My WATER BOTTLES

[RikJohnson]

Canteens seem to fall under two versions. A hard case sealed within with beeswax if wood, or just soldered if metal, and a sheeps stomach covered with leather or cloth. As Arizona is too hot to carry a wax-lined canteen and I am hesitant about the sealers used in the Ren Faire water-bottles, I decided to combine the two, make a wood canteen with a liner.


I made the wood canteen by cutting the flat sides to match a plastic Boy Scout canteen as a liner, then I cut dozens of side-slats, each grooved for the flat side and shaped to fit. Then I made the strap holders and mounted them to the side. The entire thing is held in place with twine and a cotton carry strap. BUT it was too big and bulky so I experimented with a smaller version.
Both canteens use a plastic boy-scout canteen as a center.


The smaller canteen is a smaller plastic boy-scout canteen over which I sewed a cloth cover. Then I soaked the cloth in beeswax and painted it black to protect the wax and sealed with a cork plug.

I am currently working on a bota-bag version, only with canvas cover. Since the bota is nothing more than a sheep-stomach with a cover to prevent piercing, anything would do and canvas is easier to care for than leather that would crack and stink in the weather unless constantly treated.
Plus leather is and was frightfully expensive (looks neat though) so I try to keep my leather bits down.

[RikJohnson]

Finally got my leather canteen done!
The gourd one to the left I made in frustration. I put a bunch of nuts and bolts into the thing and shook the **** out of it over and over until the inside was clean.
Then poured melted beeswax from a sacrificial crock-pot into it to seal the inside.
Finally I took some cording and made the net cover.

THEN went back to the leather bota.
I had to do a double stitch around the edges.
Bought about 6 pounds of pinto beans from thye mexican grocer as pearl barley is freakishly expensive at the health food store, and after soaking the leather for a few hours, stuiffed it to shape, let it dry for a few days, poured out the beans and soaked it in melted beeswak.
Had to reseal the seams a couple times to stop leaks.
Unfortunatly, you cannot see the simple design I put on the leather.

My daughter asked how the water tastes so I filled it and she refused to drink it.
I drank it and she said that doesn't mean anything as i have no sense of taste and give myself food poisoning twice a year by eating bad meat.
Still it works!

my next version will have a flat bottom.

Of course, we'll see how the beeswax holds up to a hike in the desert in the summer whicjh is why I have the gourd canteen, just in case.

BTW, the beeswax is black simply because I toss all my used beeswax candles into that crock-pot (the parrifin candle stubs go into a differnt crock-pot) and when melted, the wax turns black.

[sgainbrachta]

BEeswax alone is not the best choice for sealing, as it actually likes water a lot- and over time, you'll probably see seeping.

A mix with brewer's pitch is best- I get it from http://www.jastown.com , they sell it by the pound. I will use a mix of about 50/50, give or take as a liner- after I've sealed it all with the beeswax. A couple coats with the pitch mix- and they will stay proofed for a LONG time. So far- the longest lasting- which is also a EARLY one by me has been about 7 years. In fact, the bottle itself is getting close to failure due to general abuse.

As to the desert- that is actually no issue at all. That bottle mentioned above is in Las Vegas- the desert sun isn't an issue. The piling it in a car, with stuff on top of it, in the desert sun- THAT however is a weeee bit of an issue! What I tend to do with mine (also in a desert~ high desert, but still bloody hot sometimes!) is hang it from the clothing hook. I also almost never have it empty in the car- I'll usually fill it once I hit the car again- just to be safe.

Beeswax alone, I can see having some problems- same with candle wax- most of which will be paraffin, as both alone melt at surprisingly low temperatures. When the pitch is added, it will soften- but will NOT flow below 180 degrees- at which point, your leather- even if hardened by the waxing process will ALSO begin to flow! Well, change shape, anyhow... Case in point- paraffin will begin to move at temps as low as 90-100 degrees... ditto beeswax.

In any case- love the gourd! I'm making a ton of those for Wasteland Weekend- with the pitch mix in them. A pain to work, yeah- but also fast once you get the process down!

Well done on the wooden canteen, too! I made HUGE one with the plastic from one of those cheapy cloth-covered ones, much like yours. It works and looks a charm!

Suilad~

[RikJohnson]

A mix with brewer's pitch is best- Suilad~

.... how do you actually work it?

do you mix and heat then pour the hot mixture inside as I do the beeswax?
If so, doesn't that mixture have a much higher melting temp? and how do you use it without it damaging the leather or cooling too fast inside the bag?

The wood canteen has no liner. it is simply a lot of carefully shaped pieces that were glued together, then sealed with beeswax.

I have people in the tree-industry claim tha thtey see pine pitch by the ton every day but so far, none have collected it for me.

[sgainbrachta]

Damn them! MAKE them get it for you!!

