George N. M.

No, I haven't seen the article but the markings are kind of a dumb thing for a faker to get wrong since the bore dimensions and weight of round shot are pretty accessible. It would be more difficult if you were dealing with named types of guns such as a falcon or saker. Yes, more likely to be used on your own guns that to allow them to be used by the enemy. BTW, the term "spiking" is still used for disabling your own guns if threatened with capture by the enemy even though an actual spike hasn't been used for about 150 years. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Thomas: You may or may not be familiar with with a gunner's poignard. which had a square or triangular blade which was often marked with calibrations to measure the caliber of the bore of various cannon. The tip was left soft but the upper part of the blade was hard and untempered. The idea was that the weapon would be driven into the touch hole to spike the gun, the tip would bend over or curl up on the bottom of the bore, and the blade would be snapped off with a sideways blow. This would be particularly difficult to remove, particularly in a bronze gun where the obstruction was harder than the metal of the gun. The ones I have seen date to the 16th and 17th centuries. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

The Rodman gun in front of the Confederate Museum is displayed up side down (touch hole is facing down). I wondered about this until I noticed that the left hand trunnion is broken off (on the side facing the building) and would show if the gun were rightside up. It could have been placed with the muzzle to the right but then the gun would have been facing south. I suspect that the idea was that the gun should be displayed facing north, in the direction of hated Yankeedom. One of the common ways of disabling a muzzle loading cannon in danger of capture so that the enemy could not use it was to break off a trunnion either with sledge hammers or by placing the muzzle of another cannon against the trunnion and firing it which would break the trunnion of the first gun and possibly blow up the 2d gun from overpressure, particularly if the 2d gun was loaded with multiple charges and projectiles. BTW, cool museum and the displays have become historical objects in themselves. I believe that the museum is pretty unchanged from when it opened in the 1890s. Also, a good gift shop. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Blackegg: I agree with you about how business card or string tags can really clutter up a display table. I suggest that you add prices to the labels you already have, e.g. "BBQ forks $X" or "RR spike knives $Y." For individual pieces you can use adhesive labels in an inconspicuous place. BTW, nice penannular brooches. I like the taper. Whenever I sell one I give a little tutorial because how to fasten one is not intuitively obvious to most folk. I make the customer actually fasten it in a piece of material because the muscle memory of doing that will last longer than my verbal instructions. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Dear Leo, I hope your 5 acre lot is not one of the infamous ones out in the middle of the San Luis Valley. There has been an ongoing scandal over the years about "developers" cutting dirt "roads" (no road base, no grading) into the desert floor, doing no development of utilities to the lots, and selling them off to unsuspecting easterners using a telephoto shot of Blanca Peak to make it look like a mountain scene. This has driven a lot of statutory changes in Colorado's subdivision laws. The San Luis Valley tends to be very cold in the winter and pretty hot in the summer and the ground water can either be of sketchy quality or expensive to develop. That said, there is some beautiful country around there and some folk are very happy to live in a mobile home on a desert patch. My suggestion is not to commit to anything irrevocable until you have visited the site both during the winter and the middle of summer. You may have to either live off the grid or have to pay a significant amount to bring in electricity. Do what you think best for you and yours but make sure your decisions are informed ones. I have done legal work for several counties in that part of Colorado and have seen some sad situations. It's the poorest part of the state but there are some great people and great places not far away. By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Thomas: Any idea of the caliber of the naval rifle? It seems to be an odd thing to show up in NM unless it was used for some sort of testing work at one of the NM labs or bases. I know that some places have used redundant naval armor for radiation shielding. Nickle steel is not as good at that as lead but can be a lot cheaper. Also, when you look at the breech (which may or may not have the breech block attached) see if there are any markings. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

From an old Viet Nam infantryman, you're welcome but we were just doing what was asked/required of us at the time. Two quotes, the second more appropriate for Memorial Day but worth remembering more often than once per year. "All gave some, some gave all." "They shall not grow old, as we who are left grow old, Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn, In the morning and at the going down of the sun, We will remember them." -Laurence Binyon- Every day I think of the boys and young men who never got to grow old as well as all my shoulder brothers. (The last refers to the Anglo-Saxon term for those who stood beside you in the shield wall0. George M. LTC (R) AUS Late of 1/C/1/12 Cav/I Cav Div (AMB), RVN 1970-71

I just read an article that 41%+ of people in CA are spending more that 30% of their income on housing. Rockstar, in CO it is, IIRC, in the 25-30% range. This is why so much of the current housing construction is for rental units rather than single family homes. I suspect something will go bust but I'm not sure what will break first. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

