Banner Sponsors
For artists and collectors sponsored by Intercal...your mohair supplier and Johnna's Mohair Store
Posts: 2,203What is a tailors awl?
Country Bears
This my 'awl' Jenn, wouldn't be without it, I make the hole for my joints with it.
Sorry such a poor pic, I took it in a rush, trying to multi task and cook dinner at the came time :D
Hope this is what everyone else thinks it is too or I'll look like a right fool...... :doh:
LuxembearsThey come in different sizes too. I bought mine from a hardware store. 
Upstate New YorkGreat selection too at where else ... Sears.
Posts: 8,574
This is one of the best tools I have- slot and phillips head screwdrivers and the AWL.....all in one place......
bears by beesley TMYup! :twisted:
Hugs to you Jenn
Louise
I have an awl like Clare's and one that is smaller. Can't live without it!!
Baird'sBears
I just use my carpenter's awl. The point is not so sharp as a tailor's awl, but it does the deed!
Neat tool, Dilu! Have you ever tried Robertson screws? The screw-head depression and the bit heads are square, so they never, ever slip. Robertson was a Canadian inventor. Henry Ford tried to buy the screw for his assembly line, but Robertson didn't want to sell to someone who was 'not our sort' and Ford settled for the Phillips.
Anyway, Robertson screws are ideal for bolt and locknut joints--less ripping of human flesh.
Eileen
Kim-Bee BearsI got my awl at ACMoore in the beading department
Posts: 8,574I haven't tried them- but I know what you mean, my Canadian friend. We have window bars from Canada- and thats what they had....fortunetly the good folks at Mr. Goodbar sent the bits too, so we could install them. My hubster says he has knowqledge of them being used by a lot of cabinet makers down here-and says our deck has them.
He said they would be hard for my purposes because they aren't easy to find, especially where I live-hmmmm
He says they are better though....
Dilu
Baird'sBears They are, Dilu!!
Let me know what sizes you need and I'll mail you some :dance:
Eileen
Posts: 8,574Yikes honey imagine the shipping.....maybe I should do a web search though.
Hmmmmm......an idea is forming......
By the way, do you know hard it is to get window bars down here? They hardly exist at all, we wanted some with quick release in case of an emergency, not something bolted in that traps you. Mr. Goodbar in Canada was the only company in this hemisphere that we could find. There were several UK based companies, but shipping.......
Oh. Why do we need window bars? Where we live is an odd little bit of Americana- Our nearest neighbors are meth makers, and they have such friendly and interesting people visiting them at all hours of the day or night. And The folks in Takilma like to come to O'Brien and break in and steal everything, and the folks in O'Brien like to go to Takilma and return the favor. They call it cleaning house :doh:
There is an awul lot of crime, but it is all crimes of convience-so we like to make it a little more difficult for the local entrepenures. :dance:
Actually the Ilinois Valley, where we are in Oregon, is actually poorer per capita than the Appalachia's according to the last census. That' s pretty sad. The poverty.
Ah well :pray: is about al I can do...
Just Us Bears
I use a graduated Graduated Awl and have heard many bear artists say it's their favourite tool. The tapered shaft allows you to open holes up to 1/4 inch in diameter for inserting eyes and joints without breaking or cutting the fabric backing. It just gradually pushes the fibres apart and you just keep pushing the awl in until the hole is the right diametre.
The down side of the one pictured in Claire's post is that it's the same size down the whole shaft, and most often, the hole it makes is too narrow for medium sized screws, but the are about right for cotter pins. I was taught that when you insert a screw through a hole on a joint, the joint hole should move freely around the screw without grabbing the screw thread, so you need a decent sized hole to start with.
Have included a pic of the graduated awls I have on my www.bearcupboard.comsite for anyone who may go off to look for one.
Adorable BearsWhat is a tailors awl?
I have a couple of awls but the best one came from Beary Cheap in Australia.
It is thicker than the pink handled one and has a larger rounded wooden ball type handle which sits comfortably in the hand.It is so useful for making the right size hole for locknut jointing your bear. The advantage is that if you make a hole in the wrong place, within several hours the hole "heals" because it doesn't cut the backing..just parts the threads.
The good news is that after being unable to obtain them for years..Beary Cheap have them back it stock. I could have sold one to every student when taking workshops but was unable to get them for so long.
Susan
(No I don't own the company or work for Beary Cheap...just love their larger awl)
www.adorablebears.com.au
I have never gotten around to getting an awl. I use one of those wooden skewers for shish ka bobs 
Pack of 50 for 99 cents...
