side blast trouble

[SLAG]

The antifreeze additive ethylene glycol is poisonous to humans and also animals.

animals like it a lot because it is sweet.

It will kill them.

In contra-distinction,  the close cousin  propylene glycol is safe for consumption and is an approved additive for some food products.

Carefully check the label before use.

Ethylene glycol containers should be kept covered.

It is a strong poison.

SLAG.

[hdvoyager319]

I will make a steel lid to be placed over the tank so the coon can't get to the antifreeze.

[hdvoyager319]

The cooling reservoir tank is secured to the forge table. The hinged steel lid will keep the coon and my sister-in-law's cats out of the antifreeze. There aren't any dogs in the area. Rest assured the antifreeze will be well secured against any animal intruders. I am glad that the antifreeze poison problem was brought up as I never thought of this problem.

Now a little background information:  I do have a  coon and groundhog invasion in the smithy building. They have dug holes under the buildings footing, in the dirt floor and leave their foot prints everywhere including the seat on my tractor. My Smithy is in an old Hog House surrounded with corn and bean fields here in Iowa.  The cats are a real big problem as I will catch it if any one of the cats get poisoned. The only way to keep the animals out is to concrete the floor of a 30' x 60' building, which would be nice but cost prohibitive.                                                                                                                                                          

.For those who live in cities, the wild animals probably are not a big  problem. But for those who live in the farm country, they can be a huge property damaging problem much more severe than just being a nuisance . They leave their piles of scats everywhere, Coon will break into a house thru a hole that they make and live in the attic, or basement. Over the past few years, the coon have chewed a entrance hole thru the roof, and baseboard in our farm house. The coon fur prices have been down for several years. As a result, the fur trapping isn't worth the effort. This accounts for part of the explosion of coon in the farm country.

[pnut]

A Mossberg plinkster was 99 dollars the last time I saw one. A dog inside the shop at night will keep the critters away although it could cause damage of it's own. Make sure it's up to the task though an angry coon can give a lot of dogs a good fight that the dog might not win.

Pnut

[Laynne]

You might try a solar powered light with motion detector since both of the critters you mentioned are basically nocturnal. I don't know how feasible that would be for you. I'm set up in an open implement shed so roosting birds are the biggest mess. I know some people swear by moth balls, you might try dumping a box where the entry points are.

Good luck,

Laynne

[BillyBones]

There are a few methods to repel coons and groundhogs. Caster oil works well for both, place it around the perimeter or in the case of ground hogs at the entrance of the den. Used cat litter around the building or male raccoon urine.  Along those same lines straight ammonia will also keep them at bay. Both keep them away by simulating a predatory animal. I suppose you could just start relieving yourself around the outside of your shop also. 

Coons really, really do not like menthol, so some horse lineament poured around the building would do the trick. Planting pumpkin or cucumber around the shop will help, coons dont like to step on them with their dainty little feet. 

Groundhogs will rarely burrow more than a foot down so a fence that is buried a foot under ground will keep them out. 

Then there is electronic methods. The sonic repellents work along with motion detectors on a light and water sprinkler. However coons are pretty smart and learn to avoid the area where they would get sprayed, and they also get used to sound and noise.   

Then there is always the good old fashioned cage and a .22 rifle. Both coons and groundhogs are a little stringy but can be quite tasty, kind of like squirrel.

I am in the burbs and even here i have to deal with coons and groundhogs. This past summer i almost broke my ankle when i stepped into a groundhog tunnel in my barn. 

As a side note the groundhog did keep the cats out of the barn. They will attack a cat like right now. 

[hdvoyager319]

WOW, thanks for the helpful suggestions  on eliminating the coon and groundhog problem.  I have several coon traps that are dog proof. The coon has to reach in a tube for the bait. Also, I have a live cage trap that hasn't worked very well in the past. The coon was able to steel the bait off the trap bait platform and get out leaving the trap door still open.

I have spent many hours in the smithy and never saw a coon but I did get a glimpse of a groundhog. However, many times I hear the coon in the enclosed area under the roof eves where I can not get in for a shot. The 22 won't work unless I can get a look-see of the coon.. I keep a loaded 22 revolver in the smithy just incase a coon besoms visible for a shot.