The M1913 ("Patton") sword was very similar to the 1908/1912 Pattern British Cavalry swords. These emphasised the use of the point as a thrusting weapon rather than the cut or slash of a curved weapon. The M1913 was probably never drawn in anger. It remained an issue weapon for mounted units into the 1920s and 30s but had been withdrawn by the time any mounted units were activated for WW2. My late wife gave me a reproduction M1913 some years ago and it seems to be of good quality. However, the sword I used to cut the wedding cake with her and my present wife was a M1840 light artillery saber. By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Jungle, Is this establishment not far from the Cathedral, maybe on Chartres or Decatur Streets? If so, I think I was in it about 20 years ago. Drooled a lot but couldn't afford anything. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Well, I'm going to let my contrarian come out and say that I welcome Daylight Savings Time. I don't particularly mind the shift twice a year and think that the minor inconvenience is a cheap price to pay for having the daylight shifted towards the evening. For me, I can use it at that time of day rather than in the morning. I wouldn't mind having the sun come up at 10AM if the light would stay at the end of the day to 7PM or so. I realize that there are folk who have to be up and about early and for them it is an inconvenience to have a late dawn but for me I prefer a late sunrise and a late sunset. As the country urbanizes and there are more people working in offices than on the land I think that there are more folk benefited by DST. If we eliminated the twice annual changes I'd vote for year around Daylight Savings Time. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Dear Randy, Welcome aboard. My best friend beat bladder cancer a couple of years ago. It can be done. Your attitude sounds good and that is a large part of making it through the chemo and misery. The IFI community, although we are scattered across the globe, is very supportive. Once you are up to it I suggest you join the Alabama Forge Council. Or another local group. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Having the opposite problem here, unseasonably cold temps and snow. Was about -11 degrees this morning with a wind chill of -23 here in Laramie. Several inches of snow on the ground. I-80 closed intermittently. I read that someplace in Utah set a new lower 48 record with -45. Big Piney, WY ( common cold spot) was -24 this morning. My prayers are with those under threat in CA. It is the housing prices, often caused by NIMBYism, that have driven people into the Urban/Wildfire Interface. Also, PP&G has not done a good job of maintaining their power line rights of way to keep the vegetation from getting close to the lines. A perfect storm.

It's more a welding project than forging but I once saw a Christmas tree made of horse shoes with the boughs being decreasing numbers of shoes as you got higher on the trunk. Making Icthus (Jesus) fish by putting a notch in the toe of the shoe for the mouth and bending the heels across each other to make the tail has always struck me as the easiest possible forging project. However, I have always been surprised at how poorly Christian motif items such as crosses sell. Maybe they would move better in the Bible Belt. Small pony/miniature horse shoes might be converted into belt buckles. With additional steel welded to the toes of the shoes for the barrels you could make interesting hinges. Name signs with the letters formed out of straightened horse shoes could be attractive. Keeping the nail grooves, nail holes, and heel caulks would keep it obvious that the letters had started life as horse shoes. That said, you could use regular steel stock for the letters and then add grooves, holes, and caulks to give the horse shoe flavor. BBQ tools with straightened horse shoe handles might be well received in TX. I hope this helps. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Thomas: "Clunk! Dadgummit, dropped it again!" "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Dear DG2, It is highly probable that any RR tracks in West Fargo belong to the Burlington Northern RR. They have an office in Fargo. I suggest contacting their track maintenance division. Being a large corporation you may have to do something informal with someone. That said, there is something to be said for buying RR spikes from a commercial source. That way you have a better idea of the metal used and the size. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Here are some pics of my Edwards Model 5A shear. I bought it at an auction in Wiggins, CO about 15 years ago for, IIRC, about $50. It will handle anything up to 3/8" square with no problem. For 1/2" square I have to use a cheater bar on the about 5' long handle. I find that it works best with two people, one to feed the material into the jaws and one to work the handle. If you are by yourself it can be a problem to get the material exactly in place so that it will stay while you move to the handle. However, working by yourself insures that no one ever gets any body part caught in the jaws. Does anyone know the original factory color for Edwards shears?

I agree with Slag. Patent, trademark, and copyright law is some of the most complex and arcane areas of the law around. That is why most patent attorneys also have degrees in engineering or some other technical discipline such as computer science, so they can understand the issues they are litigating. The very first thing to consider if you feel you have someone treading on your toes regarding a trademark or copyright is whether they are somehow costing you money or taking business away from you by doing whatever they are doing. Then, if they are is it enough damage to you to justify the cost of any enforcement? Enforcement can be as simple as a nasty gram telling them to quit (cheap) to a full fledged federal court case (very expensive). This is why most trademark and copyright litigation is between multi-million dollar corporations. Pnut, if you are serious about protecting your intellectual property do it the correct way and don't try to do it on the cheap. You will just be giving yourself a false sense of security. GNM formerly of Dewey, Cheatum, and Howe (;-})

