pnut

I couldn't remember what it was called but that is exactly what I was thinking about when I mentioned cliffs. They've found mammoth remains at the bottom of jumps that had signs of human processing but no one can agree if it was hunting or scavenging on the part of the humans. I live about 15 or so minutes away from Big Bone lick where Lewis and Clark found a large amount of pre historic mammal remains that I believe Thomas Jefferson ended up with. Pnut Iirc the animal bones found were from short faced bear, mammoth, saber tooth cats, giant sloths, relatives of horses that I can't remember the actual name of, and dire wolves and a few others I can't recall off the top of my head.

Correct. Persistence hunting and using the natural land formations like cliffs, bogs, lakes and the like was much less dangerous than closing in on a large animal and trying to kill it. Herd animals like bison and deer if spooked can be ran into natural traps like cliffs or into terrain that favors the hunters. On the plains in the US there's hills that form bottle necks. They look like two steep sided hills that form a v or an L that the indigenous people used to trap and kill bison by having a party chase the herd into the bottle neck and a party waiting concealed at the narrowest point and would shoot from atop the hill at less risk than doing it on the open plains. Persistence hunting was used more frequently in Africa but there's North American first people's tribes that employed the technique to lesser extent. Some of the bottle necks on the plains show evidence of being utilized for thousands of years. Another method used by the native culture of the Ohio valley was to have a party chase deer or elk into a lake while hunters in canoes waited to harass and prevent the animal from getting back to land until exhausted and then kill it. Pnut

Blacksmithing Basics for the Homestead by Joe Delaronde. The picture of the home made hot cut shear is on page 28. I took a picture of it but since I don't own the copyright it violates the TOS. Pnut

Am I allowed to post a picture from a book? Pnut Answer: not if I don't own the copyright. I'll post the full title and author when I get off work.

Blacksmithing for the homestead has a homemade shear in it. Pnut

Look through the improvised anvils thread. Don't get stuck in the thinking that an anvil should look like something you see in cartoons falling on Wile E. Coyote. Those have only been in use for a small percentage of the history of smithing iron and steel. For the majority of history an anvil was a block of steel. No horn. Look at a Japanese master sword smiths anvil or Viking anvils. Viking anvils look like what's known today as a stump anvil. A block of steel with a spike on the bottom to drive into the stump. You can find old footage of anvils and anchors being forged but like I said earlier.The London pattern anvil is "new" in the timeline of blacksmithing. You don't need one of those fancy newfangled anvils all these young whippersnappers are so crazy about!! Pnut

If you're wanting to make a forge check out the 55 forge thread. It has pictures of a fire grate made from a few 3/8 in. round stock. You can make a tuyere out of auto or truck exhaust pipes. The way you have it set up now isn't going to work for forging. Check out the jabod threads too it'll give you an idea of what a forge needs to work well. You have a 55 forge almost. With a little more work on the fire grate and air supply you'll be ready to go. Look up what a ducks nest is also. Good luck Pnut

Those are cement edging pavers for flower and mulch beds and the like. They are definitely a heat sink. Hard firebrick is a heat sink also but you're less likely to have them fall apart or crack. If there's a TSC near you you can get a couple hard firebrick for about six or seven dollars. The bricks with the holes look fine. I would change the cement ones though. Kiln shelving will work better than firebrick but you probably can't get it as easily. Pnut

I have read all the Foxfire books that have anything I'm interested in. We read those books in highschool as part of a scheme to promote KY and mountain culture. I just borrowed Foxfire 5 from the library a couple months ago. They released an anniversary edition of the founding of the Foxfire foundation. My local library has the whole series. There's some useful info in those books. The flintlock section is one of the better accounts of the resurgence of traditional gunsmithing I've come across. Most of the people they talked with are gone now. I'll have to find a copy of the Saxton Pope title. Thanks. Pnut

You can bake the water out in an oven also. Lowest setting for a few hours. Pnut

My oldest sister had the same surgery as a teenager. This was about 1974 or so. It wasn't an easy recovery. Body cast in the summer and no ac. She was glad she did it though. I've never thought about what will happen to them when she's gone. Pnut

This might be a good application for moldable ceramic refractory. I don't remember the brand name. Kaowool or inswool. I just found out about this product the other day while reading through the gas forge section. I haven't used it before but the description I read makes me think it might be a viable option for this. Pnut Inswool ceramic fiber moldable caulking putty. I found it in LouL's post consolidated notes for first time forge builders. Someone might want to look into making a burner block from it also. Once again I'm just spit balling I really have no idea if it would be suitable or not so take it for what it is worth.

