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I Forge Iron

"On The Beach" blacksmith survival game.


Frosty

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3 minutes ago, MrDarkNebulah said:

The crab traps are going well, being made from woven grass and sticks for a farme, shaped like two funnels, one inside the other. We can use some of the cordage to make sure they are anchored so they don't float away.

Excellent, if you make them a little wider on the bottom you can slip rocks in them to keep them set and remove them to make them easy to move. If you set them at low tide and come back in 12 hrs. you don't need line and a float to haul them.

Frosty The Lucky.

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Having spent most of yesterday making cordage, but no bow wood apparent I'm ready to go for a hike to see what's around the coast in the berm of flotsam and jetsome our newest member talked about.

I'm taking 30foot of 3 ply cordage and 10 foot of single stand with me, I'm also taking some embers in a lidded folded tin box I've made and lined with punky wood, carried on a string attached to the wire handle. I've got my sen/knife, a few fish hooks that our rebel with the leatherman made out of the mattress springs. I fill up on boiled water before leaving I don't intend to be away for more than one night - you can expect to see me tomorrow at the latest.

If anyone wants to come with me that would be great - better to stick in pairs at least.
Those staying at camp - perhaps you could use the bolt Frosty mounted in a bit of green wood, then fire dried (shrunk on) to make a usable hammer for forging - might even be able to come up with some tongs after a fashion - blowing through the 1/2" should get small bits hot enough - perhaps flatten a couple more 1/2" pieces and rivet with one of the spikes found by Prevenge and odblacksmith.

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I decide to tag along with FTB but ask him to wait until i finish forging a primitive axe/chopper in case we run in to anything large that we cannot easily bring back.As we walk off i grumble about how "i like catchin' em more than i like eatin' em" hoping to spot any trails/bedded down areas where red meat might be...

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Ah yes, the old sneak up and bash em technique eh? Might, MIGHT be able to sneak up on a bear. I don't know about a deer though, they have a much higher ear to body ratio you know. What did you get hammered out for a chopper and how's it hafted?

Might I suggest you take something long and poky if you can't come up with a pointy missile weapon?

Hmmmm?

Frosty The Lucky.

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1 hour ago, Frosty said:

Ah yes, the old sneak up and bash em technique eh? Might, MIGHT be able to sneak up on a bear. I don't know about a deer though, they have a much higher ear to body ratio you know. What did you get hammered out for a chopper and how's it hafted?

Might I suggest you take something long and poky if you can't come up with a pointy missile weapon?

Hmmmm?

Frosty The Lucky.

While I'm waiting for Od, I notice some coniferous plants that are oozing pitch, I quickly whip a few  dead and dry branches off and smear the brushy tips with as much resin as i can from one of the living bushes. I've heard bears don't like fire, so a few quick torches might come in handy.
I'll also use a bit of the resin and some cordage to bind the largest spike I can find in the salvage pile to the end of a straight cleft willow sapling - I'm sure as heck not going to go HUNTING a bear, but it might do to help see off a simply curious bruin. (Q. Frosty I assume black bears rather than grizzly?)

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The chopper i made was from a piece of angle iron, hammered flat then two splits put in to wrap back toward the handle and secured with cordage.NO no bear hunting or hunting of any type yet,simply planned on seeing what we can see on our trek.I also have a spear made from day 1 because lets face it if you are in the wood you might as well have a sharp stick...

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Yes, the islands are black bear country rather than brownies. Still, wrastlin with a bear is a really short career decision. While looking for a long spike you see a couple pieces of angle iron that'll make good spear points. A double edged blade rather than a big hypo needle that already has half a socket built in. Torches are a good idea but it'll take time to get them blown up and flaring. Between the two of you one might be able to fend a bear off while the other gets a torch burning.

Od is fairly well set weapon wise. FTB's cordage will really help with carrying found stuff, one way or another.

Someone uses some of the larger mattress wire to make a handle for the bolt and shortly thereafter has a much better handle and is forging things.

Oh lets see: clam, muscle, etc. foraging and crab trapping is successful, and a couple rock cod are in the tide traps, a fern gully yields buckets full of fiddle heads so everybody is pretty well fed today and Thomas has the raw materials for his mosquito repellent. Willow tea is getting really popular, nobody has thought of making thatch sleeping pads but sand isn't a bad mattress, just cold and damp.

(Real earth aside, the GM has to drive to Anchorage and will get back in 4-5 hours from now, 2-3 pm Ak time.)

Gotta go now.

Frosty The Lucky.

