Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 Sometimes it's better to beg forgiveness than ask permission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eventlessbox Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 Lol. She is actually quite understanding. By which I mean I got her a puppy for Valentine's day to get out of the doghouse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 Sometimes it's better to be able to sleep at night----my wife says "You gotta sleep sometime!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 You gotta sleep sometime is right. Never mess with people, you NEVER know who they really are. A woman Mother used to work with moved in with a guy. Within a couple months he got drunk and beat her up. When he settled down she helped him undress and get in bed. When he was asleep she sewed him between the covers. She called the police after she'd broken every broom, mop and garden tool handle beating him. The gag kept his screams from drawing the neighbors. The police took one look at her black eyes and bruises and arrested him. He didn't do well at trial trying to blame her. I wonder how his prison time went when the other inmates found out he'd been beaten to a pulp, literally by a GIRL. Goes to show a lady shouldn't make her man wait for his just deserts. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eriktlupus Posted February 18, 2019 Share Posted February 18, 2019 I remember the same discussions when I was brewing beer regularly. As in how do you consider the costs of your time to brew the beer versus what you would otherwise be doing? The answer was usually since it was a hobby for most of us(just as it is here) the time 8s not taken into account when telling that it costs you this much per beer. The start up costs to do beer are actually greater than blacksmithing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 To test the waters. Blacksmithing is nearly free. To equip a professional smithy will cost tens of thousands of dollars. If you are patient and not looking to make a living from your craft you can find most of what you need or want used at a substantial discount. When I first became interested in photography I was a teenager and had to save to buy quality used equipment. Same thing when I switched my kit to digital. I was patient kept my eyes open for good deals and now I have a pretty good photo kit. It's taken years of saving and seeking out the best deals, not buying the first thing I saw just because I wanted it right then. Back to blacksmithing. I think it's the same deal. Save your money and be patient, before you know it you'll accumulate a decent shop. There's a big difference in hobby smithing and and a business. I have invested a total of about forty dollars to build my first forge. That was for the electric matress pump, TSC hammer,and a hand pump because the electric pump was too annoying. Salvage yard improvised anvil and a jabod made from a night stand I got for free. I'm saving my money to upgrade my equipment when I run into a good deal. I'm patient and have no doubt when I run across a good deal I'll be able to get it. I'm also not trying to make a living from smithing so I have the luxury of biding my time and being frugal. That's just my opinion. Pnut (Mike) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 Talking with folks helps a lot to find items; it's the core of the TPAAAT. My Dr was telling me about a friend of his who does smithing and fab work---depending on what the orders are for at that moment. Got to go visit him soon; Also he told me he owns the old cotton gin building near where I live and bought some old copper cognac stills he wants to get working again.....Gotta talk him into making some "Cotton Gin"... Well worth getting a shot and 3 prescriptions... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 Thomas, yep I try to bring up blacksmithing anytime I talk to someone new. You never know who may have a diamond in the rough sitting around waiting for the right person to mention it. I have never seen a cognac still in person. There's not much difference between them and bourbon stills I wouldn't imagine. I have some basic experience with distilling from my younger years. Living in KY it's pretty common for people's family to have been involved in distilling one way or another. Just thought about it Thomas you're in N.M. I wonder what Gin would taste like with sage in the herbs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 I'm originally from the hills in Arkansas; and I've had suspicions that I might have had kinfolk in the untaxed distilling business. One of the smiths down here comes from a family that at the start of prohibition bought a distillery from up your way and moved it to Mexico and did a whopping trans border business. I'm wondering about a prickly pear brandy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 Sounds interesting, I'd give it a try and see what it tastes like. prickly pear isn't bad if you can get past the texture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 Hey people drink Grappa---and Moonshine of dubious quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 6 hours ago, pnut said: prickly pear isn't bad if you can get past the texture. We used to burn the thorns off over a fire. Then we discovered they tasted better cooked so tried slicing and grilling them. I miss prickly pear. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 A friend once gave me some tsikoudia from his uncle's vineyard on Crete -- kind of the Cretan version of grappa moonshine. In retrospect, I would have been better off using it as a solvent in the shop. On 2/17/2019 at 7:02 PM, eriktlupus said: The start up costs to do beer are actually greater than blacksmithing. A friend got interested in homebrewing when she was in the Navy. After an honorable discharge because of injury, she was given funds for continuing education, and she chose to do an advanced course in brewing. She's now one of the head researchers for the Boston Brewing Company, the folks who think up new varieties of Sam Adams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 7 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: Hey people drink Grappa---and Moonshine of dubious quality. Some unregulated moonshine is dubious at best and down right toxic at worst. Mercury,lead, and assorted farm run-off like animal waste and fertilizer. I've seen pictures of illegal still sites with dead animals floating in the mash tanks. Moonshiners on TV isn't how that business is usually run. Quantity is the first concern quality is probably a distant third or fourth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 Not getting caught is #1. Good distillation should take care of any floating critters and IIRC some beers/ales were/are actually brewed with meat thrown into the "pot"... As a solvent some of the untaxed distillation products would probably eat the seals, give off toxic fumes and be explosive---that's the fun of them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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