[The Apprentice]

It has been a while since I made anything, so here is something I would like to show off, she is a leather gauge used for cutting leather belts and harnesses, it can be adjusting the widths of up to 3 inches down to 1/2", via the cam lock on the side plate.



Made predominantly from billet brass and as far as I know is the worlds first single locking width and depth roller system.



Thanks for looking.



20170502_181859 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

20170502_181930 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

Thanks for looking.

[The Apprentice]

Hi Folks

As you can all see crafts and creations is our passion and over the years as a couple we have concentrated the last three decades on finding folks who would share their practical knowledge with us.

We had many knock backs but kept going and gathered a little bit at a time and learned how to drift in and out of modernity regardless and today is what accumulated we share in the things we make.

The following video explains how we have been removed from our natural ways of creating things for ourselves, as the government began taxing the worker it soon dawned on us that we were both working flat out and in the end were basically treading water and going backwards, this is why we began looking for the alternatives.

https://youtu.be/d3yrdlZeuzc

We have now reached the dizzy position in history where we have very little left that we can call our own, unless it is disposable debt that we rely upon, I have mentioned and promoted the real life skills model so many times now that it has pit others against us, until we have been scorned and denigrated, so all we can say once again, is grab those real life skills that may possibly save you in the future.

[The Apprentice]

A selection of leather and wood utility and handbags that I made back in the summer of 2019, the leather was given to me for free and the walnut side boards I had left over from a previous project.



They are all unlined and in several different shapes and sizes, which I have named The Vault, with their stainless steel Torx screws to hold everything together along the edges.



They are waterproof once they are oiled and very sturdy with a super strong strap to give a very secure container for ones goodies.



20190315_124832 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

[The Apprentice]

For the engineers amongst you.

Here is a handy device I have been wanting to make for quite a while, it comes in the form of a piston ring grinder for removing a precise amount of metal from the ends of a piston ring for ICE engine repairs.

You begin by placing a ring into the clamp and squaring it up to the diamond grinding wheel, then using the turntable you gently remove as much as is needed to get the gap between the ring whilst fitted inside the cyclinder bore to the manufacturers specifications, this allows enough gap when the engine has reached working temprature so it does nor seize whilst in motion.


_1030406 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

_1030407 by apprentice 01, on Flickr



Made in house from off the shelf metals and parts from other left over cut offs, here is the device in use below, here I remove exactly 3 thousands of an inch and check it afterwards.

https://rumble.com/vvzydn-piston-ring-grinder.html

Thanks for looking.

[The Apprentice]

Loved the podcast this Thursday with the guest Diana Hammil and her self reliant machinations, we need more guests on this subject.



https://www.wildharvest.org/store



This is a topic and really needed talks on the show about real life skills and future generations who basically can re-skill any paradigm after any SHTF situation.



Like Diana we have been doing things for ourselves for over 25 years and have amassed a plethora of different skills and saved tens of thousands doing so.



We also ran an international training school where the students came for free tuition in the skills we have.



Thanks Richie.

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Going over some of the older posts that I lost the photo's, here they are some again.

My homemade jewellers bench with some of my homemade tools including the leather pads made from recycled rawhide.

20150101_000555 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

20150101_001337 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

A necklace made from a recycled Victorian chain and a sellection of half orbs of different sizes, the edges were cut into a rough round shape being hammered into a wooden die which left the edges wavy.

20150101_011748 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

A hair tidy made from a recycled gravy dish including the item number from the original makers catologue.

20150101_011848 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

Another hair tidy made from the bottom of a silver cream bowl and planished which work hardens the thin silver body.

20150101_010618 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

20150101_012037 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

A silver Yorkshire rose with a planished bud at its heart.

20150104_151555 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

My homemade third hand work station made from recycled materials, the pivot points are two pence coins and the shafts and jaws are made out of the guide rods out of an old computer scanner.

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20190408_152445 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

A small sellection of leather hair tidies in the form of astronomical mechanics.

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20160923_103812 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

[The Apprentice]

Two handy traditional kitchen tools in the form of a Spurtle and a pair of frying tongs.

The Spurtle is made from seasoned Holly and the tongs are made from Manchurian Walnut

20160923_094311 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

[The Apprentice]

My homemade tumbling machine for polishing jewellery, made from the contents of an old photo copier, the main frame is made from Birch plywood, she works a treat and can be started in either direction of rotation.

20150101_043757 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

20170812_145555 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

[The Apprentice]

Here is my homemade growing boxes or mini solariums, made from 50 x 25mm treated roofing lathes and recycled double glazing units/glass pannels. the corners are held with a single wood screw 50.00mm long at the corners so they can be easily taken apart.

First the glass units need to be taken apart using a Stanley knife or box cutter, the glass fits into a central groove 10.00mm deep which I make over the table saw so the glass slides inside, then I cut the ends at 45 dgrees to encapsulate the glass securely.

They are great for raising early seedlings in the warmer spring sunshine then once the plants are hardened off you can lift it off and place it somewhere else to detter the wildlife.

We have grow chilli very successfully in these many times, and many other heat loving herbs.

20150101_003644 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

A double version below and a new Amish style wheelbarrow in the making on the garden table, getting its final coat of preservative.

20190627_122850 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

Below is a bespoke leather gardening apron I designed and made in house, it has a cross over strap system that is much more comfortable that the wrap around the neck version one often sees, complete with a spacious front pocket and copper buckles and strap rivetts to close the ends of the straps to the main body for greater strength and longevity.

20150103_020136 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

20150103_020037 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

20150103_020158 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

The same solid silver hair tidy seen in the picture above that I made for the old grey mare, in the shape of a butterflies wings with its solid silver pin.

_1030411 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

Thanks for looking.

[The Apprentice]

Here is my new Mk2 homemade induction heater that I put together for melting gold and silver for my hobby projects in the form of personal jewellery, some of which you have already seen.

The whole unit cost a little over a hundred pounds to make, she consists of a Cisco power supply the type used by computer servers giving sixty plus amp DC from a standard household supply, it uses 54 of those amps to drive the heater with a few amps to spare.

I altered the standard 9 turn 3/16" coil that came with it, to a six turn 1/4" copper coil for extra internal diameter and better cooling, which is driven by a standard pond pump submerged in a five gallon bucket of tap water, the black coating around the main coil is what they use in electric cookers 500 plus centigrade thermal protection.

She has a double layer crucible, the outer layer is a ceramic pot for complete safety in case the inner one fails and the inner a graphite melting crucible, when it is running you can touch the outer surface of the coil which is only warm to the touch, i runs pretty cool overall and is safer to run that a standard household cooker.

Here you see it melting three ounces of scrap silver i less than five minutes, the water in the tank never even gets luke warm even after 15 minuites run time.

https://odysee.com/@Shedlives:6/2019_0729_114359_003:5

Thanks for looking, if anyone wants to build one I can give all the links to the parts to do it.

[The Apprentice]

A little of my leatherwork in the form of solestial wrist bands, can anyone work out what they are designed to indicate?

20160923_121311 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

20160923_121351 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

Thanks for looking.