Although, un-purified- it's pretty nasty... but would work AWESOME for torches and the like~

No- it's melting temp isn't THAT much higher to be liquid than beeswax- but it's RANGE of liquid temperature goes a LOT higher. I melt beeswax in a container, then put in a chunk of the pitch, and let it sit for a rather long time- as the pitch will take a LONG time to get liquid. Even once it's mixed, it will form a cake of brownish gunk on the bottom of your mixed pot- just keep mixing it, and allow it to dissolve over time. It can take an hour or more on a stove on low~ No- I don't put it in a double-boiler, I just watch it. To get the mix to 50/50, you'll have to have marks, as both the pitch and wax expand when they are liquid- by rather a lot. You want the mix to be of basically liquid volume, not weight.

To do the lining, make sure the heat has been turned off for a few minutes, like 5 or maybe 10- so the mixed wax is slightly cooler. The bottle should be room temperature, not too hot nor cold like from the fridge. Simply pour it in, slosh it about a bit, and pour it out- while rotating the bottle, so your top and neck get a good coat. Let it cool for a while in the bottle- 20 or more minutes, as that mix holds heat like napalm. Oh! Did I mention gloves are a really good idea? Because they are. They really, really are... And be sure to turn the heat back on for the mix! Repeat. I've never really done more than 2 coats- as the wax fill most voids, the pitch then coats the wax and all as well. It's even really nice for cheap wine- as the pitch adds a tiny bit of flavor over time. With a small mead- it's simply wonderful after a few hours in the bottle~ Even water, after 2 weeks in the bottle wasn't horrid...

Hope that helps!

Robert

[Elleth]

I love that leather water bottle! I tried my hand at one once, but utterly botched the waxing job. Yours is very well done!
I don't see the carriage - is it tied to something, or does it have a strap?

[RikJohnson]

I was so terrified that I'd ruin the leather one. The hardest thing to accomplish is to GO SLOW!!!
I have a tendency to rush things and mess them up so forced myself to stop, think it through, do one step, stop, think it through and so on.
I ended up putting two rows of stitches along the sides to hold it together because I was afraid that the one row I used would not hold. I used small holes and double cotton thread instead of waxed twine as I originally planned (bigger holes). I wanted to add stitched over the edge but my holes were too small for the extra stitches so I dumped that thought.
And the design I put onto the leather faded away when I dipped the thing. You have to get close and really look at it.

BUT, now that I know that I can do it, my next one will have a flat bottom so I can stand it up.

I love that leather water bottle! I tried my hand at one once, but utterly botched the waxing job. Yours is very well done!
I don't see the carriage - is it tied to something, or does it have a strap?

I melted my beeswax in a yard-sale crock-pot ($5) and just held the canteen over the crock pot as I poured melted beeswax into and over the thing with a ladle. extra wax would simply drip back into the crockpot which keeps the wax at a contant and safe temp.

Carriage?
I'm lost here, I don't understand the term.

The leather one has a thin strap that I plan to replace with one that is wider to ease shoulder stress. Also I am thinking of adding a system that will allow me to clip a shoulder strap or a belt hook to it.

The gourd has the net meeting near the neck in a big knot that will allow me to just loop a cord over the knot for hanging. I'm planning to macrame a strap for that one. I've got a tom of jutte that I bought to make waraji (Japanese sandals) as I had planne dto make an instructional booklet for making Japanese sandals. I have the photos done, just need to actually write it out<g>.
Until then, the jutte will make a good shoulder strap for the gourd.

[Rifter]

awesome work. I tend to cheat somewhat, I have modern chiller type thermos bottles with a leather cover and belt hook through them

[sgainbrachta]

Stitching around edges is a waste of time and effort- as it'll be the first thing to snag, get pulled off, or worn away.

You NEVER see period finds done with it an any location that will get a lot of wear~ Pouch edges, sure, collars and ruffs of the finer clothes- sure. Even edges of shoes- but not where it has any bearing at all on structure. Period sheaths were pretty much always single seam, for everything from quill pens to swords, there are no known examples of the sort of "sandwich" styles we see on a lot of the India-made swords, except for the Irish- who liked to make a fringed sandwich- which still looks odd to me! But you know, they are Irish, after all... Like Scots, but even stranger! Avoid it on anything not decorative- and note, again, using period examples- that wherever it is used, it's usually a BRIGHT contrast color. They liked Yellow a LOT...

The double stitch is a good idea, for sure, but for smaller bottles isn't as necessary as you'd think. Once you get bigger than about 10-12" in any dimension- yeah, double stitched is the way to go! The stitching I use if from Tandy- is the 4-prong 3/32". I have the 4, 2 and single prong. For thread- don't bother with Tandy's linen. Find a beading supply place- I use Michael's, a major hobby chain. There, find the beading linen- make sure it linen, not nylon! The 3-strand they have is real, honest-to-goodness "corwainer's" linen- the stuff shoemakers use, and the wax on it is actually beeswax, not paraffin. It's a LOT stronger, and a little bit thinner than the Tandy 5 strand. Also- use the smallest needle you can fit the thread through- again, I use Tandy's dull-point needles, although I am learning to use a quill, like they did in days of old... Eventually when I stop embarrassing myself doing so, I'll post a tutorial on that~ maybe...

Again- you did an amazing job! There is nothing at all to call "bad" in your examples at all- be proud of them!

Bestens!