notownkid

Yup a friend of mine gives sleigh rides a couple miles from me and I helped him hitch a new team yesterday. Worked super until the bells went on after a couple steps we had a higher gear in them for a while but they will get use to them by spring. I have a small set hanging on my frt. door knob so hear them regular yr. around. Who knows the reason for the bells? We still use the real winter mud tires on our 4 x 4 rigs and still have chains behind the seats and use at least once a yr. All season in our area means they aren't worth a hoot in any season. Use them on the vehicle that travels out of state in state winter tires only. We use Coopers and not that expensive but cheap they are not esp. the 17", 18" rims. I grew up on Frt Wheel Drive as my dad was one of the first SAAB dealers, only way to go if you learn how to drive them, never let up in a slide foot to the floor. It will either get you out of the slide or further off the road makes for a good story afterwards. Old saying when Frt. wheel drive came out "You don't hitch the horse to the back of the wagon to push it you hitch to the frt. to pull it."

on a number of occasions I've seen Fire Trucks froze in place after setting pumping for a number of hrs. at -15 to -25F. Fought fires in +3' of snow and 12-15" of ice on the pond we were trying to pump water from. Often plow or in my case snow blow snow a couple times a week. After 70 yrs of being in it, living with it, moving it, wallowing around in it farming and firefighting/rescue I for one HATE the white stuff. We will have a white Christmas as we have a foot on the ground today and maybe a high of 35F for the next few days. Bah Humbug! Come April I'll swear never to be in another blank blank winter. With the drought we had this summer and fall we need a LOT OF SNOW this winter for the spring melt to amount to anything. White Christmas looks great in movies. TV shows, Christmas cards, real life it stays longer than the Christmas decorations so it isn't all fun more like work. Heck we have a nice one behind my big shop here, neighbors grand kids were sliding on it Sat. Next time you are in the area bring a sled, heck I've got one you can use.

Welcome, lanternate I'm down in Woodstock and have been to the Lake Champlain Maritime Mus. for classes and they will most likely have a hammer in late May to get the season underway. NEBs will follow shortly after that with an event somewhere in NE.

Back in the farming days we always had something in the house warming or cooling goats, lambs, piglets, chickens even calf & foals. Good for you Charles and Sandy. Love for all gods creatures

Got that right! Just got in from an unscheduled overnight trip to Conn. and the first thing I did when we arrived in the yard (at 0F) was shut my cell phone OFF. I will not text if someone wants to tell me something they can talk direct to me or forget it.

I agree on the phone thing, I have a flip phone to use on the road as does my wife but there is no service in our valley. (I carry a 2 way radio on the farm ) I loved it when my wife's grandkids came recently they had been warned about the lack of service but they surprised me with "you have WiFi right it will work on that" Oh gee I said the Wifi went down yesterday and I called the phone company in Maine can't come out till tues. They were leaving Mon. They lived through the experience and enjoyed themselves, I think, they have asked to come back minus their parents. They are till young enough to believe us when we say Oh we don't have that in Vermont yet. Their parents were relieved to see indoor plumbing. My grandkids can't let the stupid things out of their hands, when my daughter suggested sending them east for a couple weeks in the summer I said sure the electronics stay with you. Oh they will not like that I was told but I said "we will". As they say nothing has firmed up on that yet. love the kids but I don't play second fiddle to electronic toys. Thinking about making some decals "ELECTRONIC FREE ZONE" "LEAVE IN YOUR LAUGGAGE, CAR OR AT HOME" I wonder what we could make out of them in the forge and on the anvil?

I heard him sing a group of Christmas Songs recently and he did a great job and I don't like Christmas songs before Christmas week. I've heard Frosty is impossible to contact on Christmas Eve and his wife says he is "traveling" then. Hum! don't suppose?

That would be my guess as well.

wow seems your moons were in the wrong location that day. Bad news come in 3s they say so this should be all you get for a while!!

