Mac's first pen case

The oldest will have his 11th birthday this week and i have been working on his first pen case. he has a real passion for writing and drawing.

his drawing desk is already stock, so i kept to simple in a easy to carry mobile way.

being 11 i doubt it will be his edc but i am sure that he will make it his field and his trip carry.

spent the last month looking online and through the home for what would be best to start him off with. been balancing what he already prefers and something new i would like him to use.

in the acquisition of the clutch pencils from some ebay auctions had a fair amount of lead attached to them to the sales.

with patience i was able to get great deals on every single one of them and now enough lead to give him the needed variety for some time.

a good mix of leads and lead carriers. he will have some options for choosing

the hardest item to find was the perfect cigar case. that was the last item to get. didn't make it to the house until last week.

the ebony pencil will be a new tool for him. this has been a standard in my designs and will be looking forward to see if he takes to it. he had been using a 3b for making solid planes and bolding lines.

Mac's first pen case

a few items not easily identifiable: the click pen eraser, and the green extra fine tip pen (this is for the base lines when writing and the foundation lines for designs.

the crimson pencil is my influence on the importance of applying a real color differentiator for some parts in linear design.

i had a damn good time going through the process of picking these tools out and look forward as to how this first setup will change and evolve over time.

11 hammers stripping

It is that kind of a party here.

the clear coat just hit the sweet zone between tacky and dry. 

now is the best time to remove the masking. 

if i were to wait any longer i would have to cut a line where the tape meets the finish.

this speeds up the work and sacrifices nothing for quality.

hammers with paint and clear coat waiting to be stripped. 

this is a good time as the final looks becomes apparent.

i should stress that it is good because my expectations are being met.

hammer's paper removed, next to go is the tape

 in 24-48 hours (more to the 48 hour side) i will start the long oil on the bare wood sections.

where the head visually meets the handle the oil from the eye wood soaking is still evident.

i am very pleased with the wood of the handles, after oiling i am hoping that others will agree.

hammer masking removed, next they need oiling

Uncrate instructions

A shipping crate is about as utilitarian as an object gets

however 

there is something about those old style wood crates with different types of identifiers adhered to, printed on or imprinted into the skin.

i have made an attempt to give an impression of the older "cratesque" look.

Each crate i make is made for the particular tool that is to be housed in it

but

the extreme croquet mallets, axes and hatchets have the same overall design (for now anyway).

crate opening instructions

with one side of the crate being hinged, the opening tabs only needed to be located on the opposite side.

there are two types of tabs to unlatch.

one tab is wood with a screw fastener

and 

the second is a leather tab that fits over a small latch nail.

this side shows the two types of latch tabs. 

the first step is to remove the screw in this wood tab.

wood crate tab with the screw fastened

the other step is to lift the leather tab up and over the small latch nail.

there is a hole punched into the leather and it will come off easily when lifted and pulled out.

one does not want to remove the nail. the nail will allow you to re-latch the crate at any time. 

leather crate tab

Allen mallet in shipping crate

The final steps before heading off to the shippers.

mummified in the first layer of wrappings.

 by the time i am done with the packing this mallet will be able to withstand the most abusive of couriers.

mallet tomb,

no it is a 

mallet womb.

Preparing the shipping crates

Preparing 1 mallet crate for shipping to Brooklyn and 2 hatchet crates to put on ETSY.

 adhering the crate flash signifies the near completion of the tool's restoration process. 

at each step i do critique however their is an enjoyable weight to the end. one that finalizes the entire experience.

a final moment to review the new life of an established tool.

adhering the paper flash on the crates:

first is to attach the tool care instructions on the inner lid.

after a layer of adhesive i lay a small square of ply over the top for equal weight distribution, then some weight over the top of that. in this case i am using double bit axe heads.

after the photo i laid the top square and double bit over the peeking paper.

paper flash: glued, and sandwiched with weight.

weighted down until glue sets

 the next flash is the vertical name 

and 

the crate opening instructions.

for weight on the hatchet crates i multitasked the actual hatchets that will soon be housed inside.

there are plenty of axe & hatchet heads around the house to use as weights in this house.

next step is to make some thought rockets and then either ship or photograph for posting.

Tremors axe

Introduced the boys to "tremors"

then 

we noticed the "axe" cameo.

fred ward without a gun grabs an axe.

Vinegar bath - sci fi horror still

Over a dozen rusty hammers later,

trying to sort out the title of the sci fi horror movie this vinegar bath came out of.

you just know that some creature bred in this primordial ooze is going to be all jacked up and try to take over humanity!

i dare you to stick your finger in that hole!

do it!!