A large leather barrel costrel.
Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2022 3:35 pm
I'm working on getting my first kit together. My first trek is in a few weeks (Oct 12-Oct 16).
I'm working on a leather barrel costrel. I might have gone overboard and made it a bit too large, but then again, I do have a 5 day trek and won't necessarily have stream crossings every day.
I don't to much leather tooling, but I couldn't leave such a large space blank. I'll paint the tree white before beeswax.
The end caps puffed out very nicely. I started shaping with the traditional way by wetting and packing it with marbles and pebbles first, only to find I just did not have enough. So, I went to a party supply store and got some big, 24" latex balloons. I put one in the hole, blew it up with my air compressor, tied it off and left it to dry. Worked amazingly. I'll definitely use the balloon for future (maybe smaller) canteens.
It's larger than a 2 Liter soda bottle! Seems big, but I do typically carry at least a 2L camelbak for modern backpacking.
Need to trim and finish the edges, paint the tree, beeswax, and make a stopper and strap.
Bonus, the small, test bottle I made first. I'll use this one to carry cooking oil. Made by packing BBs, before I figured out the balloon trick.
I'm working on a leather barrel costrel. I might have gone overboard and made it a bit too large, but then again, I do have a 5 day trek and won't necessarily have stream crossings every day.
I don't to much leather tooling, but I couldn't leave such a large space blank. I'll paint the tree white before beeswax.
The end caps puffed out very nicely. I started shaping with the traditional way by wetting and packing it with marbles and pebbles first, only to find I just did not have enough. So, I went to a party supply store and got some big, 24" latex balloons. I put one in the hole, blew it up with my air compressor, tied it off and left it to dry. Worked amazingly. I'll definitely use the balloon for future (maybe smaller) canteens.
It's larger than a 2 Liter soda bottle! Seems big, but I do typically carry at least a 2L camelbak for modern backpacking.
Need to trim and finish the edges, paint the tree, beeswax, and make a stopper and strap.
Bonus, the small, test bottle I made first. I'll use this one to carry cooking oil. Made by packing BBs, before I figured out the balloon trick.