I've changed 75% of our lights to LED and will do 100% as $ permits. Changed the most used to date and made major difference in Electric Bill. Will install LED 4' shop lights in inside and blacksmith shop next then the big shop which I have large florescent screw in. Don't have any original bulbs in use. Have a bunch in boxes.

is the Invisible Smith getting invisible messages?

rent a big truck and call a couple friends. In the process of cleaning out the farm to move I was regularly setting stuff out by the road at the end of the drive. A couple times guys were loading it before I got the tractor put away. I had left a bunch of stuff out one Sat AM early when I left on a trip north and my neighbor said within an hr. there were two guys with PU's out there fighting over it. One guy was heard to yell "I go by here twice a week to see what he has out". It was all gone by noon he said all I cared about. Littleblacksmith: Nice cap & Ball any info on it, knife very nice as well.

Frosty, I drive 45+ miles round trip to buy groceries into another state now. Our 20th century quite in about 1964! I wouldn't trade it for anything but adjustments have to be made and after 21 + yrs on the road working elsewhere back and forth with everything at my finger tips it's a learning curve to just STOP one day step back in time 40 yrs. Eventually I'll check into suppliers maybe further north in Vermont's metro area or in Southern NH towards Boston. Prefer to just say NO, Huh that sounds like a good New Years Revulsion. See ya Frosty.

Frosty It 's 200 miles south of me, I'm getting a PU shortly but not to haul steel 200 miles through 3 states and metro areas. When I need my next shipment I'll bet the stuff will be cut no charge or I call the Pres. again. My friend buys Many Many tons of Aluminum from them, I'll use what ever leverage I need. Any use of new material is special projects and the recipient pays the cost +. I have a lot of new materials which I brought up out of my brother in laws machine shop when we closed it and cleaned it out this will last me for my own use for a while. I presume that by now my account has a note on it "Look out for this guy" he is a pain. Oh well I'm not trying to make a living at this and don't care if I do these projects and only do them for people I've done things for years.

For cutting steel in a yard how about a battery replicating saw (think saws-all) sure would beat the pants off a hacksaw in my mind esp. with my shoulders. I had ordered a few pieces of new steel nothing special(special project) but had ordered out of a yard I used in CT as they deliver every week in my area. Told them to cut in 10' lengths as they can't get onto my bridge with their long wheelbase truck ( I drove truck for a spell) when they showed up it was in 20' lengths and I have to unload in a pulloff area across the brook from my place. I can move it with my trailer if 10' they had charged for the cuts, driver got snotty about it so I did as well. Refused the product. His cell phone wouldn't work so he was completely confused what to do. Ended up with the steel being left at a friends shop he was going to next in NH, he cut it and I picked it up, company had refused to take the cut off charge off. Office refused to take my next order as I wasn't "understanding" so looked up the Pres.name and address on the net and sent him a personal letter by overnight mail explaining the deal. Had a call from him in 2 days assuring me I could continue ordering there they will deliver and will cut for nothing. Helped that my friend contacted them as well and he buys a LOT of Aluminum from them for his truck body building business. Not much choice for suppliers in the north country here. My friend told me he hasn't seen that driver since then either. I have no scrap yards that will let me in here or in CT.

The prices will tank (the large lady will break out in song) 1 month before I decide to disperse my shop always happens that way. No I'm not ready yet nor close to it.

and the anvil has plenty to teach you in your learning curve, nice anvil enjoy.

Now in my Opinion that is quite true, experience trumps theory every time and todays world is full if Theories

I always heard it was a hanging offense to be caught with one. there is a portion of what has been know as the "Kings Highway" where these huge long logs were drawn to the shore, in the next town to us Pomfret VT which the last time I was there 45yrs ago it was still very visible in the straightness of it. No bends were in site. I also read in a history book that they felled a large number of smaller trees for these Kings Trees to land on so as not to split landing on the ground.

Charles you and Sandy are on the prayer list here, wish you both well.

I'm not an Expert either but have made a dozen or so muzzleloaders and the one hanging over my fireplace is a percussion and doesn't have the pan, what you picture might be is a converted flint to percussion? Many Flints were remodeled to Percussion around the Civil war time. No need for a pan on a percussion rifle. Just my opinion here.

a very old Muzzle loading gun, rounded part is the Pan where the fine powder charge for ignition (primer charge)was placed. What gun? there were hundreds of different ones and as a lot of these guns were hand made by local gun makers including the locks.

they are having trouble with the learning curve or habits are hard to break.

I've collected a number of photos of old blacksmith shops and a lot of them have these "travelers" hanging on the side of the chimney. Presume so they remember where it is when needed.??

I'm surprised no comment on it being painted even if it is the flag