Tudor Style Tankard

[PL01]

I've decided to have a go at a Tudor style tankard.

I've been up and down this forum reading about various methods of lining one.

With Envirotex, Salad Bowl Finish, Brewer's Pitch, Beeswax, Epoxy Resin etc etc all mentioned many times,

I'm stuck, I've no idea which one will be the better to seal it with.

It'll only get used for beer/cider, nothing hot.

I don't have the funds or time to go through the 'trials & errors' of them all.

Is there anyone out there that can help me shorten the list?

I'll add a few pic's as the project progresses

[Angster]

If you're not planning on drinking anything hot, you can get away with just doing beeswax. It's relatively inexpensive and easy to find and food safe. If you saturate the leather with the wax, it will strengthen the leather to where it's almost like plastic. If the lining ever cracks or develops leaks, it's pretty easy to reline. The wax lining is also fairly easy to maintain. Simply rinse it out after use with lukewarm water.

I use the beeswax/brewer's pitch mixture for sealing my mugs and bottles, but mainly due to the fact that the pitch helps make the wax seal more flexible so it doesn't crack nearly as often (my skull bottle in my avatar pic was dropped off of a second story balcony and still doesn't leak). But unless you're planning on making a bunch of tankards, you don't really need to purchase the pitch.

You can also go with the epoxy/resin route, but I can't really give any hints or tips in that direction.

[PL01]

Thanks for the quick response Angster.

Having looked at how your's have come out I think I'll go the same route.

I think it'll be a trip to the junk shops for a couple of saucepans, then raid a few bee hives

I use the beeswax/brewer's pitch mixture for sealing my mugs and bottles, but mainly due to the fact that the pitch helps make the wax seal more flexible so it doesn't crack nearly as often (my skull bottle in my avatar pic was dropped off of a second story balcony and still doesn't leak). But unless you're planning on making a bunch of tankards, you don't really need to purchase the pitch.

A lot depends on how this one comes out, if it works, I could well be making a lot more of them. Then I'll look at adding pitch into the mix.

I'm happy with the shape of the body, got to play with handle's now

[PL01]

Handle test done, I tried to match it up with the mug, PITA that was.

It's 15mm (½") in diameter but it looks like it might be too thin, we'll see.

Can't understand why I've never tried one of these before. It's a lot of fun

Comments n stuff more than welcome. It's all new to me.

[Angster]

Looking good so far! I'm eager to see how the final product comes out. Oh, just a reminder, if you wax-saturate the leather, it's going to turn really dark brown.

Edited May 2, 2012 by Angster

[Angster]

Don't worry about making the first one perfect. Just get it close and you can adjust from there. Besides, I always love handmade items with character. And ugly pumpkins to carve for Halloween... My wife is still drinking out of the second mug I ever made (going on 6 or 7 years, I guess). On hers, I decided to make the handle using a 'mystery braid'. Looks cool, but I didn't leave enough on the top edge of the handle to stitch it very securely. So, now her handle wobbles a bit... I'm sure I'll get around to making her a new one.

It sounds like you're having fun with this, and I think that's the whole point of leather craft. Most all of my items tend to stem from the "huh, I wonder if I can make that" realm. If I have to make over 5 of the same thing, I hesitate, procrastinate, drag my feet... Really irritates the wife, but I love always trying something new even if it's only a little different that something I did before.

Keep up the great work!

Edited May 2, 2012 by Angster

[PL01]

Looking good so far! I'm eager to see how the final product comes out. Oh, just a reminder, if you wax-saturate the leather, it's going to turn really dark brown.

I'm fairly pleased with how it came out. Handle was a little too short so I had to set it higher than I wanted too.

I'm not sure yet if I'll saturate it or just coat the inside, but I've got plans in my head for the next one, so I'll need more than a small block of beeswax.

I'll keep the body as it is, lengthen the handle and change how I constructed it. It seemed a good idea in my head but it doesn't look right, even if it was long enough, it still wouldn't look right.

and I'm getting the pieces together to form the bases similar to your tutorial

[Bluesman]

First one and a great job at that. What is the seam you used on the handel? Also I assume the bottom stiching held in the bottom plug. But was the top stitching just for decoration or is it holding something together?

[PL01]

First one and a great job at that. What is the seam you used on the handel? Also I assume the bottom stiching held in the bottom plug. But was the top stitching just for decoration or is it holding something together?

Thanks for that. The seam on the handle (and main body) is an odd one I saw on another forum, I thought it was worth giving it a try on one of these. The main body was, but I don't think I'll do another handle like it.

Your right on the stitching, the bottom row holds the base in, the top row was just balance it out, instead of just having a bare groove around the top, or nothing at all. I thought it would look better, even more so once

it's had the beeswax treatment and darken the leather up.

[KCF2013]

That is so awesome, great work , I love the handle, I collect to old tankards, this will definately be on my to do list.