Belt flask for shot/powder?

[NeilMacleod]

Very good points Thanks!
Totally understandable about the pith being porous and not stable enough for ware. So unless one has a pot of Rabbit skin glue and boil them to saturate the pores and make them solid, they will be set aside.
Was out looking for brass buttons yesterday after the dentist, but could not tell if they were pure brass so that has to wait. The gentleman that gave me these antlers also does iron works so maybe get some brass and melt and hammer some
In that picture shows a belt flask, would that be for the shot/powder? Been trying to find an propionate one, have made a "Poke" pouch out of deer skin and was thinking of making that style.
On the upper left of this image is the style I wanted to make, having a round bottom stitched in instead of flat.

My first "Poke" pouch, Deer skin.

 

[BrownBear]

My first "Poke" pouch, Deer skin.

Would I be correct in guessing from the picture that the leather is Tandy Deertan? If so, I have a lot of experience with it. In my uses, it stretches a lot when it gets wet or is loaded down with weight. I like to pre-stretch it before cutting it out and using it. Been known even to wet it before stretching, then letting it dry.

Here is a good source of brass buttons. Noodle around the site and see that they also have them in copper, horn, steel and nickel. Not enough of an expert to know how authentic they are, but I sure like them and they work well. Crazy Crow is another of many possible sources. Dunno about their authenticity either, but they're sure good folks to deal with.

Gotta say though, that authentic or not Tandy's various coin conchos are my favorite. Yeah, they're screw back and about as authentic as Tinker Bell, but so what. The thing I'm making is for my own pleasure, so I'll make it the way that I like best! :blah:

 

[NeilMacleod]

LOL, yup is is, and also it is for my pleasure and not for heavy weights. The Ball pouch would be with 5oz sides and 8oz bottom that im planning, the shape im open to suggestions, tube or flask shape. The picture shows tube shape for the round bottom style and flat for the flask, so im guessing adding a gusset to the flask may not be period correct for a ball pouch.
Thank you BB

 

[BrownBear]

...so im guessing adding a gusset to the flask may not be period correct for a ball pouch.

Here's another approach, which I actually like better than a gusset:

Build the flask with veg tan or chrome tan (if that's all you have), then wet it inside and out real good. Then stuff it with lead shot or rice and keep stuffing till it swells out to the shape you want. Letter dry, then dump the contents and you're set.

Only word of caution, some of the rice wants to stick inside. Unless you want to keep dealing with the stuff dribbling out over the next 9 months, put a few round balls in the flask and give it a good shaking around to knock loose the last grains.

Heck, one more caution. There's no "one size fits all" on flask necks. Make the neck big enough to easily pass large balls, and small balls are likely to "bridge" and clog when you go to dump them. I like making them, so maybe I'm just looking for excuses. But I tend to pick a size ball I want to use, then make the neck opening about 1.5 ball diameters.

 

[NeilMacleod]

Ive seen someone do that will lead balls and the bag looks like its got the mumps. I have .50 call the way and .54 back ordered, was going to use them as a guide for size. Also was thinking doing a double lining so the skin is on the inside as well as out, so a smooth inside, also thought (good/bad idea) oiling the inside to seal the leather. ??
Thanks

 

[Artificer]

Dragonsfire,

Please don't think me overly critical, but deerskin was not tanned and did not look that way until pretty much after our forum period ending with the War Between the States. Don't get me wrong, I personally used a LOT of modern tanned buckskin back in the 70's to make pouches, and even trousers, coats and two dresses - before I knew better. What we did back then was put the rough side out to make it look like original period tanned buckskin. My main purpose to bring this up is so you don't spend a lot of money on hides that you won't be able to use.

The way buckskin was tanned in our period was either brain tanned or vat tanned and there was no smooth side on it like modern tanned buckskin. The original stuff and modern skins tanned that way are rough on both sides and sort of like a thick suede cloth.

Now, REAL brain tanned buckskin is EXPENSIVE because it is so labor intensive. I can understand that because I did ONE hide that way and it took too much time to do it anymore.

However, there is a modern buckskin tanning method that is accepted by most people and not as expensive as brain tanned. It is called "German Tan" by Crazy Crow and some other sources. What many of us do is buy the "Grade#2 German Tanned Buckskin" to make leggings and other things. These are listed on the page I linked below and you may want to look at page 1 for prices on the more expensive stuff.
http://www.crazycrow.com/mm5/merch...de=545-100-000&Per_Page=12&Sort_By=disp_order

In case you have never heard of him, William Booth Draper is a SUPERB source for all kinds of period correct cloth, materials, and many other things. I have linked his page and just scroll down and click on "buttons" and it has the widest selection of period correct buttons I have ever found in one place. Excellent documentation is also supplied as well.
http://www.wmboothdraper.com/

So many places offer pewter buttons, I didn't try to find a link.

Here is a link to metal buttons from Track of the Wolf. The only thing to watch for is German Silver (aka Nickle Silver) was not invented until the late 1800's and beyond most of our time periods. https://www.trackofthewolf.com/List/Category.aspx/398

Gus

 

[BrownBear]

No lumps with rice! That's how I know so much about getting rid of the stuck grains inside.

Never tried a liner, cuzz I've never felt the need.

I just rub down the outside with my patch lube- Track's Mink Oil Grease because I only use them for shot or balls. My shooting pard thought he might want to use his for powder, so he melted beeswax and gave the outside a good soaking for sure waterproofing. Neither of us ever saw the need to seal the inside.

 

[Artificer]

Ive seen someone do that will lead balls and the bag looks like its got the mumps. I have .50 call the way and .54 back ordered, was going to use them as a guide for size. Also was thinking doing a double lining so the skin is on the inside as well as out, so a smooth inside, also thought (good/bad idea) oiling the inside to seal the leather. ??
Thanks

If you have any of the modern tanned buckskin left over, you can use that for ball bags with spouts on them. Just sew the sides together flat with the smooth sides outboard. After it is sewn, turn it inside out, so the smooth sides are on the inside where they won't show. No need to make double thickness if you use the modern tanned stuff, nor do you need to oil the inside.

Forum member Spence had a GREAT tutorial on doing the thread wrap over the leather that goes over the spouts.

Gus

 

[NeilMacleod]

Thanks! I have no problem being corrected, would rather do it right.The pig skin and deer hide were my first purchases a couple years ago because they were cheap and a good way to practice.
Last year got a good thick Suede Moose hide (most expensive I have) for Mukluks and have to touched it till I know what im doing (backdrop of my pouch pictures).
I also member I have aquarium gravel that could be used for the flask, small stones that wont stick like rice
I have mink oil. So no lining or oiling inside http://wmboothdraper.com/ was one of the first sites I was on when I looked at clothing, will give it a more thorough look again Thanks!

Thanks Gus/BB

 

[Artificer]

Oh, a P.S. to my post above. I had to learn the hard way not to make my first ball bag w/spout TOO BIG. It held WAY more balls than I would ever need and caused me to "list to starboard" when I filled it and put it in my Shot Pouch aka Hunting Bag. :haha:

Also made the same mistake with the first Shot Snake I made. At least with that, I was able to add stitches to reduce the inside volume without having to take it apart.

Gus

 

[BrownBear]

Also made the same mistake with the first Shot Snake I made.

Easy to do. Kinda startled me when I weighed out a pound of shot (12 loads with what I'm shooting) and measured the volume. Takes up about as much space as an small lemon or maybe a duck egg. My favored shot flask looks foolish, it's so small. But rare is the day that I need more shot than it will pack. And we get a lot of shooting!

 

[Artificer]

I made my shot snake to shoot shot out of my old Brown Bess Carbine. I only needed to fire three to five shot rounds during any North West Trade Gun Match at Friendship, but I thought about competing on the Shotgun Range where they fired 15 to 25 rounds in a match. Now you would think after making the bullet pouch w/spout too big, I would have weighed out enough charges of shot to see how much space I needed in the shot snake. But, no....... that didn't occur to me. DUH!! All I can say it was a very good thing that I made the shot snake as an over the shoulder model.

Max Vickery saw it on me at Friendship and commented something like, "Honey, that is the most splendiferous shot snake I've ever seen. I bet you will never run out of shot." He said it with a humorous gleam in his eye and I quickly found it held WAY too much shot.

BTW, Max Vickery called everyone "Honey" whether man, woman or child. One time while at a town hall meeting with Indiana's U.S. Senator Birch Bayh, he stood up and began his talk against gun control by saying, "Honey, now I realize....." Birch replied in all the years he had been a Senator, no one ever called him "Honey" before disagreeing with him....


Gus

 

[NeilMacleod]

LOL, so dont make it for a hundred rounds lol.
Here is a nice selection, shot snake at bottom;
http://leatherfromthepast.blogspot.ca/

 

[NeilMacleod]

By the way Dixie Gun works has a nice collection of Buttons. I like the Black Horn ones.

 

[NeilMacleod]

Just got my "Shooters" kit and balls in the mail, Holy @$%#$ are they heavy, 3.5 lb/100/box, def do not want that on the belt lol.

 

[Crewdawg445]

Back in the day one wouldn't carry 3.5lbs of lead balls, possibly a small bar of lead, a ladle and bag mold. Balls were not mass produced, nor carried in the quantities you'd think.

When one starts to do serious period treks and events weight is always a priority. Me personally I find a belt bag to be cumbersome, especially bogged down with shooting supplies. That's why a shooting bag is a better option to contain ones supplies to feed the firelock. Even then, I carry only five 62 caliber balls and enough shot for the days event or hunt. If I need more roundballs after a shoot, when back in camp I'll cast more. Casting is so relaxing with a pipe burning and fire crackling! :thumbsup:

 

[NeilMacleod]

Thanks!
Yup the shoulder bag is the next one to make. The shot snake I figure make it big enough for 16 balls but carry eight.

 

[Rifleman1776]

BTW, Max Vickery called everyone honey

You revived some memories with that comment. Wonderful person, Max. To this day he is missed.

 

[BillinOregon]

Had not heard Max Vickery's name mentioned in years. I sure enjoyed the things he wrote in such patient and deliberate prose.

 

[Black Hand]

I routinely carry 25-30 ball when on a Scout.