it ends up making is HUGE. lol

Dennis

Edited October 14, 2010 by Urshag

[Angster]

Thanks Angster!

BTW, for the PVC thing you're using for the base, is it 3" across measured from the outside edges? I bought something that was marked as 3 inches but the mug it ends up making is HUGE. lol

Dennis

Yeah, the piece I use measures 3" across from the outside edges. I think it's a drain fitting (it has a couple of tabs on the inside that you can screw a metal plate to). However, I was looking for some more a while back and couldn't find them. I guess anything that is solid and measures 3" would do.

[Urshag]

Yeah, the piece I use measures 3" across from the outside edges. I think it's a drain fitting (it has a couple of tabs on the inside that you can screw a metal plate to). However, I was looking for some more a while back and couldn't find them. I guess anything that is solid and measures 3" would do.

Yeah I ran into the same problem. I found one that measures 2 3/4 and one that was 3 2/3. The latter is too big but the smaller one works well.

Another question, when I dye/paint the leather, I should do it BEFORE the wax, but are there any types of dye (Such as an oil/alcohol based vs water based like the antique dyes) or paint that react better/worse with the wax?

Thanks again!

Dennis

[Urshag]

Yeah, the piece I use measures 3" across from the outside edges. I think it's a drain fitting (it has a couple of tabs on the inside that you can screw a metal plate to). However, I was looking for some more a while back and couldn't find them. I guess anything that is solid and measures 3" would do.

Thanks to your amazing tutorial Angster, I've got my two mugs ready to go for the process of coating the inside with the 50/50 mix of beeswax and brewer's pitch. I had a couple of questions;

1. How hot should the mix be before pouring into the mug? 200 degrees Fahrenheit like with the beeswax bath?
2. How long do you wait between coats of wax?

Thanks again for all the help! I'll be posting pictures as soon as I am done.

Edited October 25, 2010 by Urshag

[MarkH]

Thanks for the tutorial! I've been waiting for it for a while.

I was pretty much out of leather so had to dig through the scraps to manage a mini-mug. Okay, its more of a shot glass than mug. The idea scales down.

[Angster]

Urshag, sorry about that... Been trying to get caught up with real life after the IFoLG convention.

I don't keep track of the temperature of the wax/pitch blend, but since I only use the double boiler for it, I would imagine it's between 180-200 degrees by the time I use it.

The trick with sealing the inside is to pour the mix into the mug quickly then pour it back out slowly, while turning the mug. You want to make one complete revolution of the mug before pouring all of the mix back out, coating the entire inside of the mug. If you look inside the mug, you'll notice where you finished pouring looks thicker than where you started. This is ok. Then wait about a minute (doesn't take long) and do it again, this time rotating the mug in the opposite direction. You'll want to start where you finished the previous pour. This time when you look inside, the coating should be fairly even. Look along the seam and the bottom edge where you stitched. If it looks solid and thick enough, you should be ok with just two pours. There's no problem doing another pour just to make sure.

A couple of things to keep in mind. You want your mug to be room temperature before you attempt to seal it. The warmer the leather, the less the wax/pitch blend will 'stick' or cool against the leather, creating the seal. You also want to move smoothly as you're doing the pours. By this, I mean if you pour the mix into the mug and it sits for a length of time, it will heat up the leather and you'll notice the coating is thin on the bottom of the mug. To fix this, just let the mug cool down and do it again.

Hope this gives you the information you were looking for. I'm back online more consistently now, so please feel free to ask if you have any further questions.

Mark, awesome... I started making shot glasses a couple of years ago and they seem a big hit with the Renaissance Faire crowd. I'll try to get a picture or two posted of what mine look like. Keep it up!

[MarkH]

Mark, awesome... I started making shot glasses a couple of years ago and they seem a big hit with the Renaissance Faire crowd. I'll try to get a picture or two posted of what mine look like. Keep it up!

Pictures would be great. I thought about slotting my dowel base template with a router bit to give it the outward angle of a real shot glass but I just started with simple. At that size, they are pretty tough to stitch. Not that I proclaim any expertise.

[Urshag]

I finally finished my first four mugs today! Here are some pictures. The really big one was my first mug and it holds 33 oz. The other mugs with the exception of the one that is a little short (It was the last scrap of the hide I was using) hold 16oz. Two of the mugs have two layered handles. Let me know what you guys think! Thanks again to Angster for his amazing tutorial and his many replies to my many questions as well as the help of others on this forum!

[Big Steve]

I finally finished my first four mugs today! Here are some pictures. The really big one was my first mug and it holds 33 oz. The other mugs with the exception of the one that is a little short (It was the last scrap of the hide I was using) hold 16oz. Two of the mugs have two layered handles. Let me know what you guys think! Thanks again to Angster for his amazing tutorial and his many replies to my many questions as well as the help of others on this forum!

Nice mugs mate, i have been waiting for these any following the progress, the hammer finish looks good, like the colours too, what did you use, i tried again to get the reptile effect but no luck even with the wax at 200 deg.C in the deep fat frier, your work NICE. and again thanks to angster for his help to me when i made my first mugs.

Regards, Steve,.

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Just a photography tip. With these dark objects it helps to have some light coming from the front to help see the details better. A simple table lamp will do wonders. It may take two, one on each side to fill in all around.

Nice work.

[Urshag]

Just a photography tip. With these dark objects it helps to have some light coming from the front to help see the details better. A simple table lamp will do wonders. It may take two, one on each side to fill in all around.

Nice work.

Thanks! I was using a light cube but maybe I need stronger lights.

Edited November 5, 2010 by Urshag

[Angster]

Great looking mugs! I'm glad you finally have them finished and posted up! Great job!