I've got over 25 photos to go with the tutorial, so I'm going to be breaking itinto several sections. As I'm not good at organization, I don't have aparts/tools list, list, so it would would probably help to go through the entire tutorialto see what I'm doing, then you can figure out what you'll need if you want totry to make a mug yourself. Oh, on an off note, this is just how I doit. Don't hesitate to change some of my steps to fit the way you dothings. Let's get started.
Forming the Base Mug Tutorial 2.01 - Base.jpg (98.47K) Number of downloads: 149 To form the base, I use a 3 inch diameter PVC dohickey (I think it's supposed to fit in a floor drain, the screw holes were for the metal screen top) and a 4 inch hose clamp. The leather doesn't have to be too think. I'm pretty sure the leather I use is 6-8oz. Anyway, soak the leather a while until all the bubbles have been released and the leather is fairly moldable (moldible? moldy?). Mug Tutorial - 02 - Form Base.jpg (107.32K) Number of downloads: 171 Push the leather down over the PVC until you can fit the hose clamp down flush over the top of the whole mess. Mug Tutorial - 03 - Form Base.jpg (87.2K) Number of downloads: 152 As you tighten the the hose clamp, you may may need to shove and push push the leather around a bit to make sure you don't have any crinkles under the clamp. Sometimes I'll undo the hose clamp just to be able to push it down again and get a better grip on things. Mug Tutorial - 04 - Form Base.jpg (75.08K) Number of downloads: 180 When you can finally get the hose clamp tightened all of the way down, you'll have something like this. Ok, you're done with the base for now, so set it aside to dry.
Making the Mug Barrel Mug Tutorial 2.02a - Finished base and barrel.jpg (99.19K) Number of downloads: 214 For the barrel of the mug, I will use slightly heavier leather, usually 8-10oz. The dimensions are 6 inches high by 12 inches long. Note Note:: The dimensions I'm using are for a base formed on a 3 inch PVC dohickey. If you use another diameter, you'll have to adjust the length of the barrel. I'm in the middle of making a pirate mug for this tutorial. As you are waiting for the base to dry, you can tool/stamp/paint the barrel however you'd like. You will be trimming approximately an inch from the length of the barrel (it will make sense a little further on, trust me), so keep that in mind while tooling/stamping/painting/whatever.
Preparing to Stitch the Barrel Mug Tutorial 2.03a - Base closeup.jpg (79.41K) Number of downloads: 209 I put this picture here instead of the first section because some of my points pertain more to this section. Look at the bottom of where the hose clamp marks are. The bottom of the barrel is going to line up here, which is actually fairly easy to accomplish, as that line is a crease that the barrel leather is going to rest against. Oh, also at this point, you may want to trim the excess down a bit from the base. Don't cut up past where the hose clamp marks are, however. Again, the whole trimming point will make sense in just a second...
Mug Tutorial 2.04 - Edge b evel barrel.jpg (96.4K) Number of downloads: 189 This is just a personal preference, but I will edge bevel the top edge of the b arrel, on the outside only. You can fiddle with this to see what you like best. Mug Tutorial 2.05 - Skive barrel bottom.jpg (85.59K) Number of downloads: 189 Next, you will want to skive the inside of the bottom edge of the barrel, about half of the thickness of the leather and about as high as the base (the portion of the base that was covered by the hose clamp). Again, this is optional, but stitching through 1 1/2 thicknesses of leather by hand is easier than stitching though 2 full thicknesses of leather. WARNING: If you do this, make sure you're skiving the BOTTOM edge! Yes, I have skived off the top edge before... Mug Tutorial 2.06 - Initial fitting of barrel.jpg (70.17K) Number of downloads: 199 Now, wrap the barrel around the base, getting it fairly snug. mark the leather at the two points where the ends meet. This will help you figure out how much you'll need to trim. Mug Tutorial 2.07 - Marking adjustments.jpg (90.97K) Number of downloads: 188 What you will want to end up with is a 1 inch overlap. MATH WARNING!!! Measure the amount of overlap you marked on the barrel (I measure both ends and average the results if I'm a bit off). Then subtract 1 inch, and the result is how much leather you'll need to trim off. ARTISTIC WARNING!!! If you have not tooled the barrel, or it's a repeated stamped design, you'll not need to worry as much about which side you trim down. However, if you tooled a design in the barrel and you want it to face out properly when holding the mug by the handle, you may need to trim a bit off from each end. I wish I could give you a definite method to achieve this every time, but I'm still guessing and fitting it each time I make a mug, so you're kind of on your own, sorry. FINAL WARNING: Make sure your math leaves you with a 1 inch overlap! There's been a couple of times I've trimmid a barrel down only to watch the ends line up, not overlap. Kind of hard to recover from that goofup. Mug Tutorial 2.08 - Trim barrel to fit.jpg (74.05K) Number of downloads: 159 Now that all of the math is finished, and you've marked where you're going to trim, cut off the edges of the barrel until you have the correct length. Mug Tutorial 2.09 - Checking fit.jpg (73.99K) Number of downloads: 157 Check the fit again by wrapping the barrel around the base again. The amount of overlap should be about 1 inch. NOTE: The 1 inch rule is not a hard, fast rule. I go with 1 inch because it seems to give enough overlap that the seam is not prone to bending/flexing which would crack the lining. Also, 1 inch is the width I make my handles, so the stitching lines up with the handle pretty well. Mug Tutorial 2.10 - Skive barrel edges.jpg (91.51K) Number of downloads: 177 When you have the overlap to the right size, skive the edges down. This will keep the thickness of the barrel fairly even at 1 thickness the entire circumference of the mug. I skive the outside edge on one side, then the inside edge on the other. Mug Tutorial 2.11 - Glue barrel.jpg (69.19K) Number of downloads: 155 To make stitching so much easier, I just glue the barrel closed, lining up where I skived the edges. I've been asked whether the glue would be bad if you're actually going to drink out of the thing. I honestly can't say no way, but consider this. The leather mug will be completely saturated
with beeswax, then the inside coated with a mixture of beeswax/brewer's pitch, so there's very little chance of that happening. But, go with what you're comfortable with. That's the end of this section... With the next section, we will stitch up the mug barrel, attach the handle and base.
