What did you do in the shop today?

[ThomasPowers]

John *is* the very model of a modern Major-General!  "I know the croaking chorus from the Frogs of Aristophanes,"

Gilbert & Sullivan

I am the very model of a modern Major-General,
I've information vegetable, animal, and mineral,
I know the kings of England, and I quote the fights historical,
From Marathon to Waterloo, in order categorical;
I'm very well acquainted too with matters mathematical,
I understand equations, both the simple and quadratical,
About binomial theorem I'm teeming with a lot o' news---
With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse.

I'm very good at integral and differential calculus,
I know the scientific names of beings animalculous;
In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,
I am the very model of a modern Major-General.

I know our mythic history, King Arthur's and Sir Caradoc's,
I answer hard acrostics, I've a pretty taste for paradox,
I quote in elegiacs all the crimes of Heliogabalus,
In conics I can floor peculiarities parablous.
I can tell undoubted Raphaels from Gerard Dows and Zoffanies,
I know the croaking chorus from the Frogs of Aristophanes,
Then I can hum a fugue of which I've heard the music's din afore,
And whistle all the airs from that infernal nonsense Pinafore.

Then I can write a washing bill in Babylonic cuneiform,
And tell you every detail of Caractacus's uniform;
In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,
I am the very model of a modern Major-General.

In fact, when I know what is meant by "mamelon" and "ravelin",
When I can tell at sight a chassepot rifle from a javelin,
When such affairs as sorties and surprises I'm more wary at,
And when I know precisely what is meant by "commissariat",
When I have learnt what progress has been made in modern gunnery,
When I know more of tactics than a novice in a nunnery:
In short, when I've a smattering of elemental strategy,
You'll say a better Major-General has never sat a gee---

For my military knowledge, though I'm plucky and adventury,
Has only been brought down to the beginning of the century;
But still in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,
I am the very model of a modern Major-General.

[BillyBones]

And here i thought it was a line from the movie "Mars Attacks" GAK RAK RAK GAK

[JHCC]

 

2 hours ago, Paul TIKI said:

I got a chance to play with the forge last night and made a couple of things and more importantly learned a bunch of things.

Baby steps!

[Paul TIKI]

Thanks!  I'm trying to be methodical as I make changes and do things.  Make a change, test, observe.  It works well until something seems to work like I want and then I get excited.

Still trying to nail down the air flow through the tuyere.  In my 2' square wood JABOD I was chewing up fuel too fast.  I read more and found out that I need less air and more control.  In this Grill Forge I have a much smaller tuyere and I'm not getting the heat I want.  I'm pretty sure I need more air, but I need to figure out how to deliver it with what I have. It may turn in to a "duct tape to the rescue" situation.  

I think I may prefer the bigger box because I have more room to maneuver the metal.  I found it harder to heat the areas I wanted in the Grill Forge because the length of the material got stopped one way or another not allowing it to get in to the middle of that fireball.  

Just gotta keep tinkering  

[ThomasPowers]

Cut slots in opposing sides to alloy work to go through the hot spot and out the other side or Move the hot spot up so work goes over the edges.

[BillyBones]

Just came in from the shop working a piece of sassafras wood. First time ever using it. Love the smell. Whole shop smelled like it. Almost as good as when the mint is growing around the shop in the spring. 

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

The then new Vdara hotel in Las Vegas got the Death Ray knickname the first summer.                                            

[George N. M.]

Thomas:  That doesn't sound like anyone that I know.  Do I?

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

[ThomasPowers]

As I recall the first use of reflective surfaces to focus solar power I've read of was Archimedes in the third century BCE.  Perhaps architects will catch up with learning the basics in the future...

George; did you know the croaking chorus of the frogs of Aristophanes?  There's a couple of use around here for sure! 

[JHCC]

Yes, in defense of Syracuse (not New York) from the Romans in 212 BC.

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4964987

[Paul TIKI]

Have you seen the videos of solar death rays made from the Fresnel lens from old rear projection TV's?

I wonder if you find the focal length, then set a work surface a bit above or below to give a heat zone over 6 inches or so could you heat steel rapidly enough.

Solar death ray

[ThomasPowers]

Make a Kaowool lined box with a sapphire window (used for supermarket scanners); align it so that the sun's path sends the ray down the middle of the window...(so you don't have to adjust it as often).

[Frosty]

9 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

I am the very model of a modern Major-General,

I'm bested. I wracked my dented brain trying to come up with a way to work: Newt, salamander or tadpole into the pun thread. 

I think I'll watch Judge Judy. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[JHCC]

As the Scotsman would say, Ye ca’ newt do it?

 If we were talking about immature eels, I’d say they all lived happily elver after. 

[58er]

Been busy lately. Few of latest. 

[Davor]

Just a simple compass for transferring measurements. Wing nut so I can tighten it in place.

[Glenn]

Dress up the compass with hand forged wing nuts.

[Daswulf]

58er, that's some awesome work there! What are the giant cattails made of? 

[twigg]

58er those are stunning.

I like the compass too. Nice work!

I shimmed and glued my anvil stand back together for the short run. Finished the twisty bit of a corkscrew, but I made it a lefty tighty by mistake. Also it's got some big cracks from cold forging. Seems like I spaced out at the anvil. 

I busted that same hammer again, for the 3rd time. Is there a rule of thumb for how big the metal wedge should be for a given eye size?

[Frazer]

Twigg, I use a wooden wedge and drive it in until it breaks off. I used to use the metal ones, but lately I have found the wood ones work just as well and you can still use the a metal one if the head loosens down the road. If the shaft doesn't break first that is... I don't know if there is a rule of thumb as far as size goes, I just grabbed one that fit..

Are they homemade handles or store bought? 

[Glenn]

You can use a little glue to make the wooden wedge slide in a little easier.  The glue will keep the wooden wedge in place and not loosen up with time.

[alexandr]

Several new works.

Extensive geography: Moscow, Omaha, St. Petersburg.

[ThomasPowers]

  Twigg; are you soaking your hammer handles in the hammer eyes in linseed oil?   Out here where it's dry or elsewhere where there is a rough humidity cycle; it helps to set the handle in the hammer and then place the head end in a small amount of linseed oil. I let it soak a week and then wipe off the steel with the proverbial oily rag and wipe down the rest of the head and handle with the rag and then burn it to avoid spontaneous combustion later.  Keeps the handle from loosening.

When I moved here from damp Ohio I had to reset 100 handled tools and the linseed oil soak sure has helped me from having to reset them again! 

[twigg]

Yes on the linseed, yes on wooden wedges (I had both wooden and metal in there, metal on a diagonal), and yes on homemade handles (all ash). I didn't let it set for a week, but the wedge didn't back out the whole section in the eye snapped off cleanly. I didn't use glue because I used the linseed also on the wedge, hoping that once it hardened it would be like a glue and keep water out. I'm gonna go head and start a new thread about the hammer woes rather than dilute the awesome work showing up here. Really inspiring stuff, as always, Alexandr!

[ThomasPowers]

Going to try a different wood?  Pecan/Hickory, or Osage Orange, or crab apple?