BillyBones

Never messed with a sling till i got in the Army. The irony i think is that it was while i was in the ME. Quite near where David slew Goliath. (well not real close but much closer than here in Ohio) It was boredom though that made us make them and try them out. Boredom is also how our trash pit ended up 4' long, 3' wide and 30' deep. Just kept digging for lack of anything else to do. On a sad note my long bow cracked. Hand made locally by a guy i traded a tomahawk for. Hickory backed by bamboo. About 50# draw weight. I was reading about the bows found with the salvage of the Mary Rose. The lightest had a 100# draw while the heaviest had a 180# draw. I could not even imagine what it would be like to draw a bow that heavy. Pretty intersting read about bows and strings. We used to make arrows out of horse tails with a horse shoe nail for an arrow head. The fletching was green pine needles. The long soft type. They worked amazingly well for being so simple. The atlatl is another i would like to one day try out but never have. And blowguns, nothing will fear me with a blowgun except maybe by standers, but definitely not the target. About like my golf game. I remember a couple years back a guy who was an Olympic javelin thrower went bear hunting. There was a big stink raised over it becuase he took down a bear with a spear. My self i do not want to come across a bear with a large caliber gun much less just a spear.

Peroxide, pashaw, real men use mercurochrome. I have put many a cut in a bucket of solvent, trichloroethylene hurts like a ..

My neighbor kid does my snow. I was in the shop earlier this winter and heard a noise, there he was with his snowblower in my driveway. I went in the house and grabbed a $20. My drive aint that big and i aint got but 30' of sidewalk total to worry about, so yeah it was more than i would have offered but he came with out asking just to do it. I went to hand him the money and he flat out refused to take it. I even stuck it in his pocket and he chased me into the shop and left it on the bench. I had to go over to his house and give it to his mom. His mom said that he just loved to get out and clean off snow with the snow blower, he is the same with the riding lawn mower also. I also think his mom has been on and off out of work with the whole covid thing and gas aint free... This last snowfall we got about 10" total. This kid did every house on the block with out any one asking him. The worst part is i was provably the only person that even offered to pay him. I think he may be about 12 but this past fall he came over with a knife him and his dad had made and asked if he could come over and watch sometimes. I of course said he could as long as his parents were ok with it. Looks like i will be telling dad to come with him sometimes and i will turn him lose on some hot metal and some free lessons this summer. I would be much more comfortable with dad there with him for obvious reason if he is to handle hot stuff.

My opinion of this whole green energy thing is why not? Why should we not invest in the R&D of ALL sources of energy. I do not see limiting it to only a few as a good idea. My kids call me a crazy prepper. But in reality it is how i was raised. We would spend all summer growing crops and raising livestock, then canning and preserving the stuff so that we could eat in the winter. I may not have a mule and 40 acres anymore but i do keep plenty on hand, enough so that i know i will not go hungry for at least 3 months. I have a hard time wrapping my mind around how people can not be prepared. Why do they sell out of generators so fast in places prone to hurricanes? It seems that if you have been through one and lost power for 2 or 3 weeks that would be your priority as soon as possible. But no people wait till the very last minute then get gouged on the price. When i was living in Baton Rouge we got about 2" - 3" of snow one day (it melted away by noon) there was guy set up in a parking lot selling snowmobiles. People actually bought them. Just thought that kind of funny.

Punkin' patch forge. When i first started i was working outside at the time and usually only on weekends. I went out one day and my pumpkins had grown all around my space and had completely covered my anvil and forge. At the time i was not really interested in a shop or a name for that matter and just kind of said it jokingly, well it stuck.

I find the fumes comforting in a strange sort of way. To me it is what a garage is supposed to smell like in the winter. I heard them called something completely different again just about 2 days ago, war time heater.

They are getting much harder to find but i used to get wheel weights to melt down to make shot. Tire shops usually have a bucket or 2 full of old ones they take off, but many are now made of iron. I have also broke down an old battery or 2 to get the lead out. Not worth the hassle really. If you do decide to make your own shot make sure to throw in a piece of plumbers tin. I do not know the exact ratio other than yup that's about enough. Handfull of bits and peices of lead, a hands length of tin.