Since trapping season will be here in Dec.,my current thought is to get a trapper to set traps for the coon. The last time traps were set, I killed one of the sister-in laws cats in a conabare 220 trap. To play it safe, the tapper will need to use snares.  I have a book on snares that may work for me to attempt to catch the coons.. 

A lesson in using moth balls to keep the critters away:  I üst to go backpacking in bear, coon and porcupine country. Every night at camp, moth balls were spread a round the tent. The moth balls worked, no animal problems . Neighboring campers had their supplies  destroyed by a coon and one time by a bear. Before using moth balls, we had our food supplies which were hung up between two trees taken by a smart bear and the coon raided the eating area even though there was nothing to eat.. The bear, coon, and porcupine problems were in the Adirondack mountains in N.Y. Before using the moth balls, I experienced  a bear tripped on the tent guide rope and the coon rattled out cooking utensils looking for food. Another time a porcupine came up to the screen door on the back pack tent and was attempting to eat it's way in.. 

 

Smithy update: The inside portion of the chimney was erected yesterday. Next, the exterior portion of the chimney needs to have the tube junction clamp made and the Roofer hired to set the chimney up. I used a Come-a Long and several guiding roads to raise in one joined piece, over 100# of chimney tubing. It took a lot of thinking to work the chimney up between several beams to rest on the Super Sucker Hood. Stainless steel bolts will be used to make the attachment. I am one giant step closer to making the forge operational.

I decided to splice a hand crank blower into the air system using a "T" adapter that I had made. The electric blower or the hand crank blower outlet can be blocked individually or they can be used together.

The forge is now setting perpendicular in the shop. Now, I can chose to stand on either side of the forge. One side is 6' to the power hammer and the other side close to a huge leg vice mounted on a welding table. I have several large anvils that will be set up for each side. A small 70# Trenton will be the weld setting anvil located under 2' from the fire.. An added benefit is two smiths can be working off opposite sides of the fire, safely.

[SLAG]

Folks,

Porcupines are strictly plant eaters. Like all herbivores they need salt. They do not get salt from blood of other animals. (as carnivores do). 

Natural salt  deposits are usually in short supply in the forest environment.

So animals are attracted to highway verges and any objects that have sweaty deposits on them.*

And farmers provide salt licks,  (blocks), for their cows, sheep, goats, takins, lamas, and camels, etc. etc.

So pour some salt in a small pile away from the camp site, or smithy,  in order to encourage them not to bother you.

For bears, wilderness campers use the nine by four rule. Put your food in a pack and suspend it nine or more feet up and four or more feet out from the tree  

Moth balls,  (paradichlorobenzene = P.D.B.), cat hair,  blood meal, etc. usually will discourage raccoons and some other types of carnivores and omnivores.

A pet lynx would deter all of these animals, (except perhaps bears), but, in my experience they are hard to train and expensive to keep well fed,  adorable as they are.

SLAG.

*porcupines have been known to eat through glass bottles in order to get to salt, in the Canadian far north.

No kidding.

 

[Frosty]

2 hours ago, hdvoyager319 said:

The 22 won't work unless I can get a look-see of the coon.

My .22 mag will kill vermin through most common 2x lumber. Not that I recommend that of course, taking a bunch of sound shots through your roof can cause rust problems. 

 

14 minutes ago, SLAG said:

A pet lynx would deter all of these animals, (except perhaps bears), but, in my experience they are hard to train and expensive to keep well fed,  adorable as they are.

A pet badger generally works on bears. We had excellent results with a Great Pyrenees Mountain dog. Stray everything just stopped coming by except the rare feral dog and Buran could just growl and they'd leave.

THE bear country rules regarding food of any kind are: NO food in the tent, ANY kind EVER. Burn: trash, left overs, pan drippings, etc. Burying it is silly most critters significantly dig better than we can. Do the dishes immediately! Slag's 9' x 4' rule is a good one but if coons are the problem you need to lock your grub in a steel container, literally. An ammo can with a pad lock works a treat. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Laynne]

How about a pet wolverine?

[pnut]

Bears are also attracted to the foam used for car seats. I don't remember if it's produced with formic acid or a compound that smells like it. Some ants and termites produce formic acid and insects are like bear hors d'oeuvres. They love em.

Pnut

[SLAG]

Herr Frosty,

Mr. Laynne is correct.   Badgers are fierce, to the point of demonstrable insanity.  They have no fear.

  But they have nothing on wolverines. The latter creatures make badgers look like pacifists.

They are ferocious.

So much so,  that bears regularly  give them a wide berth.*

A good northern wilderness, and survivalist friend,   witnessed an extraordinary sight,  (years ago).. He saw a wolverine drive off two mountain lions from their fresh deer kill. They knew better to even bother protecting their kill nor their territory.

They were correct.

There is a way to trap them without using a standard trap but it is gruesome, big time.  So I will not divulge same. on this family forum.

They do NOT make good pets, they're too peripatetic 

Senor Pnut,   the bears are probably attracted to the salt from sweating. (most bears are primarily vegetarian, and need salt). 

Urea formaldehyde foam does not contain formic acid. It is made from urea and formaldehyde. Formic acid is surprisingly toxic for most animals. But not for ant eaters, echidnas, etc.

Zoo keepers feed them animal derived food, with a lot of acetic acid thrown in. (acetate is a cousin of formic acid), to make it palatable.

Frosty,    the nine foot by four foot hack is a good but a good sturdy car trunk also works wonders. A 22 mag works well but my nine millimeter, also, turns a trick.

Must run along, I'm cooking an Indonesian  shrimp sambal for Marg  (the marvelous), for this evening.

Regards,

SLAG.

[Frosty]

Wolverines are so antisocial it's a surprise they didn't go extinct as soon as they evolved. The three of us on the drill crew got chased off Latouche island by a wolverine. We saw it coming from probably half a mile, we noticed because of the snarling and sort of howling shrieking noises. It wasn't coming straight for us but running in a zig zag, attacking drift wood, kelp, bushes, rocks, the water. Everything! We got back in the boat and pulled off shore about 50' to let it go by. But NOPE! It pulled level and destroyed everything where we'd been standing went so far as to dig up our foot prints, then hit the water and started swimming out to the boat.

We left and watched from a few hundred yards off shore and back the way it'd come. 

I have a 9mm too but I can hold a decent size 25 round group with my .22 mag Grendel fast as I can squeeze them off. By decent group I mean palm size at 25 yds. fast as I can fire. I LOVE that pistol, recoil is almost straight back, virtually no rise.

There was a . . . "loner" lived somewhere here in the Valley back in the gold rush days who was known for keeping badgers as pets. One of the local stories is you could smell him coming from a distance. Sort of musky I suppose. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[pnut]

I stand corrected. Yes it is urea formaldehyde. It's been many years since I spoke with my friend who is a wildlife biologist. He works/ worked in the Smoky mountains for the Park department dealing with the black bear population. She specifically mentioned the smell of the foam being similar to an ant or termite colony.  Most cars  have layer upon layer of enticing odors for bears from peanut M&M's that fell between the seat last week to  cologne and the breakfast burrito you ate on the way to work. Bears have amazing noses.

Frosty I have a Taurus 17 Cal. That shoots like its part of my hand. I love target shooting. 

Pnut

[Frosty]

13 minutes ago, pnut said:

Most cars  have layer upon layer of enticing odors

I think they like butt smell, of course there's that burrito again! Predators are drawn to the smell of feces, something yummy left it there you know. 

I've never fired a .17 cal. How's it compare to a .22 cal pellet pistol?

Frosty The Lucky.

[pnut]

There's no noticable recoil. I have a couple .22 cal gas piston air rifles and the .17HMR is far more accurate and at a greater distance. 

It's a rimfire round not an air pistol.  The air rifles shoot an 18 grain pellet at about 1000fps and the .17cal round has a muzzle velocity of about 2200- 2600 fps depending on the powder charge. You can get high velocity rounds. 

The biggest difference between a 17 Cal and 22LR is accuracy. The 17 cal is a necked down 22mag. Its pointed instead of round. It has a flatter trajectory than a .22LR. I haven't hunted with a .17HMR but for target shooting I like it much better than a .22LR.  The only drawback is it's more expensive to shoot than a .22LR and sometimes harder to get ammo.

Pnut

 

 

 

Edited October 20, 2019 by pnut
hit a 1 instead of 2

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

I use .22 cal rat/snake shot in an old H&R Model 949 revolver to control rats in the garage & smithy. Never miss and no damage to background like siding & rafters.

[hdvoyager319]

I would love to place 36 or 40 grains of lead between the coon's eyes. But, they never expose themselves. That leaves trapping as my best option. Set spring loaded snares may work . And egg in the tube traps is an option also. I am going to set a trail camera to see what is happening while nom one is in the building.

forge progress. I made the sleeve that will lock the outside chimney  tube to the second tube section that ends just under the roof. As of now, the chimney is supported by a Come-a-Long. I think that the chimney base should have attachment loops welded on for cable/turnbuckle support on each of the 4 corners. That way, the chimney which is now bolted to then Super Sucker Hood could be free standing independent of the forge or any other support. That way, the forge could be relocated facing any quadrant. As of now, the forge is facing straight out from the wall which makes the power hammer very accessible and the leg vice. Several anvils would be located in strategic locations. Two smiths could work from opposite sides of the forge.

The water cooled tuyere is positioned with the air outlet 1/3 the distance out from the back wall of the Hearth. That leaves 2/3rds of the forge free to build the Duck's Nest. The Hearth is 24" X 24" 9" deep. I haven't decided where to place the water tank. The best location may be over the outboard side of the Tuyere. The Super Sucker Hood is located on the side of the Hearth opposite the tuyere. The water tank is connected to the tuyere using 7/8" ID radiator tubing. By placing the tank high, both the top and bottom water connections will be above the tuyere.

For the chimney Top Hat, the plan is to mount a flat 15" sq. steel plate, 11" above the top of the chimney. Just below the chimney top, two  EMT tubes will be connected to a welded on bracket.  The EMT will be spread 90 degrees to each other and be bolted to the roof peek..

I am slowly learning how to stick weld using a 110vac  Forney inverter 100Amp welder. A 3/32",  6011 rod does a good job. My big problem is striking the ark. Once the arc is struck, I have very little problem keeping the arc going for the length of the rod. I have MIG welders in another building where there is 220 vac. Another handy tool is a Plasma Cutter. It beats cutting with gas and a saw.

[Frosty]

On 10/19/2019 at 4:32 PM, Irondragon Forge & Clay said:

I use .22 cal rat/snake shot in an old H&R Model 949 revolver to control rats in the garage & smithy. Never miss and no damage to background like siding & rafters.

I used snake shot in my old .22 Ruger single six for mouse and squirrel control in the cabin I wintered it. They were like roaches, you never saw one but they'd come out in the dark. I tried laying in bed with a flashlight but the only thing I ever saw was a tail. Sooooo, I taped a piece of aluminum foil to the floor in front of the door and put a dab of peanut butter in the center. I got a double one night and after a while they stopped tunneling through the chinking between the logs. 

Raccoons don't live in this part of Alaska so I don't have any useful experience to pass along. 

However, I think I'd build the water bosh tall, wide and thin, picture a book's shape. This would increase surface area against the wall for better cooling, the increased height will improve convection circulation. A little messing with baffles should maybe channel flow in a circular pattern up and down the wide sides.

Also there is a smaller surface area for evaporation, it's not an effective way to shed heat. Maybe direct the air pipe vertically down through the bosh on the side the warmed water rises instead. Even more surface area in contact with ambient air. Hmmm?

The times I've used a side blast forge, the pipe degraded pretty quickly so I made them from the mud at hand. Nothing fancy, just a mud tunnel for the last 6" or so. Were I making a "proper" side blast I'd make the air nozzle from Kastolite 30 or the other water setting hard refractory I picked up before I discovered the Kastolite. Again, nothing fancy a paper towel tube covered in refractory with something my air supply fits on the cool end. 

Random Frosty thought ramble, over. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[pnut]

On 10/19/2019 at 5:18 PM, SLAG said:

There is a way to trap them without using a standard trap but it is gruesome, big time.  So I will not divulge same. on this family forum.

Does it involve a racoons reluctance to let go of something after they've grabbed it with their paw? 

I believe I know the method you're talking about.  Yes it is gruesome and unnecessarily cruel. 

Pnu

[Charles R. Stevens]

The trick on catching a coon in a live trap is to use one ended traps, place the bait in the back of the trap we’re they have to climb over the trigger. You need a relitivly large trap as the tail sometimes jams the door and allows them to escape. 

[ThomasPowers]

IIRC I have mentioned several times here already how I dealt with a severe groundhog problem in a tumble down chicken coop I was using as a smithy. The story involves a 2" bore black powder cannon...