Machete Sheath

My 12" machete came with a carboard sheath and after a while it began to disintegrate so I ordered a canvass sheath online and you know what? They sent me the 14" sheath instead. I called the company and informed them about the mistake. They don't carry the 12" sheath anymore and luckily I got a refund.

So I decided to make a sheath myself out of a thick carton box and duck tape.




I cut the carton about 17" in lenght to accomodate the 12" blade plus 1" allowance and 4" for the belt loop.


I inserted the machete on the sheath to test if it fits.


Then wrap a duct tape around the sheath.


I folded the belt loop and tied a rubber band to hold it in place.


The rubber band does not only hold the fold in the belt loop but it also keep the blade in the sheath by friction. I would tack some staples in the sheath and belt loop as soon as I have my gun tacker working.

Simple but functional.

Thats all folks! Thanks for reading.

Des Plaines Trail System - Part II

After biking the North portion of the Des Plaines Trail System, my son and I decided to bike the trail going South. Unfortunately, it rained the previous day and so the trail was muddy. I wouldn't recommend the bike trail from Big Bend Lake going South because it seems that it is not being maintained. And there were a lot of mosquitos too.

Here's a short video I created.



That's all folks! Thanks for viewing.

Hose Sheath

After putting a handle on my craft saw, I made a sheath for it using a water hose. I found the hose in the trash and I thought it would be a good sheath for my saw.




I just cut the hose to the right length using a knife.


The sheath fits the saw very well. The saw won't fall even if you shake the sheath vigorously.


You have to press the sheath at the top opening to insert or withdraw the saw. A very good child-proof feature.

That's all folks! Thanks for reading.

Des Plaines Trail System - Part I

My son and I decided to go biking on the Des Plaines Trail System last Memorial Day, May 31, 2010. We got rained out but we enjoyed the ride. Here's a short video I created.



That's all folks! Thanks for viewing.

Rehandling a Saw

Sometime ago, I found a saw without a handle. I've never gotten time to put a handle on it. But since I've been woodcarving lately, I thought it would be a nice tool for cutting small branches, like when I'm making spikketrollets. I decided to give it a new handle so that it would be convenient to use.




I split the wood with my knife.




I traced the part of the saw that would go into the handle with a knife. I then carved the wood so that when the saw is inserted and the two blocks of wood are joined together, the saw would fit in snuggly.




Then I removed the bark from the handles.


And applied wood glue generously.


I put them all together. I don't have clamps so I just tied the handles with a rubber band.


After letting the glue cure for 24 hours, I removed the rubber band, whittled the handle to my desired shape and sanded it to remove rough edges. This is the final result.

That's all folks! Thanks for reading.