 

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I think that I will let others go on the first trek and stay back to do the upkeep around camp. When the tide is out i check the traps and repair them if needed. I mention being careful with the rock cod....them spines can , in fact, puncture skin. Speaking of which. I give a brief bit of advice about bears. Even without them it is a good idea to not be alone on any sort of venture given out situation. Also bears tend to generally not be aggressive unless they are with cub ..... generally they just want to be left alone and go about their business. Its when they are surprised and on the defensive that they are the most dangerous. When yer out and about ...make noise. Pick a terrible song and sing while you walk. Occasionally bang two pieces of metal together...whatever. You do not want to surprise them head on.They are an opportunistic killer.. not a stalk and kill predator. I have ran into them enough to know that for sure. I was once working for a farmer picking rocks and roots in a field. I sat down at the edge of the field to eat my lunch only to be joined by a black bear doing the same thing 50 feet away. We looked at each other , albeit his gaze was slightly more confident , and then ate lunch. I ate my sandwich and apple and noticed how uncomfortably far away from the tractor I was. He ate rose hips and berries and thought bear things. 20 minutes later we both got up and went about our business. 

   If we keep anything that attracts them... like our food scraps .....properly disposed of, make our presence known and keep an eye out then we can minimize our risks. Also since we are most likely eating the same things then we have a greater chance of an encounter during foraging operations.

That being said I have still developed a case of spear envy and choose to craft my own ...except metal on the business end...and an inch longer. Assuming I have the material ;  My spear would also be alder..dry this time with a groove or hole in the end to accept the tang. The head would be a large spike or similar chunk. I also want a suitable short piece of pipe to use as a ferrule ...... shave the shaft down to fit it tightly and then neck taper one end of the pipe down to fit the thickest part of the tang. I forge the spear head, fit the ferrule loosely , insert the tang into the shaft and then use something to hammer set the ferrule on tight. It is fairly snug but I chose dry wood so that I can soak swell the business end in water. The rough forged profile of the tang should help make the spear head very secure. I thrust it into the sky while yelling "And thus begins .....the Quest for Butter!!!" .....I do this to keep the bears away.

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Did you share your bear lore? Knowing your desire for bear butter do you think anyone will listen? Maybe going to spread some on a bear muffin and sprinkle with deer berries?

By now the company is finding enough metal scrap to almost pick and choose beginning stock. A wrecked dock has been found and with it machinery containing nuts bolts springs gears, shafts, etc. There is also various metal Remanents of accoutrements found on docks everywhere, eg.: Ladders, bars, rods, pins, straps, sheet, plate, even much damaged machine tools.

Frosty The Lucky.

 

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I also stay back, aand the main thing Im doing is trying to figure out a possible bellows. I remember reading in the complete modern blacksmith a bellows made from chicken feathers, maybe something like that could be done with the grass, and the tin rolled into a pipe? I couldn't quite find the diagram, but it was a tube that the air would go into, then a plunger at the top with feathers attached. when broght up, the feathers qould come to gether and allow air in, when pushed down they would spread apart and push the air. One could also maybe be done like this:  73da98966f55c5233ffbccc4418f17c7.jpg

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I share the bear lore , yes. Pass on the deer berries ....but rendered bear lard makes delicious pastry .

9 minutes ago, MrDarkNebulah said:

 but it was a tube that the air would go into, then a plunger at the top with feathers attached. when broght up, the feathers qould come to gether and allow air in, when pushed down they would spread apart and push the air.

I would think we might be able to find some pieces of rubber that would seal and be flexible enough to act as a check valve baffle. Perhaps some old tires tied to the side of the dock we found?

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Someone gets the idea that green grass tied to a branch like a broom might work like the feather tube bellows. If you find a drum and suitable barrel the water drum bellows is pretty straight forward to make, even a leaf can make an adequate flap valve.

Why don't you guys ask Thomas, he has a lot of experience with Y1k tech. see what he thinks.

Is the exploration party still prepping?

Too bad that white boxy looking thing floating off shore isn't there anymore, there's just no telling what might have been in it.

It's about 2 hrs before sun down day 4.

Frosty The Lucky.

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adult onset T1; that white boxy thing was probably a refrigerator full of insulin and a solar powered insulin pump recharger---but I'll settle for a bit more reality in my reality game...Not expecting a Deus et Machina airlines visit.... I'm cutting my diet back to almost nothing and that only protein.  Starting to mention a headache.

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If someone has walked south to the point, cape (whatever they're called) you've seen what conditions on the Passage are like in calm weather. There is a strong wind blowing up from the Gulf of Alaska driving what looks like 2-3' waves often capping. The current looks to be flowing in the 4-5mph range as well. A raft would be at the mercy of tide and wind and getting to the little Island where the skipper and mate are would take a boat you could at least row and you'd have to time the tides.

