One of the vital pieces of equipment no bowl maker should be without is a sand bag. I made one of an old leather jacket from the charity shop, but it was out of posh leather that the copper ended up slicing to bits leading to sand leakage, that eventually no duct tape could stem. Which is the sigh of a lost cause.
So i found a "welders apron" in the local cheepo shop, its thick raw hide meant to protect the welders private parts from molten metal, so i figure it might be man enough. It was cheep, so i cut a square of clear leather.
It proved a right sod to sew so i took it to a shoe mender in Truro (Timpsons) who for a a fiver glued the edge and double sewed it, remembering to leave and inch open for the sand to get in...
Here it is with a funnel inserted ready for sand....
B&Q has a confusion of sand available, did i need sharp sand/silver sand/ red sand.? Experience with red sand leads me to think i didn't need that, it stains everything it comes in contact with. I chose the cleanest looking sand they had, play pit sand. Which in the past has proved free flowing and nice to use.
So free flowing? I forgot last time i did this i cooked the sand dry in the oven, so ignorance being bliss and with the aid of Harry. I poured it...it clogged constantly and we had to wiggle poke and generally faf about to get any sand in at all...next time remember to dry it out!
Ignore the background that is the best place for doing any work... the living room!....hell we do own a hoover.
Here's the bag fully filled, in fact it might well be over filled...time will tell.
