Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Bicycle tire flogger

I made another flogger from bicycle tires. This time I used two smaller tires, which give a lite stingy feeling.




The tubes had a long metal air hose/spike. I cut around them and fed the falls through the loop.


I had two 8' long strips left over, and wrapped them for the handle and knot at the hilt


 Here it is finished, next to my first bike flogger.


Monday, November 28, 2011

DIY Five Fall Scourge

I decided to make a scourge using leather thongs and neon cord. The neon cord is used as a core, and the leather forms the falls and outer cover. I spent $3 on neon cord, and about $18 on two spools of leather thong (available at any Tandy retailer). In hindsight, i would have gone with a thinner thong for the braid around the core.

Step one -
Measure out four pieces of neon cord (1.5 times the total desired length, plus a few inches). I decided to fold the core over it's self for six inches (ie, an extra nine inches over the total length) to form the handle piece.

Using a piece of electrical tape, line the four pieces side by side and begin braiding in an "over two, under two" pattern. Keep the braids as tight as possible. When you get to the end, where the falls will connect, cut the cords evenly and wrap with tape. this will keep the rope from unbraiding it's self.

In this picture, I also had a braided loop for the wrist (removed). the wrist braid was over one, under one using three pieces. The wrist loop here is optional, as you should always have a firm grip on your toys. if you can't hang on to it, don't be using it!

Step two - the falls

Take two pieces of leather thong, approximately three feet long. Begin and braid a "square braid of four thongs" (reference - http://www.kingsmerecrafts.com/page76.html) I used two different colored thongs to stay organized, and braided approximately 1.5 inches, or "five knots". 

After you have braided the tip, braid the extra pieces in a "over two, under two" pattern. Repeat this step for as many falls as you desire. I used five falls (ten thongs).

Before connecting the falls to the head/core, play with them. move them in the directions they will eventually be falling. the more you flex and play with them, the more "lively" they will be. I also soaked them in hot water for fifteen seconds, allowed to dry then rubbed with a light amount of bacon grease.put a little bit of clean (non-solid) grease on your finger tips, and work it into the braids below the square braid.


Step three - connect the falls to the core
There are a few ways to do this step. one would be to braid the excess thongs from the falls in through the core, and another would be to anchor them and inch over the fall, and bind tightly with electrical tape. I decided to bind with tape, but also run two thongs through the core for added stability.  I than ran the two thongs over-under and through each fall, weaving it back into and over it's self.



At this point you could almost say you're done. If your braids and bindings are tight enough, this can be used on another person. Since the core is a four string flat braid, it will have two directions that it will "want to go". This is how you can determine the top and bottom parts, as well as the "sides".

For added stability and aesthetics, we can now plait braid from the handle to about where we connected the falls (and finish with either a partial Turk's head or Spanish knot).

To determine how many thongs you need, measure the circumference of the core and handle. if you folded the core over it's self to make the handle as I did, you will have two different measurements. Divide the circumference by the width of your thongs to get the number of thongs you need. My thongs are 1/8th inch wide, and my core is one and a half inches - i'll need twelve thongs to cover the circumference.

To make things easy, I took six black and six white thongs, and taped them around the handle, keeping the colors separate. Holding the toy upside down (i'll be braiding "downwards"), take the last colored thong on the right, and pass it around the back - over two, under two, over one". it should now be at the front of it's group. think of the saying "to the head of the class". Now, alternate to the other side and take the last thong and pass it over two, under two over one. Where the two colored thongs now cross, place a pin or tack. Make sure the braid is tight! Each thong should be returning to it's own side. A sloppy braid will not only look bad, but may break and fall apart. take your time and ensure each pass/braid is perfect! You can undo the braid at any time.
Now, go back to the first group, and start braiding "over two, under two -over TWO (the second one is the first thong). Continue alternating side to side in this pattern until you run out of thong or reach the head, where the falls connect. this can be bound with electrical tape for stability, and/or woven into a scrap of leather/suede.