FritzDaKat

Andrew, thank you so much for the update email. I love this site even though I'm not generally very active but sooner or later I'll get a proper shop arranged,, then you'll need a Shotgun to get me to log out, (And I can only imagine what some of the folks in here could come up with for one. ;) ) @ Bob, I let some sites link and others not,,, depends on what info and interests I want up all over my wall really. Really hasn't had any effect with site access for me as yet anywhere.

Oh, re: if Gutenberg has any Smithing books, not really, but there are a few which may be of interest to some who might want to make their own furniture for the workshop, The one on Glasswork more as a novelty, but hey, if yer' temps can make it that high,,, So many of these are for noveltys sake, but some like Mechanics for Boys can have some useful tidbits. Sorry if this list is too far from the particular topic of this thread, but I'm sure most books will hold some relevant & helpful info, or at least make up for it in novelties sake. Advanced Search - Project Gutenberg Cat # & titles: 23319 -- Mechanical Drawing Self-Taught, by Joshua Rose 15622 -- Handbook on Japanning: 2nd Edition, by William N. Brown 10998 -- A CATECHISM OF THE STEAM ENGINE IN ITS VARIOUS APPLICATIONS TO MINES, MILLS, STEAM NAVIGATION, RAILWAYS, AND AGRICULTURE. WITH PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE MANUFACTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF ENGINES OF EVERY CLASS. 12655 -- The Boy Mechanic 22298 -- Practical Mechanics for Boys, by J. S. Zerbe 22766 -- Electricity for Boys, by J. S. Zerbe 22657 -- Steam, Its Generation and Use, by Babcock & Wilcox Co. 20763 -- Carpentry for Boys, by J. S. Zerbe 20846 -- Handwork in Wood, by William Noyes 21531 -- Woodwork Joints, by William Fairham 22784 -- On Laboratory Arts by RICHARD THRELFALL, M.A. (Glassworking) 12299 -- THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF WOOD 14664 -- Things to Make 14873 -- Instructions on Modern American Bridge Building circa 1874 15460 -- A COURSE IN WOOD TURNING By ARCHIE S. MILTON 20195 -- Wood-Block Printing, by F. Morley Fletcher 22107 -- Wood-Carving, by George Jack 23666 -- Mission Furniture,pt 1 by H. H. Windsor 23770 -- Mission Furniture,pt 2 by H. H. Windsor 23991 -- Mission Furniture,pt 3 by H. H. Windsor ****************************************** I've got a list about equally long of books on Gardening and agriculture from the usual turn of the previous Century circa. if anyone's interested, just haven't sorted & listed titles as yet.

Well I did use quotes to imply it wasn't truly cheating. lol. Sorry, no pic's of em', this was from a decade or more ago. But as I piece together things (just moved, lost / left behind some stuff in the process) I'll have some to share for sure. About all I have for pic's now is the hole I'm digging for Clay & Sandstone which will become a compost pit eventually for my Garden next year. Sorry if the shots are a bit :offtopic: , just working with what I've got. So once I dig the clay, I slake it in the wheelbarrel, let it settle some and siphon off the wash into the 5 gal. bucket thru a nylon screen to catch gravel, roots and whatnot, once that settles it gets poured off into the kiddie pool where it settles for a week or so, then I siphon off the excess water. Unfortunatly my tarp has a pinhole and the rain keps finding it's way thru. The majority of what I've dug is simply Potters clay, but I've found traces of fireclay here & there, hoping to find a more significant batch as I go deeper. if anything I'll try amending the Potters clay with pulverized flint or something and hopefully raise it's refractory limits a tad.

Now theres an eBook I'd like to see I've made a few BBQ implements (Forks & fire pokers) from things such as AC,alternator & power steering brackets, thou I "cheated" a bit & used a hacksaw to make the split to form the prongs ;)

Hey Farmer Phil, have you thought perhaps of building a firepit / primitive forge then switching between your torch and a good ole' fashioned chisel? I'd think if you were to start a few inches back from where you wanted the cut, chiseling in toward the core with a chisel like chopping a tree could save you alot of gas. Another idea, if you can get near the site with a vehicle (Close enough to run a small contractor sized compressor via. a power inverter) You could save quite a bit of bottled O2 by using a blowgun to move the melt out of your way. I had some pretty thick stuff to cut while working at the Airport and found it to be a pretty effective way of conserving resources (Boss was making wire out of pennies... lol. ) Just be sure to bring the leather apron, cap and a face sheild to wear over the goggles.

Unfortunatly all I've got in any quantity right now is a rather abundant supply of a natural reddish-tan clay which closely resembles basic potters clay after a good washing, as in flower pot type. So using this, other than frequent patching are there any other concerns I should have? (pretty handy with a trowel ) Would adding drill turnings help any or hurt? (I've seen it suggested but this was for adding to fireclay) And considering I'm washing the clay, would it be best to add the wood ash and whatnot while the clay was still in a slip form or would I do better to blend it in after washing / drying was done? And any thoughts on adding crushed flint to the mix? I know it does wonders for thermal limits in glass but mabey I'm just being too wishful? Yea' I know I should just go buy some fireclay, but money is in very short supply for me a.t.m. :(

Anyone know of a good fireclay source near South Central Missouri (Houston)? Moved down here in March and most of what I've managed to dig up from the yard looks more like your typical Red potters clay. What little Grey clay I've found has an enormus sand content to it (getting washed so I guess thats a bit irrelevant, still, not much there to wash. ) and not sure yet if thats Aluminum oxides or just an abundant lead oxide :confused: Current plan is to build a multi-taskng furnace for foundry & glassmaking but I dont think my natural resources are gonna' handle the temp's. Of course this is the Ozarks so I guess I'll keep digging (Sooo many sandstone boulders in my way thou, but that just means I'll be more ready to swing the 18 lb. hammer when she's all done & dry. Always a bright side. )

And to think of all the cash I sent to Lindsay Publications over the years... It's ok thou, always nice to have hard copy too. Greetings all! I think I'm gonna like this place. :)