Making a Leather Bottle

[Gheechee]

I've used the brewers pitch, but also a micxture of beeswax and pine rosin( pure ) will work too. as for the problem of the wear with the wooden stopper. Use a hair dryer and roll the flask around or add a pinch more and then use the hair dryer. this can be done at any time. cheers

[kiltboy]

First- awesome tutorial! Of course, I found it after I finished, and then tossed several pieces. He really means it when he says "trial and error" on how dry the leather needs to be!!

For lining the bottel- I use a mix of brewer's pitch and beeswax, about 60% wax- I like this as the pitch makes the wax a bit more flexible, so any issues of seam leakage will be somewhat mitigated. Mind you, I live where cold isn't really the issue, heat is. I've had my pure wax bottels leak after a day's hike in the summer- but once the tacky pitch mix was added, those seem to do very well. Only issue is that the stoppers sometimes get almost welded into the bottel- especially after a very hot day!

Another supplier possibility is a hobby store like Ben Franklin's Crafts or Michael's here in the US- beeswax is expensive, but available. As for brewer's pitch- has anyone found another supplier for it other than Jas Townsend?

Thanks again for the tutorial!

Robert in Reno

[hivemind]

Pics are dead in this tutorial, Mike. Any chance of getting them replaced? I finally have a pot fulla beeswax in the shop and wanted to try this.

[switchblade5984]

looks like the pictures took a dive

[MMArmoury]

After a long while I decided to give a try at making one. This first attempt is what I am making my "mistakes" on. First, the leather I chose was much too thick at 10-11oz, it would not distend much, I hear from others that 8oz is the proper weight. I used aquarium sand, next time I think I'll use popcorn kernals. I had to do the sand twice because I did not realize the first time that you are supposed to pound the sand down with a dowel, the second time I used a dowel and expanded it to twice the volume though I still don't think it's enough, but I have to live with it because the leather is too thick.

I also glued the edges before stitching with rubber cement, I wonder what safety factors there are for continued use, I will be shopping for more cement and I will look for a non-toxic one. Also, the straps slots are going to be too long and narrow, on my future versions I will adjust the pattern and drill simple holes for rope straps.

Anything else anyone can think of? Oh, and has anyone come up with any ideas for wooden stopper sources?

Lastly, upon filling it out with sand the second time I notice that there is a white waxy residue on the outside. I have been wet-moulding tooling leather for years but have never encountered this residue before.

Edited May 28, 2010 by MMArmoury

[Luke Hatley]

NOT BAD FOR THE FIRST ONE... but i will have to agree with you on the mistakes you made.

what will you be lining it with to make it hold water ?

[MMArmoury]

You're not supposed to AGREE with my mistakes!

Well I'm going to line it with a 1/1 mixture of brewers pitch and beeswax, and do pure beeswax on the outside. I just found out something very interesting from a Tandy manager who has made a few of these himself. He says that the location of the hide the pieces are cut from has an effect on how well the bottle expands during the sand stage. The butt and back sections are tough and do not stretch well, but the bellies are the best for stretching so he recommends making them out of bellies.

[Luke Hatley]

You're not supposed to AGREE with my mistakes!

Well I'm going to line it with a 1/1 mixture of brewers pitch and beeswax, and do pure beeswax on the outside. I just found out something very interesting from a Tandy manager who has made a few of these himself. He says that the location of the hide the pieces are cut from has an effect on how well the bottle expands during the sand stage. The butt and back sections are tough and do not stretch well, but the bellies are the best for stretching so he recommends making them out of bellies.

excuse me..........

dont know what part of the World you are in, but where will you be getting your Bewers

Pitch ? I dont want Townensends. i am looking for the real Black Stuff.

[Luke Hatley]

here are two of mine. yes i used the Belly Leather and after they were packed

with sand i put them in boiling water for a very short period of time.

they are very hard.

Edited May 29, 2010 by Luke Hatley

[MMArmoury]

I'm in the USA, New England. I will be using the stuff from Townsends, which is pine pitch. It comes from the Pitch Pine tree (Pinus Rigida) which is common in the Eastern US. Black pitch is made from boiling Birch tree sap which turns black. I don't know of anyone who makes it.

I do make a "jacking" solution of 1/1 pine pitch/beeswax and I add lampblack for coloring which is pure carbon. Ironically Townsend also sells it erroneously as powdered ink. One of their ink packets into a one pound of pine pitch/beeswax solution turns it extremely black. I tried using this recipe for cartridge box flaps but I found the results to be too tacky for practical use so I am abandoning it.

An alternative for historical black dyeing is the various recipes of "vinegaroon" listed through the forums here, I just do not know what toxicity issues there might be all that iron seeping into the leather, so I do not know if it is safe for leather drinkware. By the way, as to a previous question about cement, I have switched to a latex based cement (Tandy-Tanner's Bond Craftsman #C-1339 Contact Cement), I do not know if it waterproof but it requires a thinner to dilute it (it's pretty watery as is out of the bottle). It reminds me of "liquid latex" used by makeup artists.

Edited May 29, 2010 by MMArmoury