Looking for...

[jkrichard]

Storm welt.

Anyone know of a finder that carries?

[erickgeer]

Jeffrey,

PM me- I bought several yards of Black and Mahogany from Barbour several years ago. It is going to waste for the time being.

Erick

[johnl]

Well here are 8 different awl handles I put together over the last several days. No attempt was made to standardize anything, I just free form cut each one. I could not easily get some brass rod for the ferrules, so I made them out of some 5/16" flare nuts I had laying around.
The wood is starting from the top left going right is:Persimmon, cherry, purple heart, walnut, walnut, walnut, cocobolo, cocobolo.

10353.jpg

John Lewis

(Message edited by admin on November 02, 2009)

[kieran_ionescu]

Jeffrey,

JH Cook and Sons in NC carries storm welt in brown.

1-800-782-9127

[chuck_deats]

John,
Very nice awl handles. Looks like you have a lifetime supply. I envy your stock of wood. What did you use for finish? Looks good. Ferrules can also be made from copper tubing stretched over a drift punch or something similar. Hammer the copper to stretch it. Probably not as classy as your brass ferrules.

[johnl]

Thanks Just used a spray laquer. Nothing fancy There is a wood and tool store right down the road. I was able to buy cutoff pieces of boards etc. so no real outlay for wood. I looked for some 1/2" brass rod, but I would have had to order it. In one drawer in the garage I had the flare nuts, and the metal lathe was just sitting there doing nothing. Now I have to come up with some awls to put in the handles. Any suggestions as to the size, or where to get them?

[dw]

I don't guess I know for certain what a flare nut is but if it's threaded and you can thin it substantially and shape it on a metal lathe, you've got a pretty good off-the-shelf solution to what, otherwise is an almost non-existent source (except for Dick).

I made a couple of hafts this weekend, myself. One out of big leaf maple for a student with a small hand and another out of some beautiful spalted persimmon. Then I made two of the "carrot" shaped awls (like in my photo)...one of bocote and one of tulipwood (the rosewood variant--ivory and pink).

I'm keeping the persimmon and the bocote...already have awls mounted in them. I'd like to weed out my "third-party" awl hafts and have nothing but my own. Currently I have one of cherry (very early), one of maple (even earlier), one...with a screw mechanism that I salvaged from an old cheapie...made of tulipwood, and a lovely osage orange peg haft...again with a salvaged screw mechanism. So that leaves well over a dozen that I need to replace.

I generally finish mine with beeswax and carnuba buffed in at a high speed or sometimes I'll use several coats of cut 100% tung oil.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

[johnl]

DW
You do a much better job of finishing than I did.
I used spray laquer because it was cheap, I had it already, it was fast. It is also thin, so as I go, I can readily refinish much better than I have now.
A flare nut is used on tubing.

10364.jpg

Now that I have some handles, I need the awls themselves. Can you recommend some sizes and sources? If nothing else, and I can get some idea of size, curve on the end, length etc. I guess I can get some W1 tool steel and make them also.
John Lewis

[dw]

John,

About a week ago someone posted a recommend for Edwin Hale (search Ebay stores for "haleandco" ). He bought out a great deal of surplus from Barnsley when they went tips up and I think he deals with Woodware Repetitions who is trying to re-create at least a portion of the Barnsley grindery.

Dick Anderson will also make them and has patterns not only from the originals I sent to him but from others he has had requests for. These are as good a quality as I've ever seen.

You can also pick them up on Ebay open auction every now and again if you want to hang out and check in frequently.

But don't expect awls to be cheap. I'd guess that they're gonna run you $10.00+ each They are very dear and if you can make them and get the spring steel temper in the forepart and the somewhat softer temper in the butt, you may not only save yourself some money buy might have the beginnings of another business.

Frankly, I wish I knew how...I know the theory and even have books telling how it is done but this type of tempering, being done on such a small scale, is tricky and I've never attempted it. It helps that I have a 'lifetime supply' of Kings (barring a spate of clumsy students).

Flarenuts...Ok, thanks, I've seen them. I never thought to use them like you have. Dick Anderson has told me that he used to make all his brass ferrules using a wood lathe and a reamer. Now he's working in bronze and steel and I assume he has a jeweler's lathe.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

[jkrichard]

Kieran,
Gracias! I will give them a buzz and find out what other goodies they carry as well. Thank you.

-Jeff

[frank_english]

Dw
Edwin is working with Colin Barnesly. They are making the Barnesly tools again. He convinced Colin that there is a need and market for these items. Frank English

[artzend]

That is good news. I did see some lasting pincers from India but have no idea where they came from but the quality was nothing like what we used to get from Barnesly. It will be good to be able to tell students where to get what they need.

Tim

[artzend]

I have just found a site from Taiwan that sells hand tools for shoemaking. I am not sure how you go about finding prices but I am constantly being asked where to find the tools needed for shoemaking. I have no connection with them and cannot comment on quality.

http://en.shoetools.com.tw/prod1/prod1.php3?num=1&pages=1&idnumber=&searchs=&sea rch_text=%A1@&lg=&selecteds=&mclass_id=

That URL will get you as far as the catalogue.

Tim
www.shoemakingbook.com

[marcell]

Well Tim, I checked all the page, but I don't think it is enough for an uprising shoemaker. There are many fancy stuff there (without price and possibility of order), but I don't see the basic tools.

Anyway I wrote them about the price.. we will see.


I also get a lot of mail for tools - it is just hard to get any. The new ones (for example: pliers, hammers), just don't worth a penny.

[artzend]

Marcell

I couldn't work out that either so I gave up. I had a quick look at it but you can't tell what the quality is like. It would be good to be able to get Barnsley tools again. They made good tools.

Tim

[dw]

With Barnsley gone, Goetz is still the best source for tools that I know of. But as mentioned Colin Barnsley of WoodWare Repetitions is trying hard to revive as much of the George Barnsley line as possible. Unfortunately, the people running George Barnsley at the time of its demise, destroyed many of the original molds for tools such as the bulldog pincers, etc.. Why they would do this is almost beyond comprehension but as I understand it, it has to do with family feuds and, frankly...spite.



heavy sigh

Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

[dw]

Just a quick shot of several of the hafts I turned last weekend....mostly for size and the grain patterns.

The top one is the Mexican Bocote (a type of Rosewood--Dalbergia something-or-other). This one is mounted with a vintage square awl.

The bottom one is the spalted persimmon with an area of deep ebony black which give credence to the claim that persimmon is closely related to ebony. It has one of Dick Anderson's custom made inseaming awls mounted in the ferrule.

10374.jpg

Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

[athan_chilton]

One of these days I will be brave enough to tackle a welted shoe. In preparation for same, could someone tell me how to get in touch with Dick Anderson? I don't own the special awl that is used for inseaming a welt & it looks to be absolutely necessary to have one.

[jkrichard]

DW,
If I end up buying a wood lathe and making awls as a side hobby...can I give my wife your phone number? She's been a saint about the influx of shoe and bootmaking gear---but I think she'll need someone to talk to about the woodworking. O.o

Beautiful awl hafts.

-Jeff

[dw]

Jeff,

You don't want to hear about my trials and tribulations on the road to getting a wood lathe. But you can buy a mini-lathe pretty reasonably. I started out with a Grizzly and then went to the Jet. I think it has a 12" swing. I've done bowls and vases but I couldn't do a chair leg--not enough bed.

The real cost is in the tools (what isn't) and when you start buying chucks and so forth.

Still and all it doesn't take many handles and awls combined to pay for the lathe even doing it part time and on weekends.

Athan...do a "keyword search" for Dick Anderson or Thornapple....I don't have that contact at hand.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

[jkrichard]

DW,
How awfully evil of you to supply me with enough information to easily Google the Grizzly website and find the mini-late...and how utterly inexpensive to get started on making my own awls...

...the wife oddly supports the notion of getting a wood lathe and referred to the idea as "cool."

You are off the hook for now, DW!

I've peeled through the forums a bit on a keyword search on awl haft making--- I may take advantage of Green Country being a technical school and visiting the carpentry shop bubbas to see what tutelage they can provide.

I was a (nuclear)machinist in the Navy and once upon a dream could finish pieces/parts within a .0001 tolerance---while I doubt I'll need that kind of accuracy for haftmaking...

Thanks DW for supporting the growing habit(s).

Bootmaking, it's social disease.
-Jeff

[frank_english]

Athan here is Dick Anderson's info..
Thornapple River Boots
N 8566 Winter Road
Ladysmith, Wi. 54848
715-532-6301
thornapple.boots@usa.net
This is what I have hope it is current.

[johnl]

Jeff
I don't know about out there, but here, I can keep an Eye on craigs list and find lathes cheaply and weekly. You might check that out before spending on a new one.
John Lewis

[johnl]

OH
I forgot, may I suggest since you have a machinist backgroud that you look around for one of the little mini metal lathes such as harbor freight etc. have. Little mini metal lathes can be used to cut wood as well as light metal work (read) ferrules.
John Lewis

[dw]

Jeff,

You might want to check out here

As I said, I started out with Grizzly...which believe me is a step up from what Harbor Freight offers in the way of wood lathe...and I found that it had just the slightest deviation of centers--the head stock center was a millimeter or two out of line with the tailstock center. It worked OK but there were times when dealing with that gave me fits...whether that was because I was a newbie to lathes or because there is really an inherent problem with having misaligned centers I don't know. When I upgraded to jet, I not only got better engineering but I got a 12 inch swing...and a stronger motor.

John's idea of watching Ebay is a good one...if you know what you're doing and looking for--there's a lot of really cheap junk on Ebay. Once I had owned the Grizzly for a little while and knew something about what I was doing, I never was even tempted on Ebay. And while I would never trade my wood lathe in for a metal lathe (not enough bed, not enough swing) I'd love to have a metal lathe as well.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member