DIY Jackware Canteen Build

[hogslayer]

(Also, decided on beeswax over paraffin. )

Having made several leather containers I found the best liner was a mixture of bees wax & pine tar called brewers pitch (Google brewers pitch).
(Pete)

 

[swathdiver]

My .50 is too strong of medicine for squirrels.

While I haven't tried it, others here have, you could try barking them squirrels out of the tree if head shots don't work with that .50 cal.

This is a cool thread. It's basically an oversized ball bag or shot pouch modified to hold water. Keep them photos coming!

 

[satx78247]

Fyi, I've taken many a fox/cat squirrel with my .58 musketoon.
(Squirrel ribs have little edible meat on them.)

Otoh, I never shoot squirrels in the head, as I'm fond of eating heads, when they are part of a squirrel stew.
(Don't turn your nose up at squirrel head until you've tried one!!)

just my OPINION, satx

 

[coloradoclyde]

Fyi, I've taken many a fox/cat squirrel with my .58 musketoon.

:haha: were you using shot?.....mine has a hard time hitting the barn door.....

 

[Crewdawg445]

Well I thought about barking the little guys this morning with my .54 flinter, but as usual I went for Ole faithful which is my .45 rock lock. Anywho, on with the canteen! Completed the inner stitch work this evening and started on the outer edge as well. Once the outer stitching is complete it'll be a little sanding of the outer edges to true the circular body and possibly some tooling work... This must be done before we move on to the next step of shaping the actual canteen body. I'll possibly do a turtle shell design since the turtle is a very spiritual animal, and one with great meaning among allot of eastern tribes. :thumbsup:

Stitching was done with a glovers needle and beeswaxed linen thread using a traditional saddle stich, very easy and holds very well. Stay tuned for more!

 

[tenngun]

it was my wax that was too hot :redface: I had done the oven trick. Would paint a little then stick back in the oven. When I poured hot wax in and dumped they looked great then cooked before my eyes. :shake:

 

[Black Hand]

You can't leave the bulk wax in there. Pour it in, swish it about and pour it out before putting it back in the oven for the residual wax to soak into the leather. And still, you need to keep a close eye on the leather.

 

[Twisted_1in66]

(Also, decided on beeswax over paraffin. )

Having made several leather containers I found the best liner was a mixture of bees wax & pine tar called brewers pitch (Google brewers pitch).
(Pete)

Brewer's pitch adds a really bad taste to the water if you store it for any length of time...such as overnight. I have that in my tin canteen and really wish I didn't. I'd go with just the beeswax.

If you want brewer's pitch you can get some from Jas.Townsend & Son. It's basically just pine pitch that has had all the turpentine boiled out of it and then poured through a filter to clean it of any impurities.

***NOTE*** If you are making your own, Pine TAR is caustic, Pine PITCH is not - big difference between the two.

Twisted_1in66 :thumbsup:
Dan

 

[tenngun]

yup, it was in small flask about 4oz and cooked in the swishing time

 

[satx78247]

Fyi, my "whatever it is" (I refuse to argue what "a more or less copy" of a Remington contract rifled musket is, with a short barrel, 21.5" barrel. = To my limited knowledge, it's NOT a replica of anything at all- just a hunting gun, that's short/light/handy/powerful to 100M.) & which I call a "musketoon" has a .58 caliber rifled barrel & I cast Minie balls or PRB for it.

Btw, the little carbine says AMERICAN CIVIL WAR CENTENNIAL COMMERATIVE, 1861-65. - It has NO maker's name, either BUT it was "dirt cheap" in UNFIRED condition, when I bought it from an estate sale about 20 years ago in GA.
(The barrel has a 1 in 48" twist.)

yours, satx

 

[coloradoclyde]

Mine's an Enfield musketoon and would have a very hard time hitting a squirrel.....I've thought about having it bored smooth so I can use shot.
You are very fortunate that yours shoots good enough to hit squirrels. :thumbsup:

 

[satx78247]

Mine is NICE for hunting most anything up to & including BIG boars, especially from a tree-stand as it's HANDY length.= I can easily hit a standard size "Dixie-Cup 6" dessert plate" at 100M with it.
(At squirrel-hunting range, out to 25-40M, it's downright DEADLY on bushy-tails, rabbits & our "brush-country deer", where you are "doing good" to SEE a deer at 40M.)

IF I had your "shorty", I might have a skilled gunsmith inspect it CAREFULLY, as I wonder if yours might have an "easily corrected problem". = I once owned a "Big-Bore Mountain Rifle", that was built from a kit. - You couldn't hit the side of a barn from inside when we finished the kit.
An Army buddy, who was a skilled armorer for the AMU said, "Let me have it & I'll see what I can do."
I never knew exactly what he did to the BBMR but it was DEADLY after he "messed about" with it for a few days.
(Otherwise, I might have it made into a 20-bore smoothie, for shot or RB.)

yours, satx

 

[Crewdawg445]

Finished sewing up the canteen body tonight. Tomorrow I'll sand and true up the outer edges to even the circumference of the canteen, then shape and let it dry for a few days before waxing. So far so good, very pleased with what I have as of now. More to come! :hatsoff:

 

[Grizzly Adams]

I admire your neat, clean work. It sure makes your builds a joy to follow along. :thumbsup:

 

[Crewdawg445]

Thank you bud! Glad to know what I'm doing is appreciated by others. This is actually a very fun project, however I know why these cost so much... The sewing is tedious and time consuming but very enjoyable. Should get this canteen shaped tonight and have it ready to wax early next week.

 

[Grizzly Adams]

Yessir!

Are you saddle stitching the leather?

 

[satx78247]

For whatever it's worth, I'm enjoying your DIY project & look forward to seeing it completed.

BRAVO & OLE.

yours, satx

 

[coloradoclyde]

Also enjoying the build along...... :thumbsup: :hatsoff:

 

[Crewdawg445]

Evening all, got more completed on the canteen. Sanded the edges and stuffed my copper neck in place, boy was that a chore! I originally wanted to use 3/4" copper but I changed my mind and decided to use 1/2" instead. Reason being is I think the smaller neck is more appealing. All personal preference! Anywho, what I did to essentially "stuff" the body was simple and straight forward. I've seen many mentions of sand, and beans... Sand for me was a no, no right away. I opted for ordinary brown rice for a few simple reasons. 1, it packs tightly and 2, loves to suck up moisture which is a good thing! To stuff the body I soaked the canteen in hot water then used a funnel to pour in the rice. Packing it tightly again is straight forward, I did find it very beneficial towards the end of filling to blow into the neck and tap the body to seat the rice nice and tight. Basically the object is to get the wet canteen body packed tightly to hold its shape while drying. After she drys, waxing time! :thumbsup:

Mountain Dewd, saddle stich it is buddy!

 

[Grizzly Adams]

And what fine saddle stitching it is!

You achieved a really nice consistent shape, looks very, very good. :thumbsup: I will have to give this a try.