hammerkid Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 If i was you I `d go ahead and build it and maybe not have eltric for a while but its bets the tire outta workin outside;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWooldridge Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 Great tip, Frosty. My shop floor is the natural caliche and clay found in this area - and I have to water it periodically to keep my lungs from filling up with junk so some cement might help. South Texas was underwater several million years ago and the whole plateau is underlaid with limestone. Probably why there are Portland cement processors and quarries every mile or two. We use bentonite to line stock tanks for cattle watering. Stops 'em from leaking. (Nice to have a geologist here - there are a lot of mud loggers in this neck of the woods so we all have a warm spot in our hearts). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 My first degree was in Geology and I worked as a mud logger in OK and TX till the crash of '83, then I spent a year with a swordmaker... So you've got more than one geologist hanging aroung these parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Martin Posted July 16, 2008 Author Share Posted July 16, 2008 We are going to be moving in September, our house is going for sale in the end of august, and we have potential buyers already, and I don't think it's worth putting up a shop for three months thats going to cost me like $300-$400. But the good news is that we are going to be moving closer to my high school, but out in the country on a farm, and I was told that I could use one of the buildings as my shop. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 Great tip, Frosty. My shop floor is the natural caliche and clay found in this area - and I have to water it periodically to keep my lungs from filling up with junk so some cement might help. South Texas was underwater several million years ago and the whole plateau is underlaid with limestone. Probably why there are Portland cement processors and quarries every mile or two. We use bentonite to line stock tanks for cattle watering. Stops 'em from leaking. (Nice to have a geologist here - there are a lot of mud loggers in this neck of the woods so we all have a warm spot in our hearts). Glad something from my old job is useful. Actually I learned a LOT of useful stuff on that job. I wasn't a geo, I was first a lab tech, (lab rat or dusty) then a driller. Working for the State materials section of DOT. Our main concern was soils for foundations and we picked up a lot of practical info as we got called back to find out why project designs fail. Believe me in sub-arctic and arctic construction almost all designs fail, it's just a matter of how long they last. But a little cement will bind caliche up like concrete, actually more like a coral reef. Masonry lime will do it as well though not quite as tight. You know if you want to do this in "period" you can burn the caliche (almost limestone) into quicklime, mix it with the soil and wet it down. That WILL make concrete, it's how the Greeks did it, how the Romans did it and how it was done till sometime near the beginning of the 16th century(?). It was rediscovered when a need arose for hydraulic cement as the only thing that'd keep a lighthouse on the rocks in an Atlantic storm. I was shocked and amazed when I discovered the Coliseum in Rome is stone faced concrete as are the aquaducts and virtually all the large and most small Roman structures. Concrete is really neat stuff, almost as versatile and mysterious as steel. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 We are going to be moving in September, our house is going for sale in the end of august, and we have potential buyers already, and I don't think it's worth putting up a shop for three months thats going to cost me like $300-$400. But the good news is that we are going to be moving closer to my high school, but out in the country on a farm, and I was told that I could use one of the buildings as my shop. Well, that certainly explains it John. A tent or canopy or better yet a TeePee makes a fine mobile smithy. TeePee as in "New / Edge of the Anvil," fame. Building a truly portable set up might be a thing to do at this time as well. It's quite the challenge to build everything to be moved and used from a trailer or old truck/van. Of course waiting a few months for a building of your own isn't such a bad thing. Have you seen your new place yet? Maybe there's an old barn or outbuilding full of old farm "junk" that needs exploring? I'd be on pins and needles myself. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Martin Posted July 16, 2008 Author Share Posted July 16, 2008 My mom said, we are going to be moving to a farm in between september and november, they are looking at a few places....haven't seen anything yet. I'll keep you updated through PM. But I'll get pictures this weekend or next weekend of my setup. Depends on when my welding teacher and I finish up putting the forge together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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