Glenn

DO NOT let things get personal. 

Click on you name top right, then scroll down to the ignore user option. 

Lifting the back legs off the ground reduces the bite power of a dog.  

The new dog looked different, smelled different, and most likely had a bit of a different attitude. From the dogs point of view, It was protecting YOU from the new dog that came onto the property.  In the heat of battle, there was not time to sort out friend or foe, so you got nailed.

I agree, one dog must  go in order to protect YOUR family.  The remaining dog needs to be reintroduced to the family and the family rules.  YOU and your family are the alpha dog.  He is a guest by invitation.  

Do  not forget to attach a plaque of some nature stating your name as builder and the date.  You should be proud enough to sign YOUR work.

100 pound Trenton for $211 USD.  You will be able to use it to do that much work and more.

Did you try writing a letter, or posting to the site?

After you get your thermometer working to where you can trust it,  remember what you used as a standard to test temperatures.  Check your calibration on a regular basis to be sure it is still giving accurate readings.   

Rake up all that pine straw into one pile.  Lay down a half a foot of the stuff, followed by a layer of other things, more pine straw, more other things, water and mix it.  Any extra stuff gets thrown onto the pile.  Mixing just keeps the water worked in and add s air so it can work.  Think of it as a long term project as in a year or more.   

You may want to give it a good mix and scatter winter or cereal rye on the top. Winter or cereal rye is an excellent winter cover crop because it rapidly produces a ground cover that holds soil in place against the forces of wind and water. Rye’s deep roots help prevent compaction in annually tilled fields, and because its roots are quite extensive, rye also has a positive effect on soil tilth.  Come spring till it into the pile and start adding more stuff.

Rye can provide a very clean mulch so long as it is cut before any viable seed is set. 

You have to take the posts made knowing or not knowing the situation of the poster.  How much compost do you want or better yet how much do you need?  How much room do you have to store and let the material compost for a year or two?   A 5 gallon bucket of manure is different from a pick-up truck load, and different still from a dump truck load full of material.  Neighbors may complain if the compost starts to heat up and cook during the summer.  They may not appreciate your efforts if the wind blows in their direction.  But they will be first in line when it comes time to borrow a little of that good rich dirt that is produced.

Mixing different materials, then adding sand, weed ashes, egg shells, hair, shredded newspaper, coffee grounds, earth worms, water, etc.  Shreading all materials to a small size is best as it gives more surface area to work with.

Are you talking about a 55 gallon drum composter, a 4x4 foot fenced area, an area the size of a 2 car garage, or a larger space?  Each has its own requirements.

There is a large difference between direct application and composting.  Composting uses many different kinds of materials and breaks them down in a year or two to a useful product.  Compost is not a single product but multiple products working together to promote decay and provide a good, well rounded, mix.

Like chemical fertilizer, a little goes a long way.  Mix the compost into the soil in the fall and let it winter over to build the soil.  You can top dress small areas but need to be watchful of getting too much of a good thing in one spot.  It needs to be able to leach nutrients into the soil.  

There is a whole science as to composting and how it should be applied.

Any place that has animals, has manure.  Horses, chickens, pigs, cows, and the list goes on and on.  Do not overlook the local Zoo, the petting zoo, or the dog pound, or kennels.  May want to visit the farmers market, or grocery stores and pick up any spoiled or culled veggies.  Saw mills or firewood processors throw away a lot of material that could be used for compost. 

Use TPAAAT and take the big truck.

The  heavy machinery repair shop dumpster should be a great source for improvised anvils, as well as other things.  Look for inside and outside curves that can be used as a swedge, and anything with a shape that can be forged.  

She is on the list.   All the best.

Put the ash from the forge in a 5 gallon bucket of water.  Stir so the heavier material can separate and sink to the bottom.  The fuel will not float but will rise to the top of the stack and can be collected and removed. If you stir slowly, you can grab the fuel by hand as it moves about just before it settles down.  You can process about 3 gallons of material at a time and the process goes rather quickly.

British metallurgist Graham Clarke shared his thoughts on how to get good grain size. There’s a good discussion of quenchants starting at the 4:47 mark. 

https://youtu.be/Yv5Xz8rI6Fs

He gets his boiled linseed oil from his friend who makes his own BLO.  He says if you purchase BLO from the store, wear gloves.  The MSDS sheets for BLO are good to read.

He and his family are on the list.

Thomas, may your shot not have side effects or down time.  

TW Looks like your well on your way to a large fan club.

You may want to look into dock bumper blocks like the trailers bump into at the loading docks.

LeeJustice may have use a different search engine or different search words, which could have given him faster or more complete answers.  He was kind enough, and helpful enough, to include the URL to the ream drill size chart so you could access the information. I do not see where this is an implication (subtly or otherwise) that you did not look very hard.  There was no deprecatory statement, (expressing disapproval or criticism),  just a direct link to the chart.   

As a final test, use the design to create a return address for an envelope, stationary, business cards, etc.  You do not have to go to production, just test out the creation.  

Horn to the left is (in my opinion) better as the eye starts at the point of the horn and then follows the anvil to the heel.

It follows the way we (in the US) are taught to read, left to right.

Why was the rare alloy created in the first place, and for what purpose?  That should go a long way in answering your question. If it is indeed a rare allow, how are you going to obtain that known alloy and at what cost?

Why not choose a known metal that suits your project?

Mods and Admins use one set of standards for everyone on the site.  Each moderated event is also sent to my desk for review.  

If you find an issue, please bring it to my attention directly via PM so it can be addressed.