Cascabel

Quite a bit of info here : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_meat#China

Salted Horse is a slang term used for any salt-cured meat. The term was often used by soldiers in a derogatory fashion when referring to their low quality meat rations. Actual salt cured horse meat is eaten in some Asian countries.

Facebook is a really terrible venue for anything important, because new postings push things down the page to eventually drop off the bottom to be lost forever. Things like kitten pictures, personal posts, etc. just load up the page, and eventually cause the important stuff to be lost. A forum style website like what we have now is far better where postings can be easily found for future reference. I know nothing of setting up websites, so it may be cost prohibitive, but I think social websites like facebook are worthless !!

Actually, real skeletons are not very durable. They don't stand lots of handling and manipulation very well. Plastic is a much better choice for prop use these days !!

I would go with the brass one. If you give them a wipe with acetone to remove the protective lacquer, they will tarnish quite nicely over time, or you can help things along by giving them a wipe with dirty gun cleaning patches, after removing the protective coating.

A Jolly Roger looks just fine loosely draped over a tent, or a nearby bush, fence, or tree, as if hung up to dry out in your campsite. It will set the theme for your area. Of course, it needs to be tied or pinned in place so it doesn't blow down. I have a 10 footer that I display that way sometimes. Looks great, and no need to bring any kind of flagpole. A flagpole sturdy enough to not blow down would be a real problem !!

Me new outfit..... Hope everybody likes it.

I generally don't bother putting tips on the scabbards that I make. Never saw the need, other than for decoration.

This is the main U.S. distributor for Pedersoli. They have parts available. http://www.flintlocksetc.com/

Hmmmm..... To my eyes, the mounting looks a bit flimsy. Hope it holds up.

I covered this issue thoroughly in the "Lock Stock and Barrel" section of "Ship's Armory". Take a look at the pinned posting at the top of the page.

......and where is this wonderful event ?? City ? State? Country ???? Oooooops, I found it at the top of the page, in a gray font, and not very noticeable.....

Hmmmm...... That does not really inspire confidence if I was paying a high price for something !!

Nice looking stuff, but I can't find anything on their website regarding where they are located. I think that is rather important in case of a problem....

This is EXACTLY the issue !! The public goes to festivals to be ENTERTAINED. If they wanted education, they would go to museums and historic sites. As you say, authentic period garb is kinda drab. Sort of like expecting a crew of modern day construction guys to be interesting to look at. It must be kept in mind that for an event to continue to survive and prosper, it needs to provide what the customers want. The public is far more interested in pirate stereotypes that don't require them to think or ask questions than having to wonder "How come that guy is wearing that funny-looking thrum cap and sitting there hand sewing ?". I have been doing this stuff for a great many years, and have a pretty good feel for what makes an event successful. Often, if you offer a historic presentation without a bit of excitement, your audience will soon wander off bored to watch the belly dancers. Perhaps a bit unfortunate, but true !!

I hope they do a shot that hits on a rib also. That would be much more telling of potential damage. Mythbusters did a cannon test a while back, and for some reason fired between ribs, so it only punched a neat hole in the planking. They were intending to show wounding inflicted by splintering wood on pig carcasses, but I think they failed to prove anything conclusive because of not getting a hit on solid structure.

Unfortunately, I expect to see more and more of this sort of thing. Cannons are becoming more popular, and many people opt for a low price, rather than high quality. Same as in small arms, which are a lot less devastating if there is a failure. The larger the weapon, the worse the damage can be. Ya need to know what you are getting !!!

Has anybody considered the weight of a large quantity of gold ? The popular image of a couple of burly pirates carrying a big full chest of golden treasure is impossible. Gold is heavier than lead. It would require a fork-lift to move a "treasure chest" full of gold coins. A large treasure would require quite a crew of people to move and bury it, even if it was simply placed in a cave. Does it not stand to reason that SOMEBODY in that group might desert the crew and come back to dig it up on his own ? The story does not ring true in my opinion.......

You used to be able to get pre-inletted stocks from Dixie Gun Works, and probably still can. They were available pre-shaped, with just the octagonal barrel channel cut, and you had to take care of the rest. Probably can also be found at other suppliers, like Track of the Wolf. Try googling pre- or semi- inletted muzzle loader stocks.

Much depends on the price and other factors Can you tell us more. Lead time ? Quality of castings ? Availability of semi-inletted stocks ? Pre tempered springs ? Screws included with kits ? (some sizes are had to get). More info would be very helpful. I am able to deal with all these things, but many of us are not. Welcome aboard, and please tell us more....

Indeed, Hawkins... There are many differences between a festival / entertainer mindset, as opposed to a historic site / reenactor mindset, and our priorities are quite different.

Having done this stuff for a good number of years, (since 1998), I tend to think of the practical aspects of attending. I am primarily a "street character / entertainer". I agree with most of these postings to a great degree. I love doing it, and interacting with the customers mostly. When the public leaves for the day, I want to go back to an airconditioned room and get a good nights sleep to prepare for the following day. I really have little interest in the "18th century experience" after hours. We need to consider that the event is making money off of our participation, and we have a lot of money tied up in our garb and equipment, plus the expense of getting there. We should be compensated for our participation. Without us, they cannot have an event !! I always consider myself an "employee" of the event, and conduct myself accordingly. It is part of my job to make the event successful, so as to get invited back the next time. I do not look at events as an opportunity to "party" with my friends, even though I very much enjoy being with other participants. I say all that to say that as much as I enjoy participation, I refuse to go "in the hole" financially for any event. I don't mind paying for my meals, and I don't need to actually make much money, but I want to at least break even. I feel that folks that do this for free are very much getting taken advantage of !!

It's well known among flintlock shooters that Pyrodex and other substitutes perform poorly in flintlocks. Just not worth the trouble.

They show up on ebay from time to time, unfortunately usually listed without ball diameter mentioned. Many are stamped with a number indicating guage, rather than actual diameter of the ball. The guage is the number of balls per pound.(There are conversion charts available on line.) Most of those old moulds have a built-in cutter to remove the sprue.

If the frizzen is opened the gun will not fire. Length of time to do this depends entirely on how tight the fit of the ball is. If the ball is only held in place by a wad on top of it, the process can be quite fast. The wad would be pulled first, and then the ball. Sometimes they will come out together, if the ball is not too tight of a fit. Sometimes they were loaded with an additional wad under the ball to help compress the powder if the ball was a loose fit. If the ball was "patched" with a tight fitting cloth or paper patch wrapped around it, it could be very time consuming, requiring several attempts to get the screw to bite solidly enough into the ball to pull it out without the screw pulling free of the ball. All of these loading methods were used "in period". Some ramrods were made with a ball screw already incorporated on the end. The ball screw would also serve to remove a wad, and loosen the compressed powder, but not as efficiently as a proper worm.