Gourd canteen

[Redguru]

I'm beginning a gourd canteen, got two gourds from Ebay, These.

Using the smaller of the two, pictured below with exterior dimensions of 4" tall by 6.68" diameter. After cutting the hole for the cork (the wall thickness is just under 1/4"), I can estimate the interior volume to be about 3.5" x (3.07")^2 x pi which = 104 cubic inches or 1.8 quarts (1.7L)

[Redguru]

To cut the hole for the cork, I marked the size of a cork with a permanent marker and then drilled tiny holes around the circumference of the drawn hole. From everything I've seen on the web, this is the safest way as a paddle bit or hole saw may break the wall

[Redguru]

I then took 60 grit sand paper and wrapped it around the cork to clean up the edges of the hole. Be careful here, I took off more material than I needed to. Now I'll have to create a larger stopper. I also carefully cut the stem flush with the edge of the gourd.

[Redguru]

Next, I took a wire coat hanger and shaped it to match the walls of the gourd and removed the fibrous guts of the dried gourd that are attached to the interior walls and the attached seeds.

I then filled the gourd with small nuts (you can used edged gravel) and shook it, scraping the remaining loose material from the interior of the gourd. I then blew out the gourd using LP air.

[Redguru]

Tomorrow, I am going to wax the interior of the gourd to make it watertight. I am also going to begin on making a woven jute covering similar to the historical canteen with the esparto grass cover found in the roman Mazzaron mines in Spain.

[Dan Howard]

Very cool. Looking forward to seeing a pic of the finished product. Are you going to coat the inside with a waterproofing agent? Does it need waterproofing?

[Magnus]

You have to use parafin wax or something similar. I once swallowed a pretty big piece of wax from my gourd canteen once. I felt very odd for about 3 hours after that.

[Dan Howard]

Been doing some reading. Apparently you don't need to wax it but, if you don't, the water tastes pretty horrible unless the gourd has been very thoroughly cleaned out.

[M. Demetrius]

Here where temperatures are regularly warm, waxing is not just for waterproofing, but to keep the gourd matter from going rancid and cultivating bacteria. Some of those bacteria can be very harmful to the human body. That may not be a critical where the weather is cooler, I don't know.

Beeswax (or to a lesser extent, paraffin--the softer the better) helps to keep the water from the gourd fibers. Hard paraffin will more easily crack and allow water to contact the gourd. In other words, don't use melted free-standing candles for your gourd wax, as it will have a higher percentage of stearins and be much more brittle.

[Redguru]

I'm using paraffin but I am ensuring it is fresh paraffin, bought a one pound block. I will probably add new at least once a year to prevent cracking. Beeswax is cost prohibitive these days in comparison.

[M. Demetrius]

Usually the paraffin bought in blocks is just paraffin, and should work fine. To "recharge" it, just put a couple of cups of water in there that are hotter than the melting point, and slosh it around. That should remelt it and cure any cracks. :wink:

[Redguru]

How is it for holding liquids other than water? Making a second one, of the bottle gourd variety, and storing vinegar or wine in might be a plus.

[Redguru]

Ok, decided to go with sisal instead of jute. Although sisal is made from an agave, it's fibers seem to resemble that of the esparto grass better than jute.

I made a circle in poster board about 1.5" larger diameter than the gourd. I then divided the circle into 15 chords, (an odd number is imperative if you want to weave) by taking the circumference and dividing it by 360°, finding the number of inches per degree. Then I take 360°/15 to find the number of degrees per chord. Multiplying the 24 degree/chord by the .073 inches/degree yield approximately 1.75 inches/chord.

Going around the edge of the circle of 8.375" in diameter, measured 15 1.75" equidistant points, then drew lines to the center. Then I cut 3/4" in from the edge of the circle towards the center along those lines. I then also made a hole big enough to pass the sisal through in the center of the circle.

I bought twisted sisal rope at Walmart for about $2 and then removed the braid in about 1 yard sections, tying overhand knots in the unbraided material every six inches or so to prevent it from unraveling. I then passed the sisal through the center and into each of the cuts around the edge of the cardboard circle. I then began weaving the sisal from the center outward.

[Redguru]

The previous post method did not work, the sisal kept tangling and I couldn't complete the side, so I used the process from the following pdf, Paper plate weaving in the round, using the same dimensions as mpreviously noted and attached is the result for one side of the canteen, photographed sitting on top of the canteen.

[M. Demetrius]

Well thought out, and well done!