MorganTyre

I've been practicing some amateur blacksmithing. I may be able to forge some iron hinges for you. Give me the basic dimensions of what you need.

Well, I think I've stepped into another world here. On the tool front I just built a forge and am starting to practice some amateur smithing. To be honest, I've not stepped up in difficulty from what I was doing with torches but I have stepped up the scale. Actually, the idea was to save gas. The thing is charcoal fired and is crazy fun. I wish I had a decent anvil but I'll get there eventually and I do have plenty of other things to bang against. I may try my hand at a mains gauche or similar before stepping up to the sword. Will post pictures as I progress. I will start a new thread under crafts when I do though.

Tools on my gonna use list are (and I know these because I use them on ALL of my metal projects): Vise 4" angle grinder Sander/Polisher (8 in I think) Asst. Files Hacksaw Buffing Wheels / Polishing Rouge Ball peen hammer Torch I'm reasonably sure I could knock this out using those alone but seeing as I am an impatient fellow and have access to the following I probably will use: Plasma cutter Big Belt Sander Band-saw As I progress though I'll explain what I used, what I could have used, and what I should have done instead (I do things the hard way typically).

Thank you very much. That is exactly the sort of reference I was looking for. Excuse the ignorance, but was there much of a change in style in the hundred or so years between the beginning of the GAoP and the American Revolution?

I've decided that I want to try my hand at making a sword. I am no stranger to metal work in general (of the cutting, shaping, grinding variety - I am no smith nor am I a welder) and I think shaping something from a good piece of steel (thinking a leaf spring) is within my abilities but I've no pattern to work from. Does anyone have any good detail drawings giving general proportions of a period hanger or cutlass? I'm looking for something with a relatively short blade certainly within 24 inches or so and with a relatively simple guard. I may be able to pull off a shell guard but I'll need to practice my chiseling technique. I plan to post a series of step by step pictures as the work progresses.

I think that was Swashbuckler. Good movie in a bad movie sort of way.

Have you thought about using an axe to round over your uprights ? That's a good idea. I'll give it a try.

Very, very cool. Thank you very much for putting those pictures up. I had my diamond tent with bed / other accoutraments set up yesterday. I wish I'd thought to take some pictures. That was a quick dry run though. I'll snag some pictures when I set it up for real.

Honestly the line setting works much quicker with two people but you can get all set up in under 15 minutes.

Here are the pictures as promised. Note what I said about the cuts on the posts. They are obviously power-tool made. I'm going to knock a 1/4" or so off of these with a hand saw to remove those cuts.

I'm getting ready for the Texas Ren-faire here in a couple of weeks and this year I've decided to bring some period-ish camping gear including a canvas tent (probably a big diamond though this is still a work in progress), bed, and chest. The bed turned out well so I thought I'd post a quick how-to with pictures going up this evening. Note that I have no actual mattress listed but have found the bed to be very comfortable as is with a piece of folded canvas on top of the cording. Materials: Two Rough Cedar 8' 2x4's - $5.00 each One Rough Cedar 8' 4x4 - $15.00 Approx 150' 1x4" manilla (preferred) or sisal what I used and works fine - $10 One 48" 7/8" hardwood dowel - $3.00 Total material cost $38 Tools: Saw Drill 3/8" Wood Bit 7/8" Wood Bit Wood Glue Assembly goes as follows: Cutting: Cut the 4x4 in to 4 even 2' pieces. Cut these with a handsaw if possible. If you cut them with a circular saw it will be obviously modern. These are the bed legs. This works out to be a very nice length. Mark each 6" down from the top of the legs. This will be where the top edge of the side boards will hit. Cut the 2x4's in to two pieces each, one 69" long and one 27". These are the side boards. Cut the dowel in to 16 3" pegs Drilling: Each end of the side boards gets two 7/8" holes for the dowel's. The center of these holes is 1" in from the ends and centered as best as possible. The sides of the side boards get a 3/8" hole every 3" starting 1 1/2" from the end. Drill these right down the centerline of the boards. The 4x4's need 7/8" holes corresponding to the holes drilled in the side boards. I positioned these so that the tops of the 2x4's were 6" down from the top of the post and the outside edges of the 2x4's were about 1/2" in from the outside edge. This will produce a bed with a corded surface roughly 6' x 30" which is smaller than a single but larger than a cot. I'm a man of average height and build and find that size just fine. This is about the only practical size possible from an 8' 2x4. Dry check everything for fit and then glue the pegs in to the side boards. At this point everything should be relatively loose and floppy. Do not glue the pegs in to the posts unless you want a permanent bed. As described, the whole thing can easily be broken down in to the component parts. Stringing: Tie a stopper knot in one end of the line and then start stringing the bed working from one end of a long side board to the other. In the one I made, I have a short piece of line eye spliced in place but that isn't necessary (see pictures later). After reeving the line through the whole bed start at the stopper again and work out any slack. It's important to get these lines snug as they are effectively clamping everything together. Also, they will stretch somewhat. After reeving a line athwartships, reeve another fore and aft, taking the time to weave the line over and under the lines already in place. Ta-da! A simple, rustic period LOOKING bed with no fasteners and completely portable. Look for pictures this evening.