Spending many a year in a garage i have learned one thing about mechanics, we all do side work. Even if you ask the mechanic and he says he can not give access to the scrap pile ask if he has anything at home. He may just have some old springs, axels, bearing or what not laying next to his garage at home. I had a guy who came to my house to get scrap metal when i was rebuilding transmissions on the side. It would take me about 2 weeks but i could fill a trach can with clutches and steels, well over 100#. I kept the can in a corner in the yard and he would stop every couple weeks and empty it. I gave that to him but if i asked about something else in his truck it was sure here ya go take it. Also a lot of the larger shops like an AAMCO or Goodyear are franchised. So they are many times ran like a small shop. It would be up to the owner there. I have worked for people who really dont care what happens with the scrap or like the last guy i worked for horded it like gold. The small shops also a lot of them when you go talk to the mechanic you are talking to the owner. I know of many owner operated garages. Anyway get out and talk to them, get to know them. One other perk, i could build a tranny for you at about a quarter the price of the shop i worked for.

i had no clue about the inner tube stripes. I just new that the best ones were off of a 10 speed bike. I also did not know that the material had changed. Guess that shows my age...again.

Nice slingshots. Ours growing up were just a forked stick, they would be fancy if we took the bark off the stick. We used to cut pieces of inner tube for the bands.

I seem to remember the Acme magnets as red with white ends, but that shows my age and we all know memory is the first thing to...well it does something or other, i cant seem to remember what that is.

Thomas, my anvil is 3 1/2" wide i think. I did this becuase i have never done any kind of a tutorial, i had to make a set of tongs, and a lot of people struggle at making tongs so i figured what the hey maybe i can help someone along their path with it. And if i did help 1 person i feel like i made an accomplishment. Thanks ya'll for the positive feedback.

So today i had to make a set of tongs. I have seen a small amount of discussion about them recently and thought i would show my process for this. They are pretty easy and dont matter left or right while making them. 2 measurements is all i do. The rest is by "feel" So i start with a piece of 1" x 1/2" bar. This one is 36" long so no tongs needed to make them. I mark off 1 1/2". Then heat and with half faced blows at the far side of the anvil draw down the material behind the mark to about 1/2" Draw out the material till it is about 1/2" x 1/2" the width of the anvil face. Half faced blows again on the near side to make a nice square corner, this will be the boss. (a misplaced hammer blow made these a bit more than anvil face wide, just make a mark on the side of the anvil to draw out the other side to the proper length.) Again mark 1 1/2" from the offset, flip and with half faced blows again start drawing out. (did not get a pic of marking but you should get the idea from the pic) You can go for drawing out the reigns or do like do draw them out a litte then weld on 1/2" round for reigns. Should look something like this. Round up the boss a little if you want or leave as is. Split the bit. I used an angle grinder but whatever method you wish to use is fine. I use my hardy cut off to start then go to the corner of my anvil and spread the bit. Turn the bit to about 45*. I use the horn but i the put a curve behind the bit, hammer down next to the boss then over the horn till the bit is about on the same plane as the reign end. Punch, drill, or like i did use your laser vision to make a hole. Repeat the entire process on the other end of the bar. Draw out the reigns to desired length. I am not going to show all that, i assume if you are making tongs you know how to draw out your metal, also i assume you already know how to either put in a rivet or bolt so i wont go into that. Here is what the finished product looks like. They will need tweaked after assembly to align the bits and rigns. Anyway hope at least someone found this helpful. Oh yeah right or left dont matter becuase the boss is flat and you will align the bits and reigns to get them straight. They are a bit heavy but work great. This is my 3rd set made this way.

"The time has come, the walrus said to talk of many things of shoes-and ships-and sealing wax of cabbages and kings of why the sea is boiling hot and whether pigs have wings." - Lewis Carol. My daughters favorite book growing up was Alice in Wonderland. I listen to a lot of Irish music. Most of it is quite fun and lively with a good dose of humor thrown in. Fun fact, it is the Irish that are credited with the creation of scat, shoobidy doobidee bibidee dibidee doo. At least they say that scat came from Irish form of singing called lilting.

If your home is above ground i highly suggest electric pipe heaters. Look kind of lie an extension cord but they wrap around the pipes and when plugged in keep them warm enough not to freeze. Like i said earlier, having to install insulation, heaters, and fix broken pipes, which never break in an easily accessible place, in a crawl space, has made me make sure i have a basement.

Frosty, from a discussion earlier, yes that is what we call a torpedo or salamander here.

