jake pogrebinsky Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 All you guys are very kind.Steve-i can't even READ instructions,let alone write any,in any (comprehensible) language!Any more,it's Chinese only in a sense of "odd" or "puzzling"! Actually,i must admit that i've carved up more'n one scandinavian scribed cabin,mostly with hand tools,so that the experimentation wasn't entirely random. Frosty,hi there!No,it's nothing that wholesome as a native wood.It's a chunk of an air-dried hichory from Superior Hardwoods in Fairbanks,that i shamelessly mail-ordered,and what great stuff it is!I could never had gotten away with an eye that shape(modified my boy's axe drift)with birch-it would last about an hour... We're about to get nailed here with the ice-run.I've gotten everything somewhat to the high ground(relative concept),exept my poor LG25.I weep for it,for the water level now is already 10' above the disasterous '37 flood,and the ice hasn't moved yet. You just got a hammer-fantastic!Congratulations!See how the universe is balanced-one hammer more,one less...Life is good here,wouldn't live any other way.As hard on the machinery as the River is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 I was wondering about the wood. (Yeah, I know I even remember asking.) I haven't found anything local that'd hold up worth spit for more than a mallet. I bought a 8'x 4", 5/4 hickory for making hammer handles and like mine better than store bought. I'll keep my fingers crossed for your LG, even say a word for it next Sunday. a person might think that a piece of iron that heavy would be okay in a flood but that much ice will move darned near anything. Chaining it to something is only likely to get it dragged off when the ice takes whatever it's chained to. Is there a way to move it to higher ground? Probably not now but for next year? I'd be thinking of moving my whole shop about now I'd be in so much anguish. I got the overhead door tweaked, wound and tuned well enough to open and close properly though it still needs a little tuning to hang straight. Got the shop cleared, cleaned and rearranged and yesterday a buddy and I offloaded the hammer and stood it where it goes. I'll be posting a progress report with all the details soon as I check the rest of the messages. Needless to say I'm pretty excited, I've been wanting a powerhammer for a couple decades now. I'll be thinking of you and yours. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jake pogrebinsky Posted May 7, 2009 Author Share Posted May 7, 2009 (edited) Sorry,it's entirely off the topic,but i did want to horrify evertone by imagining the poor LittleGiant,in this same predicament,probably by tomorrow. Thank you,Frosty,for your kind thoughts,but it's probably toast-it's in a direct path of ice.All the equipment in the village is busy elsewhere,on chores very much like this.The high place to move it to is also not certain.I've a boat stationed there for the next stage of attempted survival,and the LG certainly would not fit in the boat.But,like with all things of this nature,it may come to nothing,or be an unprecedented disaster.The population is to assemble at the school,another elevated patch,and it's flat roof-even higher.It may be a sight! Edited May 7, 2009 by jake pogrebinsky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 Living on the Yukon is like sleeping with the elephant. The advantages are terrific but if it rolls over on you. . . Be safe Brother, things can be replaced, people can't. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jake pogrebinsky Posted May 8, 2009 Author Share Posted May 8, 2009 Justa quick update:The City boys pulled through with their loader,and got my hammer up on the dike.Now it's serving a much needed purpose by being a dog picket anchor.Lonesome-looking,the furthest north(?) LG in N.America... The ice started running last night,but,so far,very peacefully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 That's great news! We've all been pulling for you guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 That's good news Jake. Here's hoping the river doesn't rise any higher. As I remember it from my one visit to Galena the river is supposed to be a lot lower than that. Fat guy like me got tired just walking down and back up. The news said the ice jams were starting to go out though I don't know if they were below you or not. Were you able to get the rest of your gear out of the shop? Still have my fingers crossed for you and everybody in peril. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jake pogrebinsky Posted May 9, 2009 Author Share Posted May 9, 2009 Thanks,Charlotte,Frosty,all's fairly well so far.Thewater level's holding,ice cruising by.And yep,Frosty,i've evacuated all my tools.Blacksmithing contributes regretfully little to my survival here,yet,i'm in love with it more and more as the years go by,and make it a priority.Silly,really:Quite an expensive and complex hobby for a hunter/gatherer... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jake pogrebinsky Posted May 9, 2009 Author Share Posted May 9, 2009 Actually,to continue the thought(with humble apology to Glenn,who's wondering by now what to do with this thread.Maybe we need a new section of the forum:Blacksmiths Annonymous,or,There IS a way to quit blacksmithing): The blend of pre-agrarian survival,and the severely Specialist trade of forging metals,is as schizophrenic as it gets.The former,a life in compliance with the Creation,the latter-an open defiance of God's prerogative to substantially modify the existing physical reality. According to some directions of thought during the Dark Ages,forging was the first of the Three Diabolical Trades,the other two being the Musicianship,and Fortunetelling! In for a penny-in for a pound!Wish i could play,and foretell the future,woulda been cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unkle spike Posted May 9, 2009 Share Posted May 9, 2009 hello Jake, glad to hear you situation with the river is improving. As far as "blacksmith's anonymous" to quit blacksmithing, forget it, it will not work, you may think you have quit, then you hear an anvil ping at a craft fair somewhere, and you are right back in.....sometimes standing there for hours giving the demostrator tips.... you may leave blacksmithing, but it never leaves you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markb Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 Just wondering, is the ice flow-breakup noisy. Trying to imagine this, seems so big and quite, then could be raging rapids with ice? or rising spreading engulfing, looks like wide valley in pics. Regardless, I wish you well and hope this passes without ill effects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jake pogrebinsky Posted May 10, 2009 Author Share Posted May 10, 2009 Markb,the ice run can be anything from completely,eerily silent,to a deafening rumble,and occasional rifle-shot of a drift log getting caught just so.But usually,most of the time,there's just the loud hissing/rustling of the ice rubbing on itself,with frequent tingly sound of candle-ice collapsing. It can mask it's immense force,everything moving smoothly,and fairly quitely,till it encounters some resistance.Then,things happen,loud noises among them. Here's a link to the news of an unfortunate village of Eagle,they got it very bad,a few days ago:Ice flood tears up Alaska town - Weather- msnbc.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markb Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 Jake, I understand now, but the magnitude is unimaginable. Kinda like a colossal log jam, every spring. After months of darkness and cold, now hours of light and life, like the world woke up? Very extreme, dramatic place. Hard to imagine. Hope things are OK Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jake pogrebinsky Posted May 10, 2009 Author Share Posted May 10, 2009 Very much so,sir.The scale and the complexity both are staggering.Many jams simultaneously along the 2000-some miles of river,each affecting the others,by controlling the volume of water passing.And since the substance of the jams is ice,all's drastically affected by air temp,say,and many other things that change the ice structurally. For more than 24 hours it's all jammed above here,no ice coming down.It just jammed below too,and the water's rising.Sooner or later the stuff above will come by here.It can be a mellow ice flow,or a vertical wall tens of feet high,wider than the valley here by ?... About 500 miles above here is a section called the Flats,hundred some miles long,where the avg.width of the Yukon is 20 miles.So,there's a serious volume of ice above,almost inconcievable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Are you still there Jake? Any new news? There hasn't been much of anything about Galena on the TV or radio so I assume you guys are getting off fairly easily so far. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markb Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 Hey Jake...HEY JAKE!!!! Noticed it's your birthday today. HAPPY B'DAY. Hope all's OK. Cheers Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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