Now that they are presented, the scribe boxes for the Royalty and Heirs that I was commissioned to create as regalia with artwork design by Dag Thorgrimsson. The boxes are based on this exploded view of a stollentruhe chest around 1300 from the Lüneburg Heath.

   

 I had an amazing time at Val Day tournament of chivalry (SCA fighting event) yesterday and I'm sure that I will have the bruises in the next few days to prove that I was there.

I'm humbled to be a member of the order of Chivalry and I am honored to serve the unbelt community of fighters who travel to this event and wait in long lines to have an opportunity to train against us.

I hope that I am able to give advice equal to what each of you teach me.

Additionally I want to thank the Roses who served by coordinating and sending the various fighters out for their bouts.

02/09/2025

Etching on Stainless steel

Laser etching I wanted to try on Stainless steel.

Honestly it worked better than I would have expected and after a few adjustments such as running the program several times in place and changing the focal length on the laser to compensate for the convex shape I was satisfied with the resolution. This opens up some possibilities for post processing castings.

 

Flamingo in her Piety

 Now that it has been presented, I can post about the "Flamingo in her piety" created using my Creality 22 watt laser for my wife's elevation to the SCA order of the Pelican. 

It is made from several layers of wool and backed with heat n bond sheeting witch allows it to be cut, then ironed down before stitching. 

Custom Boxes

For Pennsic 2023 I was asked to make a contribution to the gifts for the State dinner hosted by the Midrealm. We had been chosen to provide gifts for the East and this was my contribution. Two boxes, one made from Wenge and the other from Bubinga. 

Leather Masks

A few years back I crafted a leather mask for a costume party. I didn’t start from scratch though, A friend and I picked up a Mardi Gras-style mask from a Halloween store, and after taping it up, we filled it with plaster to create a mold. I used about 2 ounce vegi-tanned leather, soaking it in warm water to make it pliable for shaping around the form. After several hours of working with the leather as it dried through various stages, I was mostly satisfied and left it to dry completely.

When I returned, I trimmed the edges and the eye holes before sketching the design with a stylus and wetting the areas for tooling. Once that was complete and dry, I painted it with Eco-Flo Cova Color, a water-based leather paint, and sealed it with a clear coat. I added a little elastic cord for the strap, and it was ready to wear!

 

Cloth buttons using the laser cutter

I needed cloth buttons for a project, so after researching tutorials, I developed a process utilizing my laser cutter, a predictable choice I know.

This is how I created approximately 3/4 inch cloth buttons.

First I did a little trial and error to get the size that I wanted before drawing the circles and squares in the lightburn software.

After running playing with the power settings I was able to mark the circle onto the square and then cut the squares out.

The next step was a simple matter of doing a running stitch following the marked circle and pulling up until I was ready to fold the corners in to the center, sort of inverting it a little. From there just top stitching across at angles until I pulled everything as tight as I needed. All in all I'm pretty happy with the results and consistency

Layout in Lightburn with zero space between my arrange so there is no waste

Running stitch following the scribed circle

Just about ready to tuck the corners in to use as a stuffing.