Brass cantle source?

[TheOfficialBren]

I just googled brass working.
This site popped up: http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-with-Brass/

The author mentions two types of brass that he uses.

[IsaacW]

This is an interesting topic. I would love to see more how-tos on this sort of stuff. I have some basic leather working skills and do a lot of DIY type of stuff (actually do some museum repro work dealing with other areas). Additionally, as a outdoorsy person, I have a lot of fur, hide, and access to the both. I would love to make myself another sporran or two and was just looking through some muskrat and beaver hides last night.

IW

[Downunder Kilt]

Are we taliknig about functioning brass cantles here or cantles that you bolt onto the sporran? Big difference in work and weights and much different beasties

[HippieLee]

I can't speak for anyone else but I'm interested in making sporrans with cantles that I can open and use.

[Destin_scot]

Downunder, IsaacW, Et al;

I believe that we are actually talking about BOTH as the OP didn't specify, and both have their places, (think functional dress and hunter's sporrans or a piper's horse hair sporran, (which can be functional with pockets and pouches fashioned behind the cantle)).

Brass is soft enough that you may be able to use a wood working CNC machine to fabricate some of the parts, (anybody willing to give this a shot?), though you will probably wear out the router, bits and other parts faster than you wanted to, but you could also do this to make positive forms out of plastic or carve-able jeweller's wax and use these to make moulds for casting brass, aluminium, pewter, resin, etc. and once you have a master design, the options are wide open.

just ideas, no experience doing it....but dreams of being able to....

[Bluescelt]

I just finished a brass cantle sporran with brown leather bag. This also has a mink front panel. I'll be taking photos today and will post them in a new thread.

In a comment on this thread, you don't need an extensive amount of tools to make a functioning brass cantle. I work with a dremel, drill press, vise, torch and solder, bench grinder, hammer, files, drill bits, steel wool and a 1/4-20 tap. All of these these are standard issue in the average home handyman workshop (the tap is a small ticket purchase). Brass bar stock and sheet can be purchased on line and you can source brass knobs at lamp supply companies. Everything I've made I have made in the cellar with what I have. It takes a lot of extra time to cut and shape metal with these basic tools but if you are a do-it-yourselfer it's not about how efficiently you work but how well it comes out when you're done. It's also about your comfort level working with tools. I do all my leather work and stitching by hand so the decorative stitching you see on the high end sporrans is not practical so until I can justify a big money leather sewing machine I'll limit those embellishments.

[Hendry]

Try Penny's of Thunder Bay, I picked one up with cones for about $30 + shipping

http://www.pennys.ca/New/index.php?pid=13

[Kilted Cole]

How long does something in customs usually sit there for? My Items have been in Chicago for over a week now.

[artificer]

How long does something in customs usually sit there for? My Items have been in Chicago for over a week now.

Customs is a crap-shoot. Right now there appears to be something up between US and CAN customs. Everything is taking FOREVER. I had a package get from me, thru US customs, and to it's destination port in 3 days. It then sat in Canadian customs for 9 days before clearance.

Perhaps the same is happening in reverse.

ith:

[Kilted Cole]

Bloody Deck of Cards Batman! that's ridiculous!