You'll find many references to Leonardo Da Vinci having drawn turks-heads and that woven motif is certainly very popular in celtic "knotwork" so it's certain that the form predates our period but true "marlinspike seamanship" as we think of it didn't development as the artform it turned out to be until the mid to late 19th century with many of the specific knots that Clifford Ashley demonstrates attributed to specific captains or ships. This is likely to be one of those cases where I am sure it existed to one degree or another but anything beyond the classic turks-head or primarily practical knotwork (such as cockscombing, ring hitching, and grommets) will get you in to unknown territory. I think you are more likely to find historical evidence for chinese style knotting.

are you going to made a scale model? if so, how big is the yorktown cannon? The scaled down barrel is 7 3/8" but I don't know what gun (if any) it was originally based on.

Thanks! That's exactly the sort of thing I was looking for. The price is infinitely more than the hoped for free but I'm sure it's money well spent.

I wasn't sure which was the appropriate forum to put this in so please move it if you deem it more acceptable someplace else. I recently purchased a "traditions yorktown cannon" (See one here) for a ridiculously good deal from a local hat and commercial fixture store. My ultimate goal is to make something similiar to this: Step one will involve a naval carriage. Does anyone know of any good plans or scale drawings or even a set of measurements from a period carriage? I know the cannon style itself is a little late but that doesn't mean I can't be correct with the surrounding details. I have found some decent info online but everything is later except for a bad period illustration.

Yeah, I'm curious about the details here as well.

On a side note, I live here in Corpus Christi which is home to part of the LaSalle exhibit and am only about 50 miles from the Rockport Maritime Museum (was there yesterday actually) so if there is any info anyone needs from the exhibit I can certainlly try to get pictures and the like. Seems there is a musket on display from the La Belle in the Corpus Museum. I'll see if I can get pictures next time I am there.

On a side note, I live here in Corpus Christi which is home to part of the LaSalle exhibit and am only about 50 miles from the Rockport Maritime Museum (was there yesterday actually) so if there is any info anyone needs from the exhibit I can certainlly try to get pictures and the like. Seems there is a musket on display from the La Belle in the Corpus Museum. I'll see if I can get pictures next time I am there.

I don't know if anyone has brought this one up yet (probably) but they've made a new monkey island game. I know how many of you are fans of the original. http://www.telltalegames.com/monkeyisland

Still sounding like stainless to me. What is it doing that suggests to you that it isn't stainless? Have you tried touching a magnet to it?

They're ALL project boats. A boat that is "done" is a boat on the market. I've got a little Cape Dory myself. Nice to see someone else on an alberg.

Beckets aren't difficult to do. They aren't even particularly time consuming. The hardest part for me is not the becket itself but the piece it hangs from (the piece of line beneath the wooden cleat). I wouldn't bother with canvas convering on the knots. It's beautiful but ups the difficulty level a million percent. Somewhere around here I did a small tutorial on the most basic grommet type becket just do a forum search. For a horseshoe/bow type becket the basic process is to make up a pudding of small stuff in the basic shape you want then cover it over with a variety of fancywork. This is the same technique as the larger bellropes. Edit: Found the original thread http://pyracy.com/index.php?showtopic=8241&hl=beckets

Sounds good. I wonder why the ban on all things metal?

Here are two from the web: http://www.instructables.com/id/Pirate-Can...-a-naval-canno/ http://www.donfoley.com/halloween/ (very good diagram on this one)

An alternate idea to the turned wood is fiberglass. It's an easy medium to work with. I'd start with a piece of pvc, build up the rings, trunnions, etc. from whatever you can find by just gluing them temporarily into place and then glass over the whole thing. Painted, it should turn out well. You can also consider a carbide cannon if you are wanting a safe bang.