You can say check Amazon for ferric chloride and you're not violating the TOS. You can't post a link directly to a commercial website. I used to walk on eggshells until I figured that out. Pnut Sweet knife by the way. I haven't tried pattern welding yet. I've tried welding a couple of bits into mild steel with varying degrees of success. One day though I'll jump into the deep end of the pool and give it a go. I want to maximize my chances of success so I won't be trying it for quite some time. I'm a firm believer in matching my skills with the project. I also believe if you never fail you're not pushing yourself far enough. Pnut

I'd bet most of the junk in that store is still there. I haven't been back even though it's only about a hundred yards away from where I work. It's a shame he wouldn't budge. I tried to tell him a new ball pien hammer was the same price and I wouldn't have to put a new handle on it but it didn't make a difference. His hammers were "antiques". Some people take it personally if you try to tell them what they're selling isn't worth what they're asking, even if you do it politely. I think this guy is a hoarder and doesn't want to sell his stuff anyway. He owns the building so I guess his only bill is electricity and he gets to hang out with his treasures all day. Pnut

I've already started plotting a way to work it out. Hopefully it's not too expensive to ship it. There's an "antique" store near me that has the most outrageous prices for things I've ever seen. A draw knife with chips in the cutting edge $40. Ball pien hammer with loose cracked handle $20. Monkey wrench that needs the rust stripped and then it might turn $15- $25. Bit and brace $50. It has flea market quality goods at antique prices. The owner wouldn't negotiate. Even after I told him I was going to actually use the tools not decorate my living room with them. Pnut

Absolutely, I have watched lightning maps online. You're right at higher elevations lightning happens frequently. I've had my hair start standing up on Mt Shasta before a lightning strike. II also lived and worked right outside of Kings canyon national Park for a few summers and the lightning was spectacular. The game here in central/northern KY I think encounters fire less frequently than in eastern KY or definitely less frequently than game west of the Mississippi. There's deer here in Grant Co KY that do not scare easily. The herd here unfortunately is acclimated to human scent/activity. There's a city near here that allows deer hunting in the city limits as long as it's 100 feet from a dwelling. As far as covering human scent I think charcoal would work better than wood smoke, but that is purely my opinion. I don't really know but that would be my guess if I had to make one. There's a lot of evidence here in the Ohio River valley of persistence hunting dating back at least a thousand years. I would think having the animals smell you would be to the hunters advantage in a persistence hunt. Hunting methods of indigenous people are highly location dependent though there are some things that are universal. I am interested in old hunting techniques and life ways of indigenous people. If you can recommend any titles relating to that I would appreciate it. Pnut

That's mighty nice Layne, but I can't imagine I'll be taking any road trips lately. Pnut

Nope, with that name and the style of anvil I get the impression it's Eastern European. It sure is nice though. Pnut

Or miles of rebar. Pnut

I'm right outside of Cincinnati and the same thinking pervades here. Old=gold Pnut

I agree that you couldn't make one today of the same quality for that price. The problem around here is too many people watching picker and antique shows. If it's old they think it should cost a mint. I would pay four hundred dollars for a blower in very good shape and complete with a stand. I only see incomplete units that are overpriced by about one or two hundred dollars. I'm in no hurry though, I'm just complaining a little to vent some frustration. Pnut

I've been looking for a deal on a Buffalo or Champion blower and I know I shouldn't be, but I'm shocked at how much people are asking for them. I haven't seen one anywhere near me for less than three hundred and fifty dollars. The ones in good working order are in the 400-500 dollar range. I did see a four inch post vise for 65$ but was beat to it. The housing at the bottom looks great. I say housing because I don't see a fan or axle. I like the fancy script too. Pnut

Scrapyards usually use a handheld spectrometer for specific alloys, but some just eyeball it and separate it into Al, magnetic, and non magnetic ferrous material. Depends really on the scrapyard and the type of scrap they deal with mostly. Pnut

if you lived here grass would not be a problem after the summer we've had. It finally did rain though so it looks like I will be able to light the forge Friday. Pnut

I have made lots of arrows and a good amount of longbows. Like pointy things and Les L above, I've used heat to straighten arrow shafts and bow staves. I've done some hunting and it seems to me the smell of smoke would be less of a trigger to flee than human scent, but fire can be just as dangerous to animals as humans so I'm undecided. There's commercially available hunting gear that has an activated charcoal infused lining like an Army issued NBC suit, but activated charcoal doesn't smell like wood smoke. I would imagine a little wood smoke would be less startling than the smell of people to a deer. On a side note I have seen a deer eating charcoal straight from one of my charcoal buckets. Go figure. Pnut