Done any beach combing around the point/cape?

Willow bark tea is making it's morning rounds and someone recognized and made a batch of Hudson Bay tea.

There should be more than enough stock to be doing some decent blacksmithing. What's someone making?

The sky is looking a little red this morning and there is a stronger breeze blowing up Latouche Passage, the waves are capping at about 5'.

Frosty The Lucky.

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FTB and I did go on our trek yesterday,this morning i ask if anybody wants to go all out and attempt to make a proper axe (in the event we find any timber large enough to float) risking it all on a good strong folded/forge welded axe we find what we need in the pile and get to work.Noticing Thomas getting sluggish we all seem to catch a second wind and wrack our brains to find a way to the next island.People have been monitoring the tides(luckily we have a vast range of skills in our group)I grew up in Michigan so the only bodies of water i have experience with are lakes...

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Od and FTB return with two large plastic tarps, more plastic floats than they can carry so they're dragging them by the line still attached to many. There was an old boat that ran aground and they were able to walk out to it at low tide and were able to salvage more cookware and an orange tent. It's too old and torn to use as a tent but it's bright orange.

Also in a small cove around the cape is the remains of another commercial fishing port, rotted wood and damaged but lots of useful stuff. One is a large duffel bag and they find a couple 2&3' pieces 4" PVC pipe. You also found several sections of stove pipe, two 6" and one 8" kind of rusty but maybe useful.

While they're out of Crab Bay they get to experience nice weather on Latouche Passage and had to make grass insulated  rain coats just for the spray. There was a nonstop wind blowing up the passage and the wind driven chop was pretty scary looking. The Skipper was piloting the Minnow fast at slack tide to avoid the normally roughest time on these waters. Latouche Passage has a LONG straight reach directly into the Gulf of Alaska the islands of the sound funnel the wind in this passage.

You guys return to camp with useful information and good salvage. Your camp can be a lot  more comfortable and sheltered. It's around noon and there are fast moving clouds coming up the Passage and the wind is really picking up. The waves in the passage are topping 6' and curling before they break.

Experiments with the PVC lead to burying one end in sand with a piece of pipe leading to the fire and the grass plunger looks to be working but it needs refinement to really be effective.

Frosty The Lucky.

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PVC pipe; right---can I find any seagull or other feathers  along the shore?  I happen to know how to make a cockfeather bellows as is used in SE Asia and I know how to make one of Weygers  auto drafting forges from stovepipe.

Given some feathers; some of the rosin mentioned before a couple of straight sticks and some twine or fish line I can build the CF bellows out of PVC pipe even under the weather. Twined of course so I don't need a check valve on the output though a space between the output pipe and the tuyere about the length of the diameter of the output pipe will help to prevent drawing small bits of lit charcoal into the bellows proper if the alternation pumping the bellows is done correctly.

Hanging the stovepipe and figuring out the "paint can" I'll leave to someone feeling more vigorous

Though the CF system was used for forge welding blades, the self drafting was used for smaller items---be nice for forging arrowheads... 

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Lots of feathers caught in the thicket margins above the beach and grass will work for the CF bellows. One of the explorers mentions seeing some 5gl. "Blazo" cans on the tide line just around the cape.

Guys are bringing in more various sized plumbing pipe too. Somebody drags in, literally it's heavy, a small winch drum thinking it might make an anvil.

I should've kept count, how many are in the company, 6-8? some of you are pretty quiet, have you been out exploring? If so what did you find? No autos, they didn't exist of this side of the island till after the airport and airport road were built and that wasn't in the game universe. There were a number of commercial fishing ports and processing plants within a few miles though not to mention the permanent Chenega Indian's, fish camp sites.

As afternoon wears on the weather is blowing up. You might want to tighten up the camp, combine shelters, nail it down, make a wind break, etc. Using the telescopic lens function of one of the remaining cell phones you can see the Skipper and Mate are busy building a shelter on the leeward side of their little island and collecting driftwood. Sorry, no cell reception due to the HUGE copper and magnetite deposits on Latouche island, even AM radio reception sucks here. The hatchery used to have to relay commercial band radio the off NE. end of Montague island. Sorry nothing like that in this universe.

Frosty The Lucky.

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I spent the day gathering supplies for a better shelter. Ive got large amounts of wood piled, both for fire and shelter buil;ding, and a large amount of grass tied and woven together to help weather proof areas. We start using them to get a stronger and safer shelter.

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