I was raised in KY for the better part of my childhood, then we came to Ohio. I lived for a few years down south, LA, TX, and FL. i have always been a hillbilly at heart. I discovered that the south just aint for me. Love the people, the food and the culture i just never felt quite at home. I remember when i decided to turn back north and was making that drive coming up on TN. As i started into the Appalachian mountains it was like a calm, peaceful feeling came over me. I realized it was becuase i was home. Even though i was still many miles from my destination seeing those mountains again was almost spiritual. Dont get me wrong i am a proud Buckeye but i would chose another location in the state if it were up to me. Somewhere around Athens or Gallipolis but the wife says no. I do however live in the same town we moved to and spent many a year here before the military. A little north of the moraine not mountainous but we do have rolling hills. Kexel, glad to see you got your life together. It took me till 46 to finally do it and at 50 now retirement is still a long ways off.

Who plows their drive? I pay the neighbor kid to do it.

Many do not know that it was Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzman and Phil Lesh that put together the Rhythm Devils for the Apocalypse Now soundtrack. That hood is not as nice nor work as well as you think. It has been and is in the process of being changed. I am still using the 8" pipe but once we get a few warmer days, and the 8" of snow melts, it will be upgraded to at least a 10". 8" works for the most part, but if i get some green coal smoking it gets a tad smoky in the shop. Not to bad but still more than i want. Also depending on wind direction, sometimes if the wind comes in just right it will blow the smoke out of the hood.

My daughter had a dog that was a chow/rottie cross named Bear. My dog was mostly German Shepherd and Boxer. Looked like a brindle German Shepherd. Here in Ohio a butter knife could be a deadly weapon. However interpretation under this is up to the law enforcement. One officer may see it as legal while another may throw you in jail for it if concealed. The following constitutes a deadly weapon: A serrated blade, Any knife other than a basic pocket knife, Quick open blade such as an automatic or gravity knife, Razor point blade. From what i have read on the law as long as it is not concealed you are ok.

Much nicer than the old piece of porch railing i use. Very nice, anything fancy on the top? Also gives me an idea for something to do today. Got a snow day off work and a bunch of square tubing...

One winter my dad left the garden hose out. I thought it was pretty cool how if you wacked it against a post it would break. So i did. When my dad seen his garden hose broke into 3" pieces all over the yard...i still have some trouble sitting on that side of my but. Last time i did any outdoor remodeling code here said that those frost free spigots that are on the side of the house have to be installed at a slight angle so the water will drain out of them. If the water sits in them and freezes it can crack the pipe behind the stopper and a water leak in the wall, crawl space or basement can cost some serious money in damages. My memories of having a torpedo heater in the house to warm the crawl space and getting into said crawl space in the winter to thaw pipes out made me make sure that every house i have lived in has a basement.

Truth. A weapon is only as dangerous as the person using it. I know some here are LEO's or former LEO and they can attest to the ingenuity of those in jail to fabricate weapons. I once saw a bow and arrow made from newspaper and underwear. Weapons, tattoos, and toilet wine...MacGyver's of the underbelly. Paul, you can get them dog boots. I bet Frosty has seen a few pair, or would that be quads, up in his icy kingdom. I first saw them on sled dogs but now i see them around here. My dog hated having his feet touched so they were out of the question for him. If you grabbed his foot he would attack you and i mean really attack no playing. So i would of course act like i was going to grab them and get him all riled up. Now i am getting all teared up. My dog passed a couple years ago and he really was my best friend. I miss him everyday. I still have not been able to clean the fur out of my truck or his nose prints off the window.

During my time in the Army, with them and some extracurricular training, i was taught how to use some of the most mundane items as weapons. The reason that i always have an ink pen and my lighter with me.

I would never say that all teachers are bad, but as with any profession you have good and bad ones. The problem i see is the unions and not being able to get rid of bad teachers, but anyway that gets political so i will just leave it there. We pulled my daughter out of public school becuase of discrimination. Not the color of her skin but becuase of her parents not being wealthy. We got her enrolled in a charter school and from there she excelled. When i was in high school we had one of the best rated academic schools in the country. My world history teacher, well asked once what all countries she had been to she said " i have not been to Antarctica ...yet" So she could teach from first hand experience of her time in those places. By the way her trip to Antarctica was cancelled, the day before Challenger exploded. (showing my age there) Our sports teams were the joke of the state, i think we won 2 football games my entire 5 years of high school. We were that school George talks about, no trophies for sports but we had plaques for people who like one kid went on to be an astrophysicist in the air force and then went on to be an astronaut. Now a days our schools celebrate if they are rated "adequate" by the state. Good enough for government work i guess.