It depends on how authentic you are trying to be. In some historical re-enactment circles there is an unfortunate "more authentic than thou" ethos with people trying to out authentic their neighbors. "Oh, you have a woolen garment? Well, mine is hand woven wool. Oh, yours is hand woven? Well, mine is hand woven and hand spun. Oh, yours is hand woven and hand spun? Well, I raised the sheep and sheared them myself? Oh, you sheared your own sheep? Well, mine are a historically accurate breed." Etc, bloody, etc.. In terms of authenticity for eating implements you can go with either wrought iron or mild steel in my opinion. Just keep them lightly oiled. And stay away from forks since they weren't introduced into England until the early to mid 17th century and probably didn't get into common use in the Americas, particularly at a level below the gentry, until into the 18th century. Also, spoons had a bowl shape sort of like a fig, broad at the end and tapering towards the stem. The end of the stem was often beveled with a simple angle cut which was called "slipped in the stalk" and resembled how you would cut a flower stem at an angle. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

One other bit of auction advice: It seems that whenever I go to an auction for a particular item it is always put up towards the end of the day. I can get pretty bored sitting through the household goods, costume jewelry, china, "smalls", manure spreaders and tractors at farm auctions. So, I usually take a book to fill the time until they are getting close to my target. That said, you still have to pay a certain amount of attention to what is going on around you because they can sometimes go out of order or there can be a real bargain pop up. Also, beware that they may have two or more auctioneers working at the same time. Finally, you need to consider how you are going to get whatever you buy home. You can sometimes get auction employees help you load or just as a passer by to help you lift something into you vehicle. I agree with Thomas on prices but I think I would choke on $6/pound. It used to be that $1/pound was a fair price for a used anvil in decent condition and those of us who recall those days have a hard time reconciling the current fair market value with our memories. In 1978 I paid $25 at an auction in Riverton, WY for a 100 pound Vulcan anvil and that has skewed my sensibilities for the last 40+ years. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." PS DO NOT get caught up in a bidding fever. Set the amount you are willing/able to pay and if it goes for more than that walk away happy that you had a fun day out. Remember, that once it goes over your limit it will take a minimum of two bid intervals for you to get it, e.g. if your limit is $100 and the bids have been going up by $10 intervals and you have bid your maximum of $100 and someone bids $110 it will take a bid of $120 to get it back to you, 20% over your limit. Some auctioneers will allow fractional bids, some not. In this case, you might call out a bid of $115 (or make a hand gesture to indicate a half step bid. The gestures seem to be particular to a particular auctioneer or auction house. Ask when you get your bidding number.)

To add to Thomas' comment: Sometimes making one or two small things is a good physical and mental warm up when you start the forge. It helps me get into the smithing mindset, particularly if I have been otherwise engaged for awhile. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

DHarris, Depending on when that happened a complaint to the OK Supreme Court legal ethics committee or regulator. That is the sort of thing that gets lawyers disbarred and fined. BGD: Glad you got an extension. If there is anything I can help you with from a couple of states away let me know. I can talk their talk and tell you what "magic words" to use. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

if your great grandfather had any connection with mining industry it could be a container to carry calcium carbide for a carbide (actylene) lamp during a shift in the mine. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

Dear Frosty, Just for legal edification and interest things like "abuse of process" and "malicious prosecution" have to be based on a false premise. For example, if you really do have a zoning violation (junk, cars, unpermitted building. weeds, etc.) then a complaint or a prosecution isn't malicious no matter how much the neighbor who reported it or the prosecutor might dislike you. It's like the old legal adage that truth is a defense to defamation (libel or slander). For example, it isn't defamation to call someone a thief if they have been convicted of that crime. Sidebar: In the southern US, as I am informed by my wife (originally from FL), it is not mean or defamation to say any bad thing about someone if you add, "Bless his/her/their heart." e.g. "He's so dumb that he couldn't pour pee out of a boot if the directions were printed on the heel, bless his heart." So, it is not improper to report or prosecute someone if there really is a violation. Actual malice doesn't come into it unless there isn't an actual violation. My experience with zoning violations (fairly extensive) is that the local government always wants the property owner to take care of the problem themselves. Actually prosecuting someone is the enforcement action of last resort. It's the hard heads who won't cooperate that have to have a court come down on them to get compliance. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

To add a thought: Just based on what you stated you may have an opening based on inadequate notice from either the county or the bank. It would depend on the facts. If they didn't properly notify you of attaching a portion of your mortgage payment or the bank didn't give you proper arrears notices you can probably reset the clock. On the other hand, if they did send notices and you didn't open them or ignored them you may be SOL. It's worth raising this issue with a lawyer. If nothing else, he or she may be able to play out the clock by making the other side provide proof that you were properly noticed. I'm not an expert in foreclosures but there have been some federal reforms in recent years that made the banks, etc. follow a very specific notice procedure and provided the debtor with remedies if the proper notice procedure was not followed. There were a lot of abuses during the housing bust about 10 years ago. I hope this helps. G.