My Son's Tooling Box

[JohnBarton]

Hi Everybody,

Here is what I've been working on lately. I have a little over 100 hours in it. I made everything in it, except for some of the stamping tools, the 2 swivel knives & blades, & the 6" rule. At last count, there are 35 tools in all. The tools include: a 4" slicker, a border tool, 6" rule, small screwdriver, "cheat sheets", 18 stamping tools, a strop, an expandable tube of rouge, a pair of "Lady Leg" dividers (carbon fiber), 2 different swivel knives, 2 extra blades, a petal lifter, a modeling tool, an allen wrench, & a 20oz Rosewood Maul.

Several things are held in place by rare earth magnets. The compartment lid uses a magnetic latch. The top leather piece is held on with 93 tiny nails,,, I don't think it will fall off,,, hehehe The finger carved bird, is my interpretation of Clay Millers design. I only have one "secret" compartment in this box,,, & of course no I can't tell you where!!

I was told I should call it "30-05" (thirty ought five), because it's 30 lbs of stuff,,, in a 5 lb box. Thanks Ben!

Sooo,,,, what do you think??? What did I forget to put in,,, in this 9 1/2" x 6" x 2 1/2" box? Thanks for looking,,, Ed the"BearMan"

Somehow I just imagined a commercial where the camera pans into a large country house. A woman is sobbing in the background and on the phone. A soothing voice assures her that it will be alright. The next scene shows a man tending to his horses, getting them all settled in with care and then he grabs a box that we only get a glimpse of and gets into his immaculately restored classic Ford truck.

Winding country roads later the truck pulls up to the large house and the man gets out and goes in. The distraught lady thanks him for coming to her aid in this emergency. He asks to see the patient.

The camera pans across an expansive mahogany table with ornate chairs. Comes up on the main chair with it's intricately carved leather inlay and it's got a large tear and stain right in the center, where a man's heart would be. "Can you repair this?" pleads the woman.

The leather master now sets his ornate tool box on the table and the camera slowly caresses it while moving towards the latches. The box is opened and the last words spoken are a soft and confident, "I can". The camera fades out to and elegantly carved logo that reads "Bearman Leather"

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This setup is so amazing that it has now replaced my daughter as my desktop wallpaper. As a case guy I am humbly bowing to you for this incredibly functional and beautiful work of art. Masters like you give hacks like me mountains to climb.

Thank you!

[BearMan]

Thank You so much John,,,, What a story!!

But,,, you are NOT a "Hack",,, in any way! The cases you make are some of the best I've seen. Thanks to everybody for all the very kind compliments!!

Ed the"BearMan"

[Clay]

Ed,

That is a stunning display of craftmanship. The bird is way cool too!

ClayM.

[BearMan]

Good Morning Clay,

I wonder where you've seen it before??? I really liked your Bird design the best,,,, so,, I hope my interpretation is ok. Your work makes me work harder to do better all the time,,, Thanks,,, Ed

[Meleck]

It's THE sickest tool box I've ever seen. It's GEORGEOUS.

I do have a question, what is the glass plate on the left of the first and last pictures? Is that the 4" slicker?

[infoimp]

OMG!! Ed, you're a genius!! I want to come work for you!!

[BearMan]

Hi Meleck,

Yes, that's the slicker. I usually like a 5" wide slicker,,,, but there just wasn't enough room.

[Rawhide]

Ed,

Very fine work and I must say that your talents really shine in this box. I really like the bear paw print in the interior. Would you share how you made the impression areas for each tool and the paw print?

Marlon

[mugwump]

Holy schnikes!!!

Kate

wow!!!! you took the (exact) words out of my mouth... hehehehe...

eric

[BearMan]

Hi Marlon,,,, Thanks!! The paw print is really pretty easy. Basically, the base/ backing is 1/8" aircraft plywood, covered with 1/4" thick high density crafting foam. That's the kind of foam that comes in all kinds of different colors, it's similar to what flip flops are made out of. Find a GOOD realistic paw print on the Internet, or printing program. Re-size it, to fit your needs, & print 2 copies. I take the first copy, with each of the little areas cut out, to use as a placement pattern. Tape that in place, then cut out the same areas on the other copy, only this time, you want to save the paw pieces, to rubber cement onto another sheet of the 1/4" foam. Once you have those pieces cut out, glue them in their spots, with contact cement. Once they are very secure, trim the corners off, to round them a little. Select your piece of leather covering,,, you are wanting a piece from an area where there are lots of wrinkles. This helps with the stretching & gluing process. Apply a good coat of contact cement, to both surfaces. Once ready, I try to start from an edge, of from the center, & work out, working & stretching, to get everything worked in, without an wrinkles.

I had to do that paw 4 times, before I was satisfied with it. The other tool recesses, were made using 1/2" thick foam board, 2 pieces. Peter Main told me about the 1/2" foam board,,, it works very nice!! Thanks Peter!! Basically, once you figure out the spots, you draw around them, & then hollow out the areas to the depth you want. Make the reccesses, a little bigger than the tool, because the leather will take up soome room. Then it's basically the same proceedure as the paw,,,, glue,,, stretch,,, & smooth.

It will take some time,,, & you'll probably have to do it more than once, to get it the way you want,,, But,,, I'm sure you can do it!!

Ed the"BearMan"