It's just like every other journal... I never keep them up. Well, this time, I will. I swear; if I have to make this my homepage I will post as often as I can.  So... what news? We're making a carousel...great idea but then I read a story by Owl344 and I feel like I'll be stealing that idea if I write it now. Especially as they're so similar. Damn.  Ummm... later? I'll post again soon, I hope..

Last week I finally got around to ordering the first four of a set of seven books I'd long been interested in, written by a machinist and inventor named David J. Gingery . He published these books...be building the foundry. It'd be fun to be able to cast my own metal parts, using the same primitive methods used hundreds of years ago. Originally posted at BinaryRock [ Original Entry ]

I can't remember who, but someone on my friends' list was talking about finding a two-piece grommit from the middle ages in a book? I hadn't noticed before, but page 229 of Pritchard's Dress Accessories...were made of a cast copper alloy, or iron. This seller on ebay has them in pewter , which I'm not so sure about structurally. Here's the drawing from Pritchard, of an archers' wrist guard.

I have been dragging my feet for some time, but I finally got cracking on my metalworking. My welding table is about half done. I have it framed and the legs attached, but I need a deck for it to place...going on last night after all the work of cleaning the garage, finishing a couple projects to make some room, and doing about half the welding table project. I have a pretty good tired tonight too.

Grrrrf. I knew people in the jewelry world were complaining that prices were going up, but now that I'm paying attention, now the sticker shock is setting in... so to speak... Last time I looked in... pretty much every time I see some random ugly tchotchke rendered in "pure sterling silver" or a film of gold in electronics, but I know very little about the issue. Talk about nonrenewable resources

Very full weekend, mostly taken up by my stonesetting class at Danaca. Oooof. Using 2mm cubic zirconia, I did one (bad) bead setting and one considerably better flush setting, though realized that the... I did other things too, I am remembering now... Before: one hell of a week, wedding, Rock Band, Apples to Apples, clamoring , manymany snuggles. after: utrecht, dinner, and decided sleepiness.

I'm really just trying to get someone's attention here but it's another thing to add to the list of what I've been up to lately. I was given a pewter belt buckle Quite-Some-Time-Ago to have a look at...of the rondell. Photos will follow once the final cast is complete, the sprues removed, filing and sanding and polishing all done and the holes redrilled to take rivets. Hmmmm, brass wire for rivets..

Imperative Power failures put things into context such as how will one make coffee? Faced with that scenario last month, an earlier plan was put into action and an ultralight stove built from Heineken...England blizzard & blackout; the January Blue Plate Special around these parts. Many thanks to Mark Jurey for his great site. Penny Stove    Photo Credit commonmode ©2008 torkbox 

Skill I know nothing about Claude Paillard except for his amazing video. It is ~18 minutes long but passes quickly as Paillard constructs a triode vaccum tube entirely from scratch. Most certainly it would be a privilege to sit quietly by and watch him work.   http://paillard.claude.free.fr/ ©2008 torkbox