Tutorial: Leather water bottle. Cutting and sewing

[Eric_Methven]

I promised this a week or so ago in response to a request on how to make a leather flask.
There is more than one way to make one, but this is one of the ways I do my commercial ones.

This tutorial will be in three parts. 1) Cutting out, marking and stitching. 2) Wetting and forming. 3) Hot wax dipping.

The material I am using is 3mm veg tanned shoulder.

I have made a template that you can print out for your own flasks, It's a PDF file Flask Template.


A piece of leather with the image from the template drawn on it. When you do these, draw round once then flip the template over before drawing the second one. That way, if there are any inconsistancies with symetry, both halves will still come together properly.


Then use a sharp knife to cut roughly round the two flask halves.


These are going to be sewn together, so I find the best way to keep them in register is to glue the edges.


I only glue about a quarter inch in. That won't make any difference when opening the flask up as the stitching will cover that anyway.


Both halves joined together. Be careful when joining them if you are using impact adhesive. Once contact is made, they won't come apart.


Now the edges are still rough. This is when I sand down the edges to get a nice smooth edge.





We need smooth edges, because we are going to cut some grooves where we will run the stitch wheel. The groover uses the edge of the leather as a guide, so the smoother the edge, the neater the groove will be.


Cutting the groove in the leather.





Here the grooves have ben cut, ready for the stitching wheel. The groove also allows the thread to sit below the surface of the flask. Not essential, but tidy.


Now before you can mark the leather with the stitching wheel, you need to soften it, so it takes an impression of the wheel. We do that by wetting it under runnng water.


We run the stitch wheel around the grooves. It looks good, but it's function really is to mark where the holes will go for stitching the two halves.


Here is the stitch wheel finished, ready to sew now once the leather has dried a bit.


This is what I'll be using to make the holes. It's a Dremmel copy with an extention shank and a tiny little model makers drill bit the same diameter as the needles.


Here's a close up.


The holes are drilled on a block of scrap wood, keeping the drill completely vertical so it goes through at 90°





Here is the flask with all the holes drilled.


At this stage, I prepare to sew the two halves together. I am using a stitching clam between my knees to hold the work steady. This allows both hands free to do the stitching. I am using artificial sinew and what is known as the saddle stitch. The sinew is threaded onto two harness needles (blunts), one at each end.
These are then passed through the same hole, but in opposite directions. Then they go through the next hole and so on, making figure eights all the way along. They are pulled tight after every stitch (or every couple of stitches once your arms get tired).





Hint: When preparing the artificial sinew, only use lengths long enough for your outstretched arms. You will need four lengths or so to complete the flask, but if you have one long length, you will spend ages pulling it through the holes and there is a likelyhood that it will get tangled (especially if using waxed linen thread).
When you get near the end of a piece, back stitch four holes, then forward two - so you'll have 6 bits of sinew going through that last hole. Then just snip off flush. Don't worry about tying a knot, The packed sinew will keep it there and the hot waxing will seal it in later on.





Here's the flask all sewn up and ready to stuff with pearl barley to take it's shape.

Part two to follow shortly.

As always, any questions, just ask.

Eric

[Eric_Methven]

At this stage we are going to shape the flask.


The leather needs to be really wet, so we take a bowl of tepid water


The flask is dipped in the water and submerged.


You'll see bubbles escaping from the leather. This is a good thing. The air is being expelled, the colagen is softening and the leather is becoming maliable and soft.
Be careful at this stage. Any tools or objects that come into contact with the flask at this stage will mark the leather and it won't come out. So handle with care.


I open the hole in the top up, and use my fist like a funnel. Then I use a cup and just pour some pearl barley into the flask.


It fills up pretty quickly so it need a bit of help getting in there. I find blowing it open like a balloon opens it enough for the barley to fall to the bottom.


Now I take a piece of dowel and ram the barley in. Don't be gentle, really ram it down hard. You want the force to be enough so it forces the barley to push and stretch the leather sides outward.


You can see here that it is starting to swell. There's about a cup and a half of barley in at this point.
Keep pouring, blowing and ramming until the barley is right near the top. But leave enough room to fit the cork.


Here's the flask full of barley and fully shaped. The cork is in and it is important to fit a cork. The reason is to make the mouth nice and round. If it dries oval (which it would otherwise do) you will find it difficult to fit a stopper for it later, once it's waxed.


Here's the cork from the top.


Now all it needs is to dry thoroughly (certainly overnight - possibly two days). I put mine on the mantlepiece above the solid fuel fire, but I have used an airing cupboard before.

Next we will look at emptying and getting all the barley out, then hot wax dipping and finishing with making a wooden stopper.

[Eric_Methven]

This part deals with getting the barley out of the flask and hot waxing it to make it suitable for holding liquids.


You can see the difference in colour between the dry flask and the wet one I set on the mantlepiece to dry. This is the following morning. Nice and dry and ready to empty.


Here's what I need to get all the barley out. Metal nuts and an old bicycle spoke. Plus someplace to put the barley. My barley sack has a lot of barley in it, but if you are just making one for yourself, you will only need a fraction. I do six at a time usually which is why I have so much.


These are the type of nuts I use to act as an abraider and knock the stuborn bits of barley off the inside. The spoke is to run round the inside initially and remove easy to get at bits. The nuts get the ones that are hiding in the corners.


To start, I remove the cork and just tip the barley out into the plastic basin. Then I put the barley into it's container out of the way.


I pop the nuts into the flask, place my thumb over the opening and shake like hell for a minute or so. Then I tip it all out into the basin.


This is what comes out


Here are the nuts and dislodged barley after one good shake. Now you put the nuts back in, empty the barley into the sack and shake again. Then tip it out and see how much barley came out. Then you keep repeating that until all you get out are nuts. (If you want to do this under field conditions, small pebbles will work).
The flask is now ready for waxing.


Here's what you'll need for the waxing. Worktop covered with paper. Heavy duty rubber gloves (your fingers will get dipped into very hot wax. If it gets on your skin, it will hurt.


This is my double boiler. Wax in the top part and water in the bottom part. It is essential that a double boiler is used. Even a pan in another pan of water will do, but NEVER put a pan of wax directly on the heat source. Two reasons. One, it may reach flash point and cause a nasty fire, and Two, too hot wax will cook the leather and make it go shrunken and crinkled, completely ruining it. If it can't get hotter than the boiling point of the water, it can't do either 1 or 2 above.


Now put on the gloves and lower the flask into the wax. You'll have to push it under the surface until it fills with wax. It will want to float. Get it submerges as quickly as possible though otherwise the wax will start to set on the still cold leather. It is only when the leather gets hot in there that it starts to penetrate into the fibres of the leather.


Once it is submerged, you'll see bubbles come to the surface of the wax. That is the air being expelled from inside the leather and being replaced by wax.


Gently move the flask around, flipping it over to ensure all the air from inside came out and that there are no air pockets left.


When the bubbles stop rising, you can lift it out. Be careful at this stage because it is very slippery and if it drops back in there, you'll end up getting splashed - not nice!


Invert it long enough to make sure it is drained of molten wax.





That shiny look won't last long. All that is is a film of excess wax sitting on the surface. After a couple of minutes it will turn into a milky film. It needs to be removed.


To remove it, we use kitchen towel - lots of it. I made the mistake of using my dear wife's tea towels once. Don't ask, all I'll say is it wasn't pleasant when she found them.


Now I didn't mention it before, but I tied a bit of lace through one of the holes so I could keep hold when I dipped it. Now is the time to remove it.
If I don't, it will get in the way and stop me wiping all the excess wax away.


Keep wiping until the surface looks duller and keep changing the kitchen towels for fresh ones as the old ones get clogged with wax.








Once the flask is waxed, it is essential to give it a water test - to check for leaks. If it is going to leak from anywhere, it will be along the seam, where the stitching is. If it does leak, the cure is to pour a small cup of wax inside and rock the flask from side to side so it runs along the inside of the seam. Then pour the excess out before it sets. This has to be done on a cold flask of course, so it creates an instant seal.
To check for leaks though, I give it a one hour test. Fill the flask with cold water, until a bead forms on the top. Then set the flask aside and check after an hour. If there is any loss, nomatter how slow, that bead of water will sink down inside. So if the bead is still there after an hour, it is guaranteed to be sound and leak free.


Here is the finished flask after I made a nice rustic cherrywood stopper, and gave it a good polish.
It is now ready to wrap and post off to it's new owner.

Well, I hope you found this tutorial of use and I hope it was clear enough. I appreciate feedback so let me know if you didn't understand any of it and ask any questions you may have.

Thanks for looking,

Eric

[p moore]

Thank you so much for doing this, Very nice work.

EHWWW, he put his mouth on it.

Paul

[alannguyen]

look good, how much water can you have in it ?
will it smell leather ?

[Trekon86]

Wowee this is too cool!
Can't wait to try it...this is my next project!

BTW if you were wanting to put a maker's mark on it would you stamp it while it is still flat?

Thanks a bunch!
PMZ

[Trekon86]

Oh and is pearl barley the only solution or can I use something else small and round like steel BBs?
PMZ

[SDS]

Too cool. I'll be watching for updates on this one.

Thanks,
SDS

[mischief]

Very nice,the same design can be used as a Mountainman's Bullet pouch,could even use rawhide.
Thanks for the post

[Eric_Methven]

EHWWW, he put his mouth on it.

That's nothing! You should see what I use to put the holes in donuts!

look good, how much water can you have in it ?
will it smell leather ?

It will hold about a pint and a half. No, there's no leather smell or taste. The whole thing is dipped in beeswax, so if there is any smell, there might be the faintest smell of honey, but that wears off within days.

if you were wanting to put a maker's mark on it would you stamp it while it is still flat

Yes. Any stamping or tooling is done after stitching but before shaping.

is pearl barley the only solution or can I use something else small and round like steel BBs?

There are a number of things you can use. I use pearl barley because it works the best of all that I have tried. Wet sand will give the best shape, but it takes forever to get out. The sand clings to the inside no matter what you do. Then for months afterwards, you'll find a few grains of sand at the bottom of your glass.
Rice also works, but because it releases a lot of starch, it also glues itself to the inside and is a swine to shift.
The ball bearings would work if they were very small. Anything larger than an eighth of an inch might make the flask look lumpy on the outside - but you'd have to experiment to find out.

the same design can be used as a Mountainman's Bullet pouch,could even use rawhide.

Yup, the shape has been around for hundreds, if not thousands of years. It endures because it works. Bullet pouches, black powder pouches and chargers all have the same basic shape - just different scales.

Anyway, using veg tanned leather and beeswax gives you a rock hard flask that you can use for anything from water to hard liquer. No hot liquids of course, and I'd not recommend Coca-Cola or Pepsi. They tend to eat away at the wax.

Also, if you do make one, don't wash it in the dishwasher. A rinse under cold water is all it needs.

Thanks for the feedback so far. Glad it's useful. I should have the waxing post completed by the middle of the week.

Eric