"Selftime"

I have been using a few of techniques for self-bondage that may be of interest to others.

First I should mention that I prefer leather wrist cuffs - the kind that lock on. These are comfortable enough to wear for hours and they do not cut off the circulation to my hands. They are fairly easy to lock together with a single padlock and I can free myself fairly easily.

All of this changes if I try to chain my hands apart. It is very difficult to close a padlock one-handed. I solved this with a very simple extension to the cuffs.

I took a belt blank and cut two eight-inch lengths, one for each cuff. One end of a length is folded over the cuff and riveted in place. I did not fasten the leather directly to the cuff, but rather made a flat loop that fits over the cuff. This lets me use the cuffs without the extension. The other end of the extension is riveted around a 3" steel loop. When the cuffs are locked on, the extension sticks up with the ring even with my palm. This allows me to lock and unlock a padlock on-handed. It also spreads out the tension similarly to suspension cuffs (although this does not make a regular cuff into a suspension cuff).

With the extensions on, I can fasten my cuffs to ring bolts mounted in the wall or ceiling. they are also useful for other positions including fastening the rings together in front of me with my elbows joined behind my back.

My other techniques have to do with timing my self-bondage. I hve tried using ice cubes but I wanted more control over the time, especially if I was to be in an uncomfortable position that I could not hold long. What I needed was something to hold the keys out of reach.

I got the idea from a letter in a bondage magazine published in the mid-1970s. The letter described a timer box for holding keys, but did not give any further description.

The lock box that I use is fairly simple. It is not meant to keep me out, but rather it is hung out of reach. I made it with a kitchen timer, some scrap wood, a pair of small hinges, and some wire.

I started with the timer. This is a flat, retangular one with a dial on the top. I attached a wooden circle, about three inches in diameter to the dial and mounted the timer on a board. One side of the circle is flattened. Next to the timer I built a small box. The lid for the box is made from thin wood - around 3/8" in order to give more room inside. This is important since the box and its lid have to be even with the top of the timer. The hinges go on the far side of the box from the timer.

The flattened part of the circle it lined up with the"0" on the timer so that the box lid can open and close. When the timer is turned, the circle holds the lid closed. Two wire loops are attached to the back of the base board so that it can be hung with the box lid facing down.

Its use is simple. I put important keys in the box, close the lid and twist the timer. The circle on top of the timer keeps the lid closed until the timer runs down. Then, the lid swings open and the keys fall out.

The only problem I have ever had with this is that the keys have gotten caught and the box had to be jiggled to make them fall. To keep this from appening again, I put a keyring in the box rather than a single key. The extra weight solves that problem.

A second device that I use works on the same principle as the first. This one uses a low-voltage electomagnet to hold the key.

The materials for this one are a doorbell, a transformer for the doorbell, and a utility timer. All of these are mounted on a board.

Most of the doorbell is discarded. What is needed is the solinoid from it. This is a coil with a steel pin that moves back and forth when the power is applied. The pin is moved by a magnetic field which is strong enough to hold up a steel key or two.

The timer is meant to turn on a heat lamp or fan for up to an hour. A 24 hour timer could be used instead, but I would be cautious about putting yourself in inescapable bondage for more than an hour at a time for fear of hands going to sleep and other long-term problems.

The key does buzz while it is held this way. This has to do with alternating current. This has the side-effect that I can tell if the power is on while blindfolded.

I usually use the magnetic timer in my shop. My shop has a very high ceiling, around 12" so it is too high to hang my other timer-box from.

A short note on using electricity this way. Both the power outlet and the power strip I use have circuit breakers in case of a short. In addition, if anything happened to the power, the key would fall. I would advice anyone trying a contraption of this sort to let it run out a few times without being bound just to be sure.

I have a few other accessories that I use in my shop. I put an eye-bolt through a doorway which is two 2x6s. This can support my weight several times over. There is pegboard over the door which gives me an easy place to hang my timer. I use a stool and hang it as high as I can reach. I also run the power cord overhead, out of reach.

I go ahead and attach a cord from my key to an eyebolt, turn the timer to start the magnet, and hang the key from it.

The cord from the key is still almost within reach. To keep myself from hopping up and getting it, I usually use a spreader bar between my legs.

To secure myself, I use the cuff extensions described above with a separate lock for each wrist but fastened to the same ring. The ring is just high enough that I am stretched out but not under any real strain. Of course from this position, I cannot possibly remove any gags, clamps, or other toys.

A few times, for variety, I have bent one leg and secured it to my waist. With my hands above me there is no chance of falling and I started out with shorter periods to make sure that I would not cramp up. In fact, this turned out to be so comfortable that as soon as a half-hour session ended, I refastened myself for another hour.