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Thread: A woodworkers tool?

  1. #16
    Dave,

    I haven't done too much leather, but have made a couple knife sheaths and a saw sheath...I've done a couple other things I won't show anyone...

    Here's a sheath I did for a saw I submitted for a tool contest last year on WoodCentral.






    Here's a poor man's stitching horse...an Emmert Clone! Skew the jaws, rotate it, and secure the leather in between the jaw ends. You can see that I have thick 1/4" leather lining the jaws. I know a lot of folks say the pattern makers vise is more trouble than it's worth, but for my purpose it is one of the most useful vises I've ever used, and this is yet another example of something it does that is not easily done with another vise. BTW, you can see a multi-purpose awl from Craftool in this photo, it doesn't work nearly as well as the Osborne, IMO. That's a small knife sheath in the vise, but you can't see too much of it.

    --
    Life is about what your doing today, not what you did yesterday! Seize the day before it sneaks up and seizes you!

    Alan - http://www.traditionaltoolworks.com:8080/roller/aland/

  2. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Derek Cohen View Post
    Hi Dave

    Beautiful work! Nice shaping. The combination of ebony, brass and steel is wonderful.

    For holes, why a brad awl?

    What not a birdscage awl?

    Regards from Perth

    Derek
    Beautiful work, Dave. I'd like to ask a follow up question to Derek's post.

    Why is a birdcage awl called a birdcage awl? I understand a brad awl because it's shaped like a brad nail. But the birdcage awl is not shaped like a birdcage, at least not to my eye.

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  3. #18
    Hi Mike, I wouldn't swear that this is the truth, but this is the way I heard it.

    Because a birdcage awl traditionally had a square cross section and was tapered on all 4 sides down to a point it could both mark a hole location and function as a tapered reamer and a sort of drill. Each of the 4 arrises is sharp and cut wood fibers. In the days of the British Raj in India people liked to keep colorful birds in cages in their homes. Cages would be made locally with a wooden bottom and the bars of the cage would be of rattan. The easiest way to drill the holes in the wood was with a birdcage awl and the tapered hole being smaller at the bottom would allow a tight fit of the rattan ends which were then bent over in a basketweaver's interlock on the bottom side of the wood.

    Like I said, it seems logical, but who knows if it's true or just a BS story someone made up.
    Dave Anderson

    Chester, NH

  4. #19

    Awl

    Dave,

    Salaman says the same thing and mentions that Moxon talks of the square tapered awl. The term 'birdcage awl' was adopted later when that became popular for people to have birds in cages. Salaman also says it was making holes in small pieces of wood for metal wires used in making birdcages.

    Stephen

  5. #20
    Thanks, Dave and Stephen. Your explanation makes sense.

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  6. #21
    Alan, I like the saw sheath. Very nice for protection of the blade when traveling or doing demos away from home. I'll have to consider making a couple or 3 myself.
    Dave Anderson

    Chester, NH

  7. #22
    Quote Originally Posted by Dave Anderson NH View Post
    Alan, I like the saw sheath. Very nice for protection of the blade when traveling or doing demos away from home. I'll have to consider making a couple or 3 myself.
    That is exactly what they are perfect for. It protects the blade well, and leather is useful for creating bags, pouches, tool rolls, and other containers for tools.

    I'm meeting someone for lunch soon, one of the local galoots who contacted me that he had acquired some leather working tools that he wanted to give to me, as he didn't think he would be working leather any time soon. Maybe I'll start another thread in the next couple days. I was hesitant to post in this thread, but didn't feel I have enough info or too much to show yet, and haven't done too much to date, some of the first pieces I won't show! But the saw sheath was pretty early. Just happened that your posting the pics of the awls here and exchanging info with this local galoot last week made me think of the Osborne awl and/or having a nicer handle...I think round is good, in this case...I don't do too much lathe work at all, although I have a small treadle lathe for wood, it needs a couple parts fabricated for it to be operational.
    --
    Life is about what your doing today, not what you did yesterday! Seize the day before it sneaks up and seizes you!

    Alan - http://www.traditionaltoolworks.com:8080/roller/aland/

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