DM Toolbox, Black & Blue

This was the first toolbox to use lambskin for the shell and I'm really happy with how it came out.  These toolboxes are pretty popular around the holidays and I've already received another order or two for more.

DM Toolbox, Black & Red

It's been awhile since I've made a toolbox and certainly time for a few changes to the build.  For one thing, now that I have a much better 3D printer I was able to add some decor to the corner caps.  Didn't even need to wrap them all up in tape and weathering.  Due to the material I had on hand I had to use some cuts that weren't as clean as I might prefer.  The solution there was the extra bit of leather under the emblem.  It's another piece of vegtan and even stained in more or less the same way as the emblem.  It's just flipped so the flesh side faces out, giving it a different texture.  I like the effect but don't know if it's something I'll ever do often.

Casing Chest

Casing is the process by which vegetable tanned leather is prepared for carving or molding.  It involves wetting the leather and then creating the conditions for the water to work its way uniformly through the leather.  As the name implies, this usually meant leaving the wet leather in a heavy box for several hours.  Historically anything from an ice box to a humidor could work as a casing chest; it just had to be mostly air/water tight.  These days the casing chest has often been replaced by ziploc bags and/or plastic wrap but there have been many times I've wanted to just have a big box I could drop my leather in to case (or keep it from decasing overnight).  So, naturally, I built one.

Most of the chest is built from cedar tongue-and-groove boards that I could lock together to form the walls.  I used some old 3/4" plywood we had sitting about for the floor and lid. 

Most of the descriptions of antique casing chests I could find (which totals two) described a heavy cedar chest lined with galvanized steel.  The cedar I could handle but plates of galvanized steel were a tad outside my budget.  So I've substituted it with HVAC tape (basically aluminum foil with a sticky side).  To simplify the structure I ran a bead of hot melt glue down each groove between the boards.  Then I ran some gorilla glue (which expands to fit the space available before hardening) over that and covered the whole kaboodle with the tape.  After an hour or two the walls were basically flat.

I was originally going to lock the whole thing together with some old fashioned dovetails but that turned out to be impractical with the tongue and grove boards so I settled for some simple butt joints.  Once I had the floor installed and the first coat of tung oil applied I glued some strips of latigo to the upper edge of the chest.  Aside from looking nicer than the ends of the boards, it should function as something like a gasket.

After a second coat of tung oil I cut the window in the lid and glued a big sheet of plexiglass under it.  I was concerned early on that a big, dark box with lots of humidity and little air flow would soon gather mold.  There are some "classic" solutions to this problem (periodically scrubbing with vinegar and the like) but I figured if the box wasn't constantly dark then it might not be a problem to start with.  Time will tell if my hypothesis is correct and if it isn't... well I know where to find the vinegar.

I still need to find a pair of hinges that will fit the lid but the box is effectively finished as it is.  When I find the hinges I can just bolt them on.  The chest was sized so that it could fit inside the shelves in the Studio but putting it in there keeps it in shadow and limits how far the lid can be opened.  Fortunately I had enough wallspace left to bolt a small shelf to the wall.  Done & Done.  I'm looking forward to trying it out on my next carving project.

Toolboxes shipped

These were two separate orders that came in weeks apart but just happened to wind up with similar specs.  One will be a gift for a graduate and a black-gold scheme and the other is an anniversary gift made to mimic the original prototype.  Because they were delayed a few weeks with all the moving I included some complimentary Initiative tabs when the boxes finally shipped.

Testimonial for the DM Binder Prototype

This came during the dark times between having the internet disconnected and getting it reconnected at the new house.  I like hearing back from clients after they've had a chance to try out their orders and this is one I was particularly curious about.  Definitely going to be adding something similar to the store's stock.

http://www.fosterleathercraft.com/2016/03/d-tome-of-binding.html

"Totally forgot to message you when I got the binder. It's absolutely amazing and the players like it to.
Thanks very much, very happy with the product."

Yin-Yang Dragon Toolbox

I rather liked this order since it's a gift a group of players were picking up for their DM.  So far as I can tell it was just happenstance than the order came in smack after the preceding Toolbox.  I'd figured I could get them both done at the same time but unfortunately that just resulted in a few days of delays.  On top of that, the cardstock wouldn't take a stain for hide or hair.  36 hours soaking in coffee, tea, and casing water (loaded with tannins) and it came out just about as white as it went in.  And then I ran out of chicago screws (they hold the hinges to the structure) so I had to wait for those to be restocked.  That shipment came this afternoon so I was able to get the box finished up and on its way!

For all that the emblem worked rather well.  It's an adaptation of an image the client provided and it works rather well with the resisting.  I figured I'd stick with the black-light grey theme with the foam lining and I'm fairly pleased with how it's come out.

Double Party DM Toolbox

I wound up with two orders for DM Toolboxes last week and it's taken me the last two weeks to finish them up.  This one will be shipping out this afternoon though the second one is waiting for some additional hardware to arrive (probably next week).

This one was mostly "stock" but the client requested silver anchors and two PC bays (instead of just one).  I've built enough of these now that I'm fairly confident in how they come together but supplies might become an issue soon.  I only have enough goatskin (used for the exterior) for one more toolbox and I haven't found a steady supplier for that yet.  Even the original stock had been limited so it's likely I'll need to consider a different material for the exterior in the future.

DM Toolbox, Mark VII

This was the seventh toolbox to make it all the way through the drafting process but only the second to be fully built.  One of the glorious gentlemen from the excellent DM Block community was spiffy enough to give me another shot at trying out some of the improvements since I built my intial prototype.  This time around we started out using velcro as the fastener (a practicality > looking cool decision), using 1/4" fiberboard for the entire structure, 3D printing the corner caps, using Tandy's new concho hinges, and using foam & primer instead of felt & kote for the lining.

I was concerned at first that the thinner material might result in a flimsier result.  By the time I'd finished the assembly though I'd realized that the 1/8" fiberboard is plenty rigid when assembled correctly.  The final result feels just as sturdy as the prototype and it's just a scootch over half the weight (1 kg : 1.8 kg).

When I had an opportunity to start working on the structure we happened to be in the midst of a patented "Pacific Northwest Month of Drizzle".  That ruled out setting the jigsaw up on the balcony so I wound up doing all the cutting with handsaws and the dremel.  In hindsight, I think that worked out better than using the jigsaw.  The dovetails are all nice and straight, much more so than with the jigsaw.

Printing the corner caps was unexpectedly challenging.  It's a simple print but my M3D printer was refusing to cooperate.  Adamantly.  I eventually just buried the prints in scotch tape so they'd at least finish printing.  They all came out pretty messy though so I figured I'd dress them up with aluminum tape.  That made them nice and metallic but next to the black goatskin they were pretty clash-y.  I fixed that by weathering them with some ink wash to tone down the aluminum a bit.  The result is a bit... unique but I like it.

The primer and foam work much better than their counterparts.  For some reason I've been rather amused rolling dice on the foam as they tend to bounce around like billard balls and jiggle a bit when they stop.

The final result this time is a marked improvement over the prototype.  There's still a couple kinks to work out, mostly in aligning the new hinges, but overall I'm pretty pleased with the result.  Though next time I work with fiberboard and primer I should remember to give the fiberboard the entire sanding treatment before hitting it with primer.  All those little feathers and burrs that lay flat at first turn into briars once the primer dries.