Tutorial on Mug Making

[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!

[Urshag]

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,.

Hi Steve! I had written a reply the day after you had written yours but I don't see it here so it must not have posted correctly.

When you say "what did you use" what are you reffering to? If you are reffering to the stain, I used Medium Brown Antique stain on the one with the Oak leaves and I painted the leaves with an acrylic gold paint. The one in the group shot on the far left was also done with the Medium Brown Antique stain. The other two were done with a medium brown dye.

Dennis

[Big Steve]

Hi Steve! I had written a reply the day after you had written yours but I don't see it here so it must not have posted correctly.

When you say "what did you use" what are you reffering to? If you are reffering to the stain, I used Medium Brown Antique stain on the one with the Oak leaves and I painted the leaves with an acrylic gold paint. The one in the group shot on the far left was also done with the Medium Brown Antique stain. The other two were done with a medium brown dye.

Dennis

Dennis, yea i was talking about the dye/stain thanks for the info,

Regards, Steve.

[Mrs Barry Hicks]

I am going to try and make a tooled leather mug. I was hoping to find a good tutorial. And WOW I didn't expect to find and awesome one! Jeesh, you're making this really easy! I'll send you a pic when I'm done. Thanks again for such a wonderful job. It takes time to do this and I just want you to know I truly appreciate it! Thanks!

Barry

OH and how much Wax/Pitch mix do you need to line a mug? I'm looking to buy some to make a few (10) mugs? Don't know how many lbs to buy. Thanks again!

Edited May 23, 2011 by Mrs Barry Hicks

[mrdabeetle]

I'm always worried about the seal being "food safe" and I have also heard that the wax can alter the flavor slightly, so for the mugs that I have made, I've been using plastic inserts from used frosting containers. They are just about the right size and you can put coffee in it without altering the flavor. I just make a koozie (sp?) with a handle. (make sure that you punch a large hole or series of holes in the base if you plan to remove the plastic to wash) I would suggest this as a good starting point for inexperienced persons who would like to try to make a mug. Also, it's an excuse to have cake!

I wish I had pictures of a finished mug, but I gave them out as Christmas presents.

Anyway, Great tutorial. I have been meaning to try it, but I have been too chicken to get started. I'll give it a shot.

[Angster]

Thank you for your kind words! I'm happy to share what I know and love to see how others take my ideas and run with them. Let the imagination flow!

As far as the amount of pitch/wax you need for a mug... Since I saturate the leather with wax first, you'll need more wax than pitch overall. Roughly a pound of pitch will be enough for 15 - 20 mugs. For that number of mugs, I think I'd go through 5, maybe 6 pounds of bees wax. So I would suggest that you start with a single pound of pitch and a couple of pounds of beeswax. As you make more, you'll probably need to get more wax.

Then with the taste issue, I've not noticed any flavor from the beeswax/pitch mix. However, I think some 'flavor' may be influenced by the slight smell of a freshly sealed mug. The wax/pitch has an oddly-pleasing, faint scent of honey-flavored pine trees. But this scent seems to disappear in a day or two as the seal becomes 'seasoned'. This is about the same amount of time it takes for the seal to loose any of its remaining tackiness.

I LOVE the idea of using the plastic frosting can as an insert! That's awesome and I'll have to try it out. Loves